Ruben Castle (Robert Urich, "The Ice Pirates") is a recovering alcoholic and burnt-out former NYC cop who relocates to a small community in Colorado, with his bratty, rebellious daughter (Marin Kanter, "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains") in tow. With the help of the local sheriff (JoBeth Williams, "Poltergeist") and his old pal, newspaperman Joe Hiatt (Paul Dooley, "Breaking Away"), Ruben gets caught up in a bizarre local story: cattle are repeatedly, mysteriously being mutilated by some shadowy force. Could it be the work of human, or alien, perpetrators?
While this is no classic waiting to be re-discovered, or the debacle some people may lead you to believe it is, I found it to be a reasonably engrossing conspiracy thriller, decently directed by cult favorite Alan Rudolph ("Choose Me", "Trouble in Mind"). It is true that it's not all that suspenseful, or surprising, but I did like the story, and the nefarious, ruthless nature of the antagonists. I also liked the fact that our heroes didn't have a definitive plan of action for a while, given that they weren't sure HOW to proceed. The lovely Williams is engaging right from the start, but it takes a long time (until the second half) to warm up to Urichs' Castle character; he's a surly jerk who doesn't try very hard to stay on the wagon.
But the two of them ARE very well supported by a solid cast of familiar faces: Peter Coyote ("Jagged Edge"), Hoyt Axton ("Gremlins"), Gailard Sartain ("Mississippi Burning"), Dan Hedaya ("Blood Simple"), Harry Carey Jr. ("The Searchers"), John Considine (a regular in Rudolphs' films), Patrick Houser ("Hot Dog...The Movie"), etc. Actor turned softcore auteur / executive producer of this film Zalman King ("Wild Orchid") has a cameo at the outset, Urichs' wife Heather Menzies ("Piranha") has the small role of Susan, and Bill Moseley ("The Devils' Rejects") made his film debut here as a cabbie.
With an amusing electronic score by Gary Wright (yeah, the Gary Wright who did the song "Dream Weaver"), this entertains sufficiently, working its way towards a decent, atmospheric finale - albeit one that may not completely satisfy some viewers. Location shooting in Wyoming and Colorado is a definite asset.
Seven out of 10.
