Imagine, if you will, getting together with your best friends at a posh villa on the shores of the Pacific. Sun, sand and surf, unlimited possibilities for an unforgettable weekend. But then your friends start dying, and the only one who could be the murderer is someone in the house? Such is the plot of KILLER WEEKEND.

The film opens with the aforementioned gathering of three couples - Jack and Sasha, Michael and Olivia, and homeowners Janet and Tom. Jack is the head of a 'Fortune 500' company, and Michael and Janet are his Vice-presidents. Tom is the host of a successful childrens' show, Olivia is his niece, and Sasha's a bitch. Sasha and Jack have a rocky marriage; she believes he's having an affair with Olivia. It's soon revealed she herself is having an affair with Michael. After much sniping and innuendo between the couples at dinner, Jack and Sasha have a huge fight, and she throws him out of the bedroom. She doesn't remain alone for long, however, as Michael comes by to 'comfort her'. Jack, relegated to the living room, spies other couples - not the married ones, of course - engaged in all sorts of sexual shenanigans. The next morning, as everyone begins to gather in the kitchen, Olivia retrieves her shoes from the living room, and finds a stone cold dead Jack. Detective Nicoletti, whom we were introduced to earlier busting thief and would-be briber Frankie, is called to the scene to solve this puzzling crime. But things get rather twisted when the deaths continue. Will Nicoletti be able to unravel this tangled web of intrigue before all the couples meet a grisly end?

Hoo boy. I had a "Dallas" flashback while watching KILLER WEEKEND, what with all the changing partners and who's-sleeping-with-whom situations. The trouble is you don't care about any of them - they're nothing but a bunch of "rich, amoral people" to quote Nicoletti. There is absolutely no emotional tie between any of the characters and the audience. The acting, writing and directing are routine; cut one gratuitous nude scene and you have a 'USA Network made for Cable Movie of the Week' (even if it's not written by Mary Higgins Clark.) Heck, tone down the language and it could be on ABC. Worst of all, there is an appalling lack of suspense for a 'suspense film.' I do try to find good points about all the films I review, so I will say I did like the character of Nicoletti, although he is no Colombo. The film quality is very nice, with good lighting for the most part, well-defined and clear sound, and decent editing (though hampered by the routine direction.)

KILLER WEEKEND appears as if it will be released on DVD bare bones except for cast/crew BIOS. Audio options and perhaps additional extras are pending, according to the distributor's screener release.

Upon reading the synopsis of KILLER WEEKEND, one might have expected a tense, tightly edited, claustrophobic study of desperate people in a desperate situation. What one gets is a 'thriller' without suspense, cardboard characters, and a weak soap opera storyline. Next weekend, put on a pot of coffee, pop some corn and curl up with a good mystery, because you'll get more suspenseful satisfaction by reading, than watching KILLER WEEKEND.