In the eighties, the serial killer subgenre upgraded its position within the thriller genre, together with other subgenres such as bombastic gangster epics (Scarface), and court crime novels. Brian De Palma was the one who coined the genre with his Hitchcock and Antonioni touches, but then there came the lousy exploitational underground ("Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer") Historically speaking, it was "The Mean Season" that started the combination of violent criminals and information media and their reciprocal dependency relationshipsIn Florida, a serial killer named Alan Delour (Richard Jordan) begins to perpetrate his bloody bustle. Immediately after his first murder, he includes the newspaper journalist Malcolm Anderson (Kurt Russell) in his perfidious game: Anderson gets his information first-hand while the killer can capture the hoped-for media attention. Anderson tries to work hand in hand with police officers (Andy Garcia, Richard Bradford), but Delour proves to be smarter. When Delour kidnaps Anderson's girlfriend, the teacher Christine (Mariel Hemingway), the situation deteriorates. The phrase "Mean Season" refers to both the killer's meanness and to Florida's late summer dog days, the time in which sultry climate can suddenly turn into strong storms that pull up from the Gulf Stream. Kurt Russell is sufficient in the lead. Mariel Hemingway not perfect for the role of the kidnapped girlfriend. The result is utterly routine, but not a complete disappointment from director Philip Borsos.
Review of The Mean Season
