Jack's Back

Jack's Back is a 1988 American mystery thriller film written and directed by Rowdy Herrington in his directorial debut. It stars James Spader in a dual role, Cynthia Gibb, Jim Haynie, Robert Picardo, Rod Loomis, and Rex Ryon. It follows a serial killer who celebrates Jack the Ripper's 100th birthday by committing similar murders.

The film began a limited theatrical release in the United States on May 6, 1988. It received mixed reviews from critics, while Spader's performance was praised and earned him a Saturn Award nomination for Best Actor.

Plot
A young doctor in Los Angeles named John Wesford becomes a suspect when a series of Jack the Ripper copycat killings is committed. He and another young doctor (Jack Pendler) are at the scene of the final crime in the series; they know each other because they both work for the same medical unit, reporting to the abusive Dr. Sidney Tannerson. Pendler seems to realize that John Wesford's testimony will likely lead to his being arrested as the killer, and in an ambiguously staged scene, murders him, staging the scene to resemble a suicide. The police quickly name John Wesford as the copycat killer and hypothesize that he killed himself out of guilt.

To the surprise of everybody involved, John Wesford's identical twin brother, Rick, arrives and claims to know his brother did not kill himself because he has seen visions of the true killer. In flashbacks, the viewer sees that Rick Wesford saw Jack Pendler killing his brother. The police humor Rick briefly, but only because his existence calls into question the eyewitness testimony that had put the identical-looking John at the scene of the crime, and Rick's suspicious knowledge of the crime scene (from his visions) make him an attractive suspect himself. Under scrutiny by the police, Rick allies himself with another of his brother's colleagues, Dr. Chris Moscari, and carries out his own investigation. He successfully identifies, tracks down, and confronts Pendler, who attacks him and is arrested. Pendler is in some regards an excellent suspect — physical evidence puts him at the scene of the final murder. But in other regards he is a terrible one, not matching known characteristics or habits of the killer.

Rick continues to dream about his brother's murder and asks the police psychologist to hypnotize him to clarify these visions. In the refined vision he again sees Pendler attack his brother, but also notices that Pendler's shoes do not match those worn by the copycat killer, and that Dr. Tannerson had been at the scene. He intuits that Tannerson will next attack Dr. Moscari and speeds to her house, attracting a string of police cars with his reckless driving. Moscari survives and Rick avenges his brother's death by killing Tannerson, who (it is implied) had manipulated Pendler into murdering the unfortunate twin.

Cast

Release

Theatrical
Jack's Back premiered in New York City on May 6, 1988, and was released in Los Angeles and other Southern California locations on May 13, 1988. The film opened in Chicago on June 3, 1988.

Home media
UK-based distributor Slam Dunk Media released the film on DVD in May 2007 in 1.33:1 full frame format. It is the only DVD release to date in that area. It was available on Netflix video streaming service in SD widescreen format. Scream Factory released the film in fall 2015 for the first time on Blu-ray Disc in the US, and also included a DVD in the package knowing that the film had never made it to the format in North America.

Reception

Critical response

Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of 4 stars and stated, "It's not a great movie, but it's the kind of film that makes you curious about what Harrington will do next." Ebert particularly praised Spader's performance, writing that "But apart from the pleasures of the plot, what makes Jack's Back worth seeing is the work of Spader, a young actor who I believe has as much promise as anyone of his generation."

Odie Henderson opined, "Jack's Back maintains a giddy storyteller's glee from beginning to end, painting itself into corner after corner, only to escape every time. It works because of its stubborn belief in all aspects of the pulpy yarn it spins. There's real charm in its compulsive desire to tie its preposterous loose ends, no matter how complicated the knots become."

On the other hand, Caryn James of The New York Times gave the film a negative review and wrote that it "is so dull it leaves you plenty of time to marvel at how a plot can be this rickety, how a production can look this shabby, and how the first-time writer and director Rowdy Herrington could borrow a story with so relentless a grip on our imaginations and in no time at all declaw it."

Michael Wilmington of the Los Angeles Times called the film "a psychological shocker that carves up the Jack the Ripper legend in convoluted but predictable ways" and wrote that "Herrington gets stuck in his triple-twists, stock characters, chases and movie-movie plotting." Wilmington also stated, "But beyond Spader's performance, the only really interesting thing about Jack's Back is the lighting."

Accolades

Soundtrack and film's title 
Originally the director wanted to call the film Red Rain and have the song of the same name by Peter Gabriel playing as the opening credits theme. However the budget didn't allow for licensing the song, and so instead Paul Saax was brought on board to co-write a new theme "Red Harvest". The movie name was changed to Jack's Back as a result.

References

External links
 
 

1988 films
1988 directorial debut films
1988 crime thriller films
1988 horror films
1988 independent films
1980s American films
1980s English-language films
1980s horror thriller films
1980s mystery thriller films
1980s psychological thriller films
1980s serial killer films
1980s slasher films
American crime thriller films
American horror thriller films
American independent films
American mystery thriller films
American psychological thriller films
American serial killer films
American slasher films
Murder mystery films
Films about Jack the Ripper
Films about physicians
Films about twin brothers
Films directed by Rowdy Herrington
Films set in Los Angeles
Films shot in Los Angeles