Edge of the Axe (1988) Harsh review

 IMDb user comments. June 2010. I gave it 2/10. While I still attain some of this way of writing, the acid that could be found then is almost non-existent now.

Women are being butchered by some wacko in a white mask, using an ax. Each murder victim is tied to an "acute psychopath". Richard(Page Mosely) is an exterminator married to an older woman named Laura(Patty Shepard). Richard's friend is Gerald(Barton Faulks) who is currently living in a room at an old man's place, I guess some friend of his estranged family's. Gerald takes a shine to a troubled girl named Lillian Nebbs(Christina Marie Lane), the daughter of a local fishing shop owner. Richard becomes involved with a younger, more attractive girl near his own age and Laura has lost all her riches to bad investments. All this boring melodrama aside, bodies continue to turn up, hacked to pieces. You can bet one of the principles has something to do with the killer. Computers used and this supposed cousin named Charlie factor into the revelation of the identity of the killer.

EDGE OF THE AXE moves at a languid pace, and the characters, particularly Richard and Gerald, are about as appealing as a wart on the face. And, this Chief of Police, Frank(Fred Holliday), is a real piece of work..I mean, he's unbelievable, this guy, dead bodies keep turning up and he will continue to insist that they be ruled anything other than murder, just so the locals won't panic. The problem is that if you could care less about any of the characters in this movie, your mind wandering elsewhere, how will the result of the plot leave any sort of impact? The murders themselves are explained at the end, but how the women are all connected is rather weak in execution. The axe attacks are savage(the ones we actually see on screen, that is), but not necessarily effective. I think it comes ultimately down to how the story is developed and if the characters are interesting. I think it fails miserably on both accounts, but others could feel differently. There just isn't anything in the movie that was interesting enough to keep my attention..and, I'm an undemanding person who just asks for story and characters that are worth investing my time. I can't believe such a waste of time was directed by José Ramón Larraz, it's all so uninspired and formulaic.