Reviews (17)

One of my favorites...I never get tired of this movie...
Excellent writing, gorgeous setting, wonderful actors make this a lush visual and musical treat that never goes over the top and thoroughly takes me away to the tropics. I don't know how many times I've watched the movie, and still I always go back to it when I'm sick of winter and want to see a good mystery set near the sea-green waters. And Denzel is absolutely the best here.

I'm biased, cause this is my favorite movie.
One hunnered thousan dollas, mahn! This is a thoroughly enjoyable flick. A musical who-done-it with an island flair. All the actors can belt out a tune like pros, even Denzel isn't half bad! Visually stunning with brilliant color, on an exotic set, and shot with great angles too. Solid performances by everyone with a riveting plot that is a pure pleasure to watch unfold. The dialog is excellent too and works well with the gorgeous visuals. This is the only movie I've seen where nothing they could have done differently could have made it any better. It's just THAT good. It has the best soundtrack for any movie I've ever heard as well. Now if they'll just get off their keisters and come out with a DVD with plenty of extras, I can die knowing that I've seen everything the BEST MOVIE MADE has to offer.

Bookends
Grab a copy of this movie and watch it as a double feature with the current "Out of Time." Denzel Washington fans will argue until the cows come home over which is the better performance, but the two films show Washington's mastery of his art. While Quinn is smooth but pure, Denzel's Chief in Out of Time is like a Quinn gone a little soft and ripe in the tropical sun, a man of integrity who has faced one too many temptations in a sordid and complicated world. I loved the noir feel of the first 7/8 of Out of Time and was annoyed at the lapse into Hollywood at the end, but Washington makes the character so attractive, that you wish him the best. Check it out.

Laid-Back Island Fun
There's very little I dislike about this movie. Okay, the swearing's a bit much, but everything else - the characters, the mystery, the music, the scenery - is incredibly enjoyable.

Denzel Washington portrays Police Chief Xavier Quinn, a cop who struggles for respect from a lower-class that sees him as a betrayer and an upper-class that has no use for him beyond that of lap dog. His character's development is an unsuspected surprise in what could have been just another run-of-the-mill tropical thriller.

Supporting characters played by Robert Townsend, Mimi Rogers, Esther Rolle, and M. Emmett Walsh are also surprisingly nuanced, as is the murder investigation itself. The only main character I didn't quite get is Sheryl Lee Ralph as Quinn's wife; her expectations for her husband seem ill-defined in the story - in keeping with the island custom, however, I didn't let it get to me; I just went with it.

This is a budget release, so except for the trailer there are no extra features. There isn't even an insert card showing chapter listing. Subtitles come only in French and Spanish, but the film is closed-captioned if you want the equivalent of English subtitling. I would've liked more features, but I'm not going to let that get to me, either.

Get this DVD. Then get some popcorn and pour some rum in your Coke - or at least drop in a tiny paper umbrella - and enjoy the show.

Great Show!!!
I enjoyed this movie many times, although the downside to this movie is robert townsend who did not do a good accent for this flick. come on everybody: come on with out come on with in , you ain't seen nothing like the mighty quinn ! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

5 Stars for the Hitchhiker and 1 Star for Amazon
This is false advertising, this is not the complete seasons. This simply volume 1 and 2 shrink wrapped together. No box set whatsoever.

The series are awesome though. ... Read more

Description

Page Fletcher is "The Hitchhiker," walking a lonely road where terror awaits around every curve. Walk with him, and you'll find yourself in some very dark places...places you wouldn't want to visit alone. That's why he's there. That's why he's always there. He won't hold your hand - but he'll make sure the only ones who get hurt are those who deserve to. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Where's Episode 4 : Love Sounds????
While it's nice that this series is out on dvd, I'm disapointed to learn that "Love Sounds, episode 4"" was not included here as it's the best episode from THE HITCHHIKER series.

