On a train heading nowhere, a sinister figure stares at a young couple enjoying each other's company. The girl reminds him of someone he once knew. In a flashback, we see him confronting his former lover -a situation that ends violently. This is the opening scene to the independent erotic thriller MAD JACK.

At a seedy hotel in the desolate American Southwest, a nubile hooker shows her wares to her client - our stranger from the train. She thinks it's his first time, but finds he likes it rough. So rough in fact he bashes her head in with a lamp. Cool and calm, Jack showers, shaves and leaves the roadside hotel for bigger and better things. Meanwhile, newlyweds Peter and Angel drive through the desert towards the airport for their honeymoon in Hawaii. Angel wants to stop at a hotel for a quickie, and gives Peter a hummer to convince him. Obviously distracted, Peter runs another car off the road. The frantic couple rush to assist the other driver - Jack. A woozy Jack is helped into Peter's car to be taken to the hospital, but along the way recovers enough to light up a smoke. His action leads to a heated argument between Angel and Peter concerning their passenger. Jack just smiles. At the next gas station, Jack takes his leave of the couple, but tells them he'll "see ya later."

After arguing some more in the car, Peter wigs out and slaps Angel. They make up by having sex on the literal side of the road. Afterwards, Angel and Peter stop at a diner for some food; Angel now wants to head straight to the airport. She's had enough excitement for one day. Sure enough, Jack enters that same diner, having hitched a lift from the service station. He tells his ride he's going with Peter and Angel for a while. Back on the road, Jack deftly palms the Hawaii tickets, leaving the newlyweds in quite a pickle, and causing another shouting match between the two. They wind up staying at a nearby hotel next door to Jack. While Peter and Angel continue their bickering, Jack gets his groove on with the hotel maid before plunging his knife into her chest. Peter and Angel snipe and bitch constantly; Peter thinks Angel has the hots for Jack and he's all jealous, while Angel thinks he's just being an immature prick. When Peter goes off to get beer, Jack makes his move and flirts shamelessly with Angel, who doesn't really object. This leads to a confrontation when Peter returns, but Jack slaps him down. He apologizes but we all know he's got another agenda on his mind. Now it's night, and time for Jack to make his move. What are his plans for Angel? Is Peter cruising for worse than a bruising? And will either survive their honeymoon night?

MAD JACK is not a bad film, for what it is, but it's not a particularly good film, either. Story-wise, there are absolutely no surprises or creative spins on the standard thriller setup. Peter and Angel are stock characters, and neither endears themselves to the audience with all their bitching and whining; half the time, you wish they did get offed by Jack just to shut them up. Jack himself is the 'ordinary psycho', but at least some attempt to explain his character's motivation is given by the flashback scenes.

The acting is competent, but there's nothing unique for the audience to really grab onto and identify with. Technically, some of the picture quality is dubious. The flashback scenes seem to be done in a grainy 8mm film quality, which is fine as an artistic effect, but other shots, especially at night, suffer from the same grainy and dirty look. There are problems with shadows and light on some of the external day shots; too much of one or the other. The audio is pretty good for the "live" shots, a clear mix of voice and music. However, any audio that had to be looped in the studio is awful - it's like a badly dubbed karate movie. Some of the original acoustic/blues music is very good, and the band at the club is tight, but most of the incidental music is straight from the John Carpenter "Halloween" school of electronica. On a side note, I will say thet the editing is excellent. Low budget films tend to have shots linger longer than needed, but the flow of MAD JACK is well paced and keeps things moving.

Released by Vista Street Entertainment, MAD JACK comes with a chapter search option. That's it. No extras or whatever. It would have been interesting to have something about the production of this film. Jack Wareing, who played Jack, is also the executive producer, and members of the production team played most of the secondary roles. Having some background about writer/director Brad Sykes would have been nice too. These guys put a lot of themselves into their work, and the audience should have some idea of who they are, and what they're all about. They deserve an "A" for their efforts.

MAD JACK delivers what it says as an erotic thriller - there's plenty of boobs and blood. However, there is nothing really memorable, either. Despite some technical flaws, it is a competently made film, so perhaps we'll see bigger and better things from Mr. Sykes in the future. Try giving Wings Hauser a call.