Reviews: Jack's Back (1988) Movie Review
Genres: Horror, Thriller, Mystery, Crime
Subgenres: Killer, Mystery, Drama, Dysfunctional Family, Madness
Our review of Jack's Back (1988) dives into the story, the scares, and whether it truly delivers the horror fans crave.
Jack’s Back (1988) is an American mystery thriller horror movie that surprised me of how well it was. My expectations were below average towards this movie, but it was better than I thought. Director and writer Rowdy Herrington (Striking Distance (1993), Road House (1989), Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004), A Murder of Crows (1998)) did an incredible job executing his crime thriller movie. The movie contains a lot of violence, minor s**ual language, blood, bad language, dialogue about a prostitute, suspense, and minor frights.
Jack’s Back revolves around a copycat killer recreating Jack the Ripper’s murders in Los Angeles after 100 years. Rick’s (James Spader - Boston Legal (2004), Stargate (1994), Lincoln (2012), Secretary (2002)) twin brother is mistakenly identified as the killer. Rick is on a mission to clear his brother’s name resulting in him encountering the real murderer and putting himself in danger. The copycat killer is replicating the exact details of the murders including the type of victims, how the body was placed and incisions made on the victims bodies. Rick is a young residence doctor administering free healthcare to the homeless and less fortunate. John is the complete opposite of Rick and has a carefree attitude. There is a love interest in the movie, and one of the brother ends up dying, but I cannot say too much or it will spoil the movie for those who want to see it. The movie is a great entertaining watch that will get you using your noggin to figure out who the killer is. I was wrong a few times and did not see the ultimate twist amongst a few other plot twists.
The action sequences are choreographed extremely good, and James Spader did an amazing job playing the double role as a good and evil twin brother. I applaud the cinematographer, makeup department, special effects team and editor for doing an excellent job. The creepy atmosphere made the movie into a more intense watch. Overall, I would recommend all horror fans to watch this movie.
Sources Used to Shape This Review
Insights in this review are drawn from director interviews, fan commentary, production notes, and long-form breakdowns across genre-specific platforms. Content is written uniquely and reviewed for accuracy.
- Jack's Back Rating Scores
- Our Score: 6/10
- Overall Score: 6.29/10
- IMDB: 5.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 7.1/10
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