Is there going to be a SECOND dvd release with MORE episodes on it?. Please, anyone, email my agent if you have any info on this.
Thanks. Tovrich

AGENT : perillij@yahoo.com

Welcome back Hitchhiker
Wow, there's a great collection of talent there! With episodes featuring award-winning actors such as Helen Hunt and Joe Pantoliano, and participation from fan-favorite director Paul Verhoeven, this surely is a must-have for any DVD collector
Koch Canada will release The Complete First Season on DVD April 20th. This 3 disc set will contain 26 episodes The show must have aired differently in Canada because what Koch considers the first season is actually the first 3 seasons according to the episode guide at EPGuides.com. It's not all good news though; the people at Koch Canada said that they don't own the Canadian rights to the second Canadian season so they're unable to release those episodes.

The Hitchhiker series is stil the Best
The Hitchhiker was the best show on tv(then again, my parents never wanted HBO in their home so they could keep their kids from having access to TV T&A, thus, I didn't catch it in the early years.) Page Fletcher, however, was like a cooler Alfred Hitchcock, the Fonz of suspense. And that intro (bump-dump-bump-chhhhhhh-bump-dump-bump-chhhhhhh-ooorrrwouoonnnnhhhhh) with the rattlesnake chiming in as we see him walking through dust on the shoulder of the highway

The Hitchhiker Rules!!
The Hitchhiker was an awesome show! I remember watching it on HBO when I was a kid. I also enjoyed the later episodes on USA network. The stories were great. I just wish some network would show the Hitchhiker again

Going my way?
I watched this show all the time back int he old HBO days. It had that eerie them music and good stories. The sex scenes weren't bad either. ... Read more

Description

Page Fletcher is "The Hitchhiker," walking a lonely road where darkness is always by his side and terror lurks around every turn. Pick him up if you dare. He will guide you to your destination, where the good are spared and the wicked are damned. Episodes: OD Feeling, True Believer, Perfect Order, Cabin Fever, A Whole New You, Dead Heat, The Curse, Out of the Night, Secret Ingredients, Man of Her Dreams. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Drivel
Bleah. I never caught this back when it was on HBO, and I'm glad. It's terrible. I couldn't get through two whole episodes. They call these tales of terror. What's terrible is that this ever got put on DVD. Don't bother picking this title up. It's cheesy and not terrifying at all. Maybe really late at night back in the 80's. But probably not even then. ... Read more

Amazon.com

At least someone, somewhere, involved in this disposable Ape Man entry bothered to read the famous Edgar Rice Burroughs books on which the character is based. What was done with that information, unfortunately, amounts to nothing. Tarzan (vacantly handsome Casper Van Dien) and Jane (nondescript Jane March) head back to the jungle homeland and encounter pillaging baddies led by Steven Waddington (used better as a more complex nasty in The Last of the Mohicans). Director Carl Schenkel's film gives Tarzan back his long-absent status as an articulate gentleman, and it contains elements of Burroughs's feverish imagination, but it dully ticks off the "adventures" without any thrilling sense of fun. Schenkel is so inattentive to detail that he would have us believe no one raises an eyebrow at the sight of a man morphing into a humongous cobra (not that the Xena-level effects help). It's blandly amusing watching Van Dien plug away ineptly at both his heroics and English accent, though this is ultimately an empty diversion for completists only. --Steve Wiecking ... Read more

Reviews (27)

A MUST for all Burroughs fans!
This is what Disney's version should have been. As well as those dreadful Weismuller movies. What a relief to see a movie Tarzan who actually speaks in complete sentences! And it was written and produced by people who actually READ the original novels. Casper Van Damme was the best Tarzan I've seen on screen, he actually made me believe him as a jungle man who had a taste of civilization. I always hated the old movies that made Tarzan look like an idiot who couldn't even talk. I also appreciated the absence of Boy and Cheetah. (no Terk either) The effects were stunning as well. Tarzan actually swang through the trees without all that silly vine nonsense. Good pulp entertainment done in the spirit of the original novels. Burroughs would have been proud.

