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Truly Dreadful Film

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Now I don't claim to be an expert in the field of catching a child killer, but I'm pretty sure that renting a house next to the road where you think he frequents, and then hiring a woman under false pretenses to be your housekeeper so her young daughter can be used to lure him out into the open, is pretty reprehensible behaviour.And yet, we're supposed to SIDE with rogue detective Richard E Grant's character here, in his mad quest to capture the murderer. The policemen who try to stop him and possibly save this child's life are depicted as being in the wrong... And there's your first problem from the off. What kind of sick mind would say that Grant was justified in his illegal activities? Not me... So a story based on this dodgy premise is difficult to watch when you hate the so- called hero's guts.Aside from that 'slight' misstep, the actual portrayal of the killer is laughable. He has this stuffed dog puppet you see, and uses it to tempt his victims out into the open... Where he slits their throats. The way he voices this cuddly pooch though, could only possibly appeal to babies. No kid old enough to walk would go along with this weirdo, who talks like a lobotomised Play School presenter. And yet, all these young girls he slaughters think it's a 'magic dog' he's holding, and follow him like lemmings walking off a cliff. I didn't buy it for a second.His motives are never really explained... All we know about him is he's a doctor, and he holds tea parties with child dummies at his house. A wacko most definitely, but a bit more information about his background would be nice if we're to be convinced he's a psychopath. Anything would be better than the endless scenes of Grant sitting around taking down the registration plates of cars, or his just-a- little-bit forced relationship with love interest Lynsey Baxter, who of course forgives for him for lying and putting her child in mortal danger at the hands of a predator for weeks. As you do.And if all THAT wasn't bad enough, the acting here can be summed up in one word... hamtastic. What do you mean it's not in the dictionary?! Well, one day it will be. And you have this film to thank for putting the inspiration in my head. Well done, The Cold Light Of Day. You might as well be eulogised for SOMETHING... 4/10

This was a fairly interesting story but I didn't like the lead actor, Richard Grant, who played "Victor Marek." It's about a British cop ("Marek") trying to trap a sick child killer, and at the same time his mind is on a woman and her kid. He winds up using them as bait to get the killer. In doing so, he lost me. He wasn't a "good guy," himself and certainly not a likable person that we are supposed to root for in the film. Even Richard Grant's looks in here (tell me that wasn't eyeliner on him) were annoying.The best part of the film was the cinematography. This was a nice-looking film on VHS and it's too bad it isn't available on DVD. I wouldn't buy it, but I might rent it to catch the good photography.

Not having seen the original (In Broad Daylight, if I'm not mistaken), I viewed this film without preexisting expectations and loved it. It's very suspenseful without using formulaic devices and had a really rich pace and rhythm. The characters are very real and three-dimensional and Richard E. Grant gives a wonderful performance (as always, IMHO). I tend to enjoy films that feature character actors in leading roles. They don't have the off-screen persona that tends to overwhelm character portrayal as sometimes happens with conventional leading men and ladies. Sorry about the digression. If you like suspense-thrillers that are intense without displaying a great deal of frenzied action, you'll like this movie.

This is a fair remake of a grand old movie, "It Happened in Broad Daylight" (1958) or "Es geschah am hellichten Tag" in German.The story is almost the same, but the movie is much more modern, of course. It has some Hollywood-like cliches that don't suit the original.If you like detective stories of that kind you might enjoy it, but if you understand just a few words in German I'd always suggest to watch the original old movie with German cult-actor Heinz Ruehmann.