All American Murder

Director - Anson Williams (Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Charmed)

Starring - Christopher Walken (Sleepy Hollow, The Prophecy), Charlie Schlatter (Police Academy: Misson to Moscow, The Sopranos), and Josie Bissett (Hitcher in the Dark, The Doors)

Release Date - 1991

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "He's about to enter a jungle of sex, sleaze and murder... he's going to college"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     When Vinegar Syndrome announced their April titles I was excited for most of them but one film in particular did not look that promising.  While Grave Secrets and The Cellar were what really interested me the most I was not looking forward to spinning the 1991 murder mystery All American Murder.  It looked like a made for television film that Christopher Walken would only appear in for a few moments.  Yet, after finally watching it I can safely say that it was the best film in the bunch.  I absolutely loved it and I feel like a fool sleeping on it.  I want to thank Vin Syn for sending this one over for review!

     The film follows Artie (Schlatter) who is an odd duck that marches to his own beat.  After an arson charge he is forced to change colleges after his father, a judge, pulls a few strings.  He immediately falls in love with one of the most popular girls at school and after some work he is able to convince her to go out with him.  However, the romance is short lived when she is found leaping from a building on fire.  Her murder is pointed to him due to his record of arson and as he rushes to find the real killer the bodies turn up with all of the deaths pointing to him.  

     Honestly, I didn't expect to like this one as much as I did but I fucking loved it.  It's a murder mystery that has that made for television type of twist but the characters and story are very engaging.  I really enjoyed it and I'm shocked others didn't like it as much as I did.  The acting in this one is pretty great.  Schlatter is fun as the smooth talking youth who is at the center of a conspiracy involving the campus sweetheart.  I loved his character and how he was so natural in the role.  He worked great with the rest of the cast and the personality of his character really made the film as fun as it was.  Walken just walked through his role but it was decent enough.  We didn't get the typical Walken draw that he is known for which was a bit of a disappoint.  The supporting cast is solid enough but they do deliver inconsistent performances throughout.  In some scenes they are all in and delivering great performances while other scenes are a bit disappointing with lazy dialogue and no enthusiasm.  The story for this one is a mix of slasher meets the classic murder mystery tropes.  The film for the hour or so is a standard murder mystery that will remind the viewer of those murder mysteries from the 70s and 80s.  However, the final leg of the film feels like a slasher with a more fast paced body count and the faceless killer.  Slashers have always been known to have that murder mystery style plot but AAM is more focused on the murder mystery aspect more than the slasher angle.  I really enjoyed the story and how it was written.  It has great pacing and the scenes that are poorly acted don't seem as bad because the story is still developing during these scenes.  Finally, the film has several deaths.  Some have great props and make -up effects but if you are looking for a lot of blood and gore then you will be very disappointed.  Overall, All American Murder may feel like a Lifetime movie at times but it's a fun one.  I really enjoyed the story and the cast for the most part.  Fans of mid-90s slashers can appreciate this one with the emphasis on the mystery around the murders than the actual deaths themselves.  I highly recommend snagging the blu release from Vin Syn because it looks absolutely beautiful.