Sluggish jungle excursion
I would like to be more enthusiastic about this movie than I actually am .As an avid Burroughsian ( Edgar Rice,that is and not the unedifying William Burroughs,whose books can only be enjoyed by those of dysfunctional social tendencies)I was pleased to see a movie adhering so relatively closely to its fictional original.
Casper Van Dien is a quite capable actor and,lack of inches not withstanding,physically right for the part
Yet it never quite got going for me .The problem I think lay partly in the acting.Jane March is a dull Jane and the villains not sufficiently menacing
So it was that the story of Tarzan's bid to foil a planned raid on the lost city of Opar never became the tale of derring-do and excitement it could and should have been It simply failed to involve me at any stage
Put it down to some dull acting and slack writing.I remain convinced that there is room for a good live action Tarzan livelier than this and miles away from the ponderous parade of piffle that was Greystoke.

Ruined by Magic and Fantasy
I watched "Tarzan and the Lost City" hoping to see something resembling the original Edgar Rice Burroughs novels. The movie portrays Tarzan much like the original character but it has lots of magic and fantasy which makes it very unlike the original books. It is not at all plausible and it completely failed for me.

One movie that came close to the original Tarzan novels was "Greystoke" The Legend of Tarzan Lord of the Apes" which was far more mature and believable. One of the producers of "Greystoke" wanted to make a sequel and after 14 years, apparently "Tarzan and the Lost City" was the result. Unfortunately, it's no "Greystoke."

Early in the movie I started to worry about plausibility when Tarzan received a message telepathically from a Zulu shaman, or whatever he's supposed to be, that the Zulus were in trouble. At that point, I thought it was the movie that was in trouble. But telepathy is far more plausible than what happened in the second half of the movie.

After Tarzan receives his message, he resolves to return to Africa. A silly lovers' quarrel ensues. I had to side with Jane in this dispute. She never told him not to go. All she wanted was for him to stay a few more days so they could have their wedding and, I assume, consummate their marriage. Considering that it took 6 weeks for Tarzan to reach his destination in Africa, would a few more days make that much difference considering that his pending marriage was at stake?

Subsequent scenes are pretty good until the movie suddenly plunges head on into complete fantasy, and all plausibility goes out the window. The TV series, "Tarzan the Epic Adventures", which aired in 1996-97 was based largely on the original Tarzan novels but it was loaded with magic and fantasy which destroyed plausibility and ruined the show for me. "Tarzan and the Lost City" did likewise.

Though this movie portrayed Tarzan much like Burroughs' original character, for some reason the filmmakers mixed in some elements of later versions of Tarzan. Tarzan's chimpanzee side-kick, for example, although he thankfully was not called Cheetah. Another unfortunate example was Tarzan's pathetic yell which was an embarrassingly bad imitation of Johnny Weismuller's yodel. The yell was a ridiculous concept in the first place. The closest thing to this that Edgar Rice Burroughs described was the victory cry of the male ape when he made a kill. It was never described as anything like a yodel and it was never anything but a victory cry. But Tarzan's yodel in the movies was able to magically impart whatever message Tarzan wished to convey. It meant "Jane, I'm home!" or "Jane, I'm coming to save you!" or "Will the nearest herd of elephants please stampede this village and set me free?! And gorillas, feel free to join in!" But this Tarzan does the yell for no apparent reason.

When we get to Opar, we see a somewhat impressive pyramid. One character in the expedition sees people walking on the steps of of the pyramid and says, "Who the Hell are they?" The chief villain, Ravens, replies, "Let's go find out." But we never do find out. We see them in strange masks lining the steps of the pyramid but we never learn anything about them. We think, "Who are these people? What are they doing? Do they do nothing but pound on drums all day? Why don't they seem to notice the expedition that is walking right past them?" So later, when one of Tarzan's friends exults in the fact that Opar is again safe, I think, "Who cares?" Ravens meets his fate soon after arriving in Opar but I have no idea what was going on in that scene except that it was bizarre and completely unbelievable.

Casper Van Dien is not a bad Tarzan. His only shortcoming, no pun intended, is his short stature. Tarzan was supposed to be about 6'3''.

Tarzan and the Lost City had some good elements, nice scenery and cinematography, but it had a lot of ridiculous elements which ruined it.

