31 Days of Horror: Scream & Shout! Day 22

Jack's Back (1988)

What's It About?

John Westford (James Spader) is murdered and framed for a series of murders by a serial killer on a copycat spree based on the Jack the Ripper slayings of 100 years prior.  But on the night of his murder, Westerford's brother Rick (James Spader) receives a premonition of John's death and goes out in search of the real murderer.

Is It Any Good?

It's amazing that in a world that digs through the garbage bins of cinema and pulls out crap that really doesn't deserve a second glance *cough*nightofthedemons*cough* that a movie like Jack's Back would be so relatively unknown.

If you read the premise, you may notice that it's remarkably similar to the shitty 2007 Lindsay Lohan vehicle I Know Who Killed Me.  Fear not, the two bear no resemblance apart from the child-star-plays-with-and-against-type leading roles.  In fact, the titular Jack doesn't have as much to do with the plot as you would think he does.  We find out the identity of the killer twenty minutes into the film when we watch him kill John, so from that point it's just a matter of waiting for Rick to Columbo the killer's identity and get in a climactic showdown.

It's an interesting dynamic of having our killer be a known entity and having our hero have to prove the villain's guilt.  James Spader is, as always, wonderful and there's a great supporting role from Robert Picardo as a police profiler trying to solve the modern Jack the Ripper murders.  The movie is moody and tense and surprisngly well-made for something you don't see popping up on a lot of "18 great horror movies you've never seen" lists.

Watch, Toss, or Buy?

This movie needs to be better known.  Buy it.