COLD SWEAT

Feature - 1993 - 92 Minutes

STARRING

BEN CROSS, ADAM BALDWIN, SHANNON TWEED, HENRY CZERNY, LENORE ZANN, MARIA DEL MAR and DAVE THOMAS

WRITTEN BY RICHARD BEATTIE

DIRECTED BY GAIL HARVEY

CHARACTER:

MITCH

CHARACTERS STORY:

ADAM'S CHARACTER REMAINS VERY MUCH UNEXPLAINED, HE IS THE LOVER OF ONE OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS AND ALSO A PEDDLER OF INFORMATION TO HER HUSBAND - FOR WHICH HE SKATES IN AN PARKING LOT, INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH. DESPITE BEING BILLED AS SECOND IN THE CAST CREDITS, HE IN ACTUALLY IS ONLY IN A SMALL ROLE AND MOST BALDWIN FANS WILL FIND THIS A BIG LET DOWN, UNLESS YOU JUST LIKE HIM FOR HIS LOOKS THEN YOU'LL BE INTERESTED IN THE SEX SCENE WITH LUMINOUS BODY PAINT AND ALL. ALTOGETHER I'D SAY CHECK IT OUT, BUT IF YOU HATE 'TWIN PEAKS' YOU AIN'T GONNA LIKE THIS, IN THAT CASE...FOR FANS ONLY.

THE FILM:

...WEIRD...EXCITING...SENSUAL...SHOCKING...

COLD SWEAT PACKS THE SURREAL PUNCH OF 'TWIN PEAKS' AND THE GRIPPING TENSION OF 'BASIC INSTINCT' WITH A GLITTERING CAST THAT INCLUDES 'CHARIOTS OF FIRE' STAR BEN CROSS, ADAM BALDWIN FROM 'FULL METAL JACKET' AND THE DELICIOUSLY EROTIC SHANNON TWEED, PLUS A SOUNDTRACK FROM CHART STAR CHRIS REA.

MARK CAHILL IS A HIRED ASSASSIN WITH A TERMINAL PROBLEM. HE IS SO SPOOKED BY A JOB THAT WENT ALARMINGLY WRONG, HE CAN'T WORK OUT IF HE'S GOING TOTALLY INSANE, OR IF HE REALLY IS BEING TORMENTED BY POWERS FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE.

AGREEING TO ONE LAST 'HIT', CAHILL BECOMES HOPELESSLY ENTANGLED IN A WEB OF DECEIT SPUN BY A CORRUPT BUSINESSMAN, HIS LUST-CRAZED WIFE AND HER STRING OF LOVERS.

DOUBLE-CROSSES, MAD SCHEMES AND TWISTS OF FATE COMBINE TO SWEEP THEM ALL INTO A FIRESTORM OF SEXUAL MISCHIEF AND GLEEFUL MURDER RESULTING INA CLIMAX OF BETRAYAL THAT MUST BE SEEN TO BE BELIEVED.

THE REVIEWS:

REVIEW FROM VARIETY:

"But this B movie, which initially saw the theatrical light of day during its short-lived release by Skouras Pictures in 1993 before moving swiftly to homevideo, is little more than a poorly scripted movie of the week that had hopes of being much more but was hamstrung by bad acting.

After professional hit man Mark Cahill (Ben Cross) kills an innocent bystander, Catherine (Lenore Zann), during an assignment, he is tormented by the dead girl, whose payback is apparently to annoy the trained killer until he snaps.

Catherine always appears at the most inconvenient times for Cahill, with a penchant for surfacing during lovemaking with his wife, when Catherine's ethereal laugh ends the proceedings. The giggle interruptus is implausibly telegraphed as one of the methods that will help push the cold and calculating Cahill over the edge. But its repeated use grows tiresome.

Show's real action starts when businessman Larry Moore (Dave Thomas), hoping to rescue his ailing real estate corporation, hires Cahill to knock off his business partner, Henry (Sean Mathieson), for the key man insurance money.

Initially, viewers are led to believe Larry is also targeting his trust fund-bearing wife, Beth (Shannon Tweed). Scripter Richard Beattie succeeds in keeping as many balls in the air as possible. But he falls short on several counts, most notably in failing to give the cast any dialogue that doesn't cover well-trod ground.

Program's only saving grace is Thomas' comedic timing, thanks to his background as a founding member of SCTV. Thomas' perfectly placed, straight-faced one-liners save the dreary story without sacrificing what little credibility it struggles to maintain.

Director Gail Harvey does the best she can with her material, but in the process, "Cold Sweat" is revealed as what it is: a low-budget film designed primarily for production-cost recoupment in foreign territories and homevideo. Viewers may be comforted by the knowledge that at least the vid version has the nudity and language the theatrical release incorporated specifically to appeal to those marketplaces."

LEAFANS REVIEW:

THINK DAVID LYNCH AND YOU MIGHT START THINKING ALONG THE RIGHT LINES. THIS FILM HAS ONE FOOT IN WEIRD-SH*T TERRITORY AND THE OTHER IN B-MOVIE HELL. I'M REALLY FINDING IT HARD TO REMEMBER THE PLOT, IF IT HAD ONE, BUT WHAT I DO REMEMBER (OR UNDERSTAND) IS THAT A HIRED ASSASSIN KILLS AN INNOCENT WOMAN WHILE PERFORMING AN ASSASSINATION, SHE THEN STARTS TO HAUNT HIM, ESPECIALLY DURING SEX, WHICH GIVES HIM STAGE-FRIGHT, NATURALLY. HE THEN SWEARS TO HIMSELF TO DO ONLY ONE MORE 'JOB' THEN HE'LL QUIT. THIS LAST JOB HAPPENS TO BE KILLING A VERY PROMISCUOUS WOMAN WHO IS CHEATING ON HER RICH HUSBAND, SHE HAS A STRING OF LOVERS AND SO ON AND SO FORTH...WEIRD SH*TOMETER WORKING IN OVERTIME.

TAGLINES:

A firestorm of sexual mischief and murder...

AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS:

FILMING LOCATIONS:

TORONTO, CANADA.

GENERAL FACTS AND STUFF THAT DOESNT FIT ANYWHERE ELSE:

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