Tarzan as a late 20th-century environmental warrior
On the plus side of the ledger for "Tarzan and the Lost City," the 1998 revival of the Tarzan character, is the fact that somewhere along the line screenwriters Baynard Johnson and J. Anderson Black actually read some of the original Edgar Rice Burroughs stories. This is because when this Tarzan (Casper Van Dien) is not in the jungle he really is John Clayton, Lord Greystroke, articulate, well read, and fluent in several languages. Of course, this time around his intended, Lady Jane Porter (Jane March), is English and not American, but consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.

The film starts days before the wedding when way off in darkest Africa bad guy Nigel Ravens (Steven Waddington), stumbles upon the legendary lost city of Opar. This time around instead of being the forgotten mining colony of Atlantis, Opar is the cradle of civilization (keep in mind that ERB would have thought it was the Fertile Crescent). When Ravens and his thugs start throwing their weight around in Opar, the old shaman sends a mystical message to Tarzan, who comes running back to the jungle. Of course Jane follows her beloved because if anybody is going to get rescued in this film by Tarzan it is going to be her. Above all, Tarzan seems to be a champion of the environment, which is not exactly news to anybody who read the original novels.

Casper Van Dien has the sculptured bronze body for Tarzan, which director Carl Schenkel reminds us of time and time again with lingering camera shots. However, nobody in this film is really motivated to do any serious acting, including the guys in the ape suits. It suddenly strikes me that all the Tarzan novels and Tarzan movies that have come out in the last 100 years have merged into one giant story where bad white men come into the jungle and Tarzan stops them, rescuing Jane along the way. You can change why the bad guys have come into the jungle (gold, slaves, animals, etc.) and change the damsel in distress from Jane to somebody else, but it is the rare Tarzan adventure that violates this formula (e.g., "Tarzan's New York Adventure" turns the jungle into the Big Apple and has Tarzan traveling there to rescue Boy, which would be the exception that proves the rule).

To be fair, this film is aimed at kids, who could still be intrigued by the idea of Tarzan and not know what they are missing in terms of the character's rich legacy. There is lots of action, which is always a good thing in a Tarzan movie, and the scenery is pretty good. Not quite as good as "Greystroke: The Legend of Tarzan Lord of the Apes," but still way above average for a Tarzan movie. The violence is acceptable for kids, although the final fate of the villain might be one of those scenes too intense for small children. If the standard is all the Tarzan films that have come before, then this one is average and in color.

WHY IS THIS ON DVD instead of GREYSTOKE?
This film was lame, WHY ISN'T GREYSTOKE ON DVD? The Greystoke film is far better than Tarzan and the Lost City, so why can't Warner Bros. do everyone a favor and release Greystoke on DVD? ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Do you want nightmares?
If you do, get this movie as nightmares are almost guaranteed. I saw it with some college friends about eight years ago. It took about five years until the nightmares stopped. I cannot think back on this movie with any sort of fondness. The murders are quite gruesome.

The only thing that I feel was well done was how the writer seemed to get into the mind of a serial killer, but that also concerns me. My mind just does not think in that sort of mode.

While I am not a great player, I like the game of chess. I feel this movie did the game and those who play a really bad stereotype.

Avoid this movie. It is not worth the time or stress.

Check -- mate?
A children's chess tournament. Two boys facing each other in the final game, intently staring at each other and the chess board between them. They make their moves and register their time. Ultimately, one of them has to concede defeat. Facing "check" twice and almost out of time, he topples his king. And assaults his adversary. A doctor recommends that he not ever be allowed near a chess board while he is treated for his "condition."

Years later, another chess tournament. Grand master Peter Sanderson (Christopher Lambert) is in attendance, making a surprise return after three years' retirement. He easily wins the first rounds. After dinner with daughter Erica (whose only parent he is) and a strategy session with his advisor, Sanderson concludes the evening with a few steamy hours with a sensuous blonde ... and the psychopath who will soon hold the community in thrall has found his first target. When the woman is found murdered, gruesomely dressed up in death and the word "Remember" written on the wall above her in blood, Sanderson initially denies having been with her. This, and his arrogant demeanor towards the policemen investigating the crime - particularly, Detective Andy Wagner (Daniel Baldwin) - makes him an instant suspect. But is Sanderson the psychopath? Or is he, as appearances would have it, the psychopath's true target?

