All-American Murder

This is not a movie. This is a shake: take every bad cliché you can find in murder-mistery-slasher movies, put them in a blender with a spoon of syrup, then watch it go as it liquifies into a goo: you're done. Managing to write such an outlandish and yet highly predictable script is a feat in itself. There should be an Oscar category for that. I guess anyone who watched this only did so because of Christopher Walken, who just phones-in his lines: he knew this was a piece of crap, and was only in it for the money, as so many others have had to, and still do to this day (case in point: Bruce Willis). Definitely not worth the effort. Not even for Walken.

As cheesy and '80's' as this movie comes off as, I think many miss the humour and satire that embodies it all. Think of putting Risky Business, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Halloween, and The Breakfast Club into a blender. The first part is all sweet and predictable. But when the murders start happening, and more is revealed as to the perverted backgrounds of the students to the dean and his wife, it gets pretty deep. Walken's nonchalant character seems un-phased by the goings on, and seems to be a 'Scared Straight' mentor to young Artie to get him to mature and fear for his life. All in all, it does come off as a Made For TV, 80's romp. Yet the dialog, characters, language, and deviant background is memorably far from 'wholesome'. It's a fun movie that will stick with the viewer long after I think.

Terrible. Bad acting from all cast members. Awful script packed with lines straight out of cheap noir detective novels. Bad direction and poverty-row production. We thought about giving up on it several times but a kind of morbid curiosity kept us watching. What makes it worse is that it can't decide whether it's some kind of dark comedy or a serious murder mystery/thriller, and it swings between the two. Then there's the scene which is so over-the-top it surely MUST be a dream but turns out to be real. Quite what Christopher Walken (who looked embarrassed throughout) was thinking of when he signed the contract for this is beyond me, perhaps he needed a pay-day. Be warned.

I saw this one because I am a big fan of Josie Bissett(Jane from Melrose Place) and I wanted to see her in a movie role so I went to the video store and was suprised that they had this. All-American Murder is pretty good. It's not fantastic but worth a look if your in the mood for a thriller.

All-American Murder seems to be your average college slasher/thriller, but it actually is quite entertaining. Sure, the plot is maze like, but that is what mysteries are. This managed to be dark without being suffocated, and sinister without being nasty. As I first watched this, the questions started. Why was the poor girl burned, instead of a quieter, less attention attracting death? Who hated the kid enough to frame him? How did all the blackmail, adultery, and depravity occur at a "good" college? All these were answered if not amazingly, at least well. Rather than leave us hanging, the suspense actually ramps to the climax. Which leads to my final point. The motivation of the killer actually makes sense, in a twisted way. Too many films like this seem to have someone kill for the thrill of it, and since this one doesn't, I give it serious applause. Also, the protagonist actually has some heart, always a plus. See this if you want a good, modern whodunit with a eighties- early nineties feel.

This isn't the kind of movie you expect to see Christopher Walken in, but he shows up and delivers a great, quirky performance. For a murder mystery, it's a little dry and can feel a bit like a TV movie, but all the actors are giving it their all.

This is not a movie. This is a shake: take every bad cliché you can find in murder-mistery-slasher movies, put them in a blender with a spoon of syrup, then watch it go as it liquifies into a goo: you're done. Managing to write such an outlandish and yet highly predictable script is a feat in itself. There should be an Oscar category for that. I guess anyone who watched this only did so because of Christopher Walken, who just phones-in his lines: he knew this was a piece of crap, and was only in it for the money, as so many others have had to, and still do to this day (case in point: Bruce Willis). Definitely not worth the effort. Not even for Walken.

This movie should be burned. The writing, acting and direction are horrific. Great cast, but it's wasted and they seem to be just going through the motions.