In a grisly game of strategy in which a city is turned into a chess board and women living in the target areas of town (attractive blondes all of them) are the chess pieces, Sanderson and the police hunt a serial killer who always seems to be one step ahead of them. While Detective Wagner never loses his suspicion of Sanderson, his newly minted boss, Captain Frank Sedman (Tom Skerritt) reluctantly comes to the conclusion that since the clues provided by the killer are based on chess references and directed to none other than Sanderson himself, they will not be able to solve the case without his help. Yet, for a long time the grand master, too, seems unable to decipher the killer's clues, and the meaning of the words written above the dead body of each of his victims. - How many women will have to die before his identity is revealed? Will he ever be caught? Will psychologist Kathy Sheppard (Diane Lane), brought in by the police to determine if Sanderson himself fits their suspect's profile, end up as one of his victims?

"Knight Moves" is a suspenseful thriller, intelligently built on the patterns of the royal game of strategy itself, and in which the audience is kept on their toes until the very end. Christopher Lambert in particular is believable as the astute, arrogant Sanderson, who hides his personal fears and insecurities under a mask of unapproachability which only one person seems to be able to pierce - his daughter Erica. His face-offs with Daniel Baldwin alias Detective Wagner, sarcastic and spewing barely controlled rage at each other, are among the highlights of the movie; in addition, of course, to the mind game itself which the killer plays with his hunters and, by extension, with the audience. While it is clear that the solution has to have something to do with the fateful game played by those two boys so long ago, all elements of the story are only connected up in the final scenes ... which are, however, unfortunately somewhat overplayed and emphasize gore more than psychology and hence, are a bit of a let-down. This, and the relationship soon forming between Sanderson and Sheppard, which doesn't entirely work for me (strangely enough, since Lambert and Lane were married at the time) are the only detractors I find in this movie. Overall, however, "Knight Moves" would have deserved much more attention than it has received since its 1992 cinematic release.

Love the movie. Hate the DVD.
This movie has ranked among my favorites since the first time I saw it. It's a great suspense thriller that keeps you guessing until the very end. I was eager to add it to my DVD collection, so I ordered it as soon as it came out.

Imagine my disappointment in seeing this DVD. The transfer is horrible. This disc was released in the first quarter of 2001 -- over a year after Anamorphic Widescreen became the accepted standard for DVD -- and not only is this transfer not anamorphic, but it is worse quality than the VHS I have seen. There are a number of glitches in the transfer, including some that look as though the transfer was done from a damaged source negative -- maybe even from the VHS itself.

On top of that, the disc has NO special features. Even the VHS version had a making-of documentary after the credits rolled! It's hard to believe that transfers with quality this poor are still being released today. If the studio doesn't care enough to do it right, then why do it at all?

In summary, I highly recommend this movie.

Very good until the end...the ending killed it.
Very good thriller/mystery until the very end. Now, how did the killer talk on the phone with Lambert and be with Lambert at the same time? As far as I can see, it is never explained, which means that the finale failed miserably.

Knight Moves Is One Of Lamberts Best, But Where's The DVD?
Quite honestly, this is one of Mr. Lambert's best films, just below Greystoke, Highlander and Fortress. Shot in Super 35 means the film has an aspect ratio of about 2:35.1 (like Star Wars). The laserdisc was the only widescreen version released but is now no longer available. To truly appreciate the film you need to see it in the widescreen (or letterboxed) format. I am hoping, whenever they get around to it, Republican Pictures will release the film on DVD so everyone can see what I'm talking about and perhaps include the trailer and that small featurette that was put on the initial Video releases (coming on right after the film had ended). As for the film itself, about a psychopathic killer who, it seems, wants to frame Peter (Lambert) for the murders of unsuspecting, beautiful women, as well as play a sick game with him in the process, Christoph (as he is known in France) keeps you interested and personally I think that's superb, considering for certain scenes he's playing chess. It's his facial expressions that keep you interested, rather than the game itself. Daniel Baldwin (John Carpenter's Vampires) stands out as the antagonistic cop who doesn't like Lambert at all and personally, it seems, would like nothing more than to see him behind bars (or dead). Diane Lane (Judge Dredd, The Perfect Storm) does an alright job playing the psychologist who is trying to figure out whether Peter is psychotic or not and the film takes some interesting twists and turns in that avenue (which propells the film instead of takeing away from it). The chemistry between them is apparent because they were married shortly before (meeting each other on an earlier film called, Priceless Beauty). Tom Skerritt (not Selleck, as a previous reviewer had indicated) plays the head of the police investigation with Baldwin as his partner. Honestly, when first viewing the film I had no idea who the killer was. That's what's great about the movie, it really does keep you guessing. At one point you think you've got it figured out and then it blows your mind and goes in a completely different direction, while still maintaining it's appeal. Knight Moves is the best chess movie(with suspense) I've ever seen. Check it out. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

he's got a killer beside manner
This Canadian horror film from director Carl Schenkel uses elements of the Frankenstein story, even featuring a Dr Stein, with experimental procedures that remain unapproved because of their side effects and a pioneering doctor who has "genius beneath the madness". We also get a touch of The Phantom of the Opera with the doctor now haunting the morgue of the hospital he had practiced at, and of course continuing his work. Schenkel has some skill in creating suspense, also injecting some comic shocks, but by the time we are chasing the killer in the unused basement of the hospital (why do horror movie hospitals always have unused basements?) the mad/genius doctor's efforts to rejuvinate himself alas does not help to rejuvinate the audience. I am not educated enough to know how scientifically valid the doctor's theories are (that pituitary extract culture can be used for muscle fibre and bone regeneration), though I am morally aware enough to question his rationale of using terminal patients in the same way the Nazi's used death camp inmates. Schenkel opens with a lightning benefited Whatever Happened to Baby Jane black an white camp sequence, which introduces his taste for gore and sadism, and the camera's style of overview prefigures the killer's fondness for jumping onto his victims. But it also sets up false expectations - the use of a lollipop becomes a red herring, though perhaps this in itself allows us to accept Schenkel abandoning the plot of another doctor's experimental procedures, with a baboon, no less. The only time the opening campy tone is repeated is in the over-the-top touches of the performance of Sean Haberle as the doctor. The superhuman qualities of the cliched serial killer/slasher are reinforced by Haberle's use of the stolen pituitary gland extract, yet his continual need for rejuvination because of sustained injuries is a running gag, and his look to the camera at one point is hard to read. Otherwise we get the standard heavy-breathing on the soundtrack and schlock music score. There is a restaurant sequence with a walltank of upstaging whales, a grotesque sewing up of the mouth of an actor using an alien accent, a full frontal nude shot of James Remar in a pool, and a nifty strategy for overcoming the obstacle for finger print security. We also get a laugh line in a police interview with "You'll have to speak up. The tape doesn't record gestures". As the heroine, one's assessment of the performance of Isabel Glasser may be influenced by how one views doctors. Are they ordinary people who can act like clutzes or gifted heroes with a right to be arrogant? Glasser's big moment comes with a memory speech where her mascara tears ruin her perfect glazed makeup, but her deliverance remains stoic, as if the tears do not belong to her. Perhaps she obtains our empathy because the only other character with equal screen time is the killer, though she looks awfully silly when she runs, and I don't think I'd choose her as a consultant.

Not much as far as horror
Of course "the Surgeon" is a low budget film but what is a horror movie without suspense? This film had it's share of gore and murder but it all came with a yawn. The main characters were underdeveloped so when they meet their end the veiwer could hardly care less. The story had possibilities but just didn't follow through. Some low budget films turn out to be some of the best in the horror genre but this is not one of them. The DVD has scene selection and that is all. That could be a blessing. I dont think anyone would care to hear a commentary track on how this 'gem' got made.

A good film
I have bought this film in german, because im a german. it is a good film, but in germany it has not the name "the surgeon", it has the name "exquisite tenderness". The Director Carl Shenkel is a good director. when you like horror films, see this film.

An exceptionally good direct-to-video Horror film
I saw this film a couple of years ago on HBO and loved it. I very much enjoy direct-to-video horror films and The Surgeon did not disappoint. I definitely would want this film in my horror collection. An interesting double feature would be the horrifyingly good The Dentist. Both are among the best in direct-to-video horror.

It was a good movie
it wasn't as good as some of the other horror movies i have seen but still good ... Read more

Reviews (5)

he's got a killer beside manner
This Canadian horror film from director Carl Schenkel uses elements of the Frankenstein story, even featuring a Dr Stein, with experimental procedures that remain unapproved because of their side effects and a pioneering doctor who has "genius beneath the madness". We also get a touch of The Phantom of the Opera with the doctor now haunting the morgue of the hospital he had practiced at, and of course continuing his work. Schenkel has some skill in creating suspense, also injecting some comic shocks, but by the time we are chasing the killer in the unused basement of the hospital (why do horror movie hospitals always have unused basements?) the mad/genius doctor's efforts to rejuvinate himself alas does not help to rejuvinate the audience. I am not educated enough to know how scientifically valid the doctor's theories are (that pituitary extract culture can be used for muscle fibre and bone regeneration), though I am morally aware enough to question his rationale of using terminal patients in the same way the Nazi's used death camp inmates. Schenkel opens with a lightning benefited Whatever Happened to Baby Jane black an white camp sequence, which introduces his taste for gore and sadism, and the camera's style of overview prefigures the killer's fondness for jumping onto his victims. But it also sets up false expectations - the use of a lollipop becomes a red herring, though perhaps this in itself allows us to accept Schenkel abandoning the plot of another doctor's experimental procedures, with a baboon, no less. The only time the opening campy tone is repeated is in the over-the-top touches of the performance of Sean Haberle as the doctor. The superhuman qualities of the cliched serial killer/slasher are reinforced by Haberle's use of the stolen pituitary gland extract, yet his continual need for rejuvination because of sustained injuries is a running gag, and his look to the camera at one point is hard to read. Otherwise we get the standard heavy-breathing on the soundtrack and schlock music score. There is a restaurant sequence with a walltank of upstaging whales, a grotesque sewing up of the mouth of an actor using an alien accent, a full frontal nude shot of James Remar in a pool, and a nifty strategy for overcoming the obstacle for finger print security. We also get a laugh line in a police interview with "You'll have to speak up. The tape doesn't record gestures". As the heroine, one's assessment of the performance of Isabel Glasser may be influenced by how one views doctors. Are they ordinary people who can act like clutzes or gifted heroes with a right to be arrogant? Glasser's big moment comes with a memory speech where her mascara tears ruin her perfect glazed makeup, but her deliverance remains stoic, as if the tears do not belong to her. Perhaps she obtains our empathy because the only other character with equal screen time is the killer, though she looks awfully silly when she runs, and I don't think I'd choose her as a consultant.

Not much as far as horror
Of course "the Surgeon" is a low budget film but what is a horror movie without suspense? This film had it's share of gore and murder but it all came with a yawn. The main characters were underdeveloped so when they meet their end the veiwer could hardly care less. The story had possibilities but just didn't follow through. Some low budget films turn out to be some of the best in the horror genre but this is not one of them. The DVD has scene selection and that is all. That could be a blessing. I dont think anyone would care to hear a commentary track on how this 'gem' got made.

A good film
I have bought this film in german, because im a german. it is a good film, but in germany it has not the name "the surgeon", it has the name "exquisite tenderness". The Director Carl Shenkel is a good director. when you like horror films, see this film.

An exceptionally good direct-to-video Horror film
I saw this film a couple of years ago on HBO and loved it. I very much enjoy direct-to-video horror films and The Surgeon did not disappoint. I definitely would want this film in my horror collection. An interesting double feature would be the horrifyingly good The Dentist. Both are among the best in direct-to-video horror.

It was a good movie
it wasn't as good as some of the other horror movies i have seen but still good ... Read more