Trespasses (1986) User Reviews

We all have to start somewhere

[bkoganbing · 2/10 · 14 September 2006]

The miracle out of all this is that Lou Diamond Phillips actually had a career after this one. And since he co-wrote it, he's got more responsibility than as a player only.

It's just bad, bad directing, lousy photography and acting that's about the level of a high school play. How did they ever rope Ben Johnson into that small role as the leading lady's father?

Two drifters, Lou Diamond Phillips and Adam Roarke who was Lou's acting teacher and mentor, come to town and wreak havoc, killing one man's son and raping the leading lady. The husband of the leading lady unbeknownst to all, saw the whole thing and did nothing.

Sharing in a joint tragedy, the rape victim and the man draw close and begin an affair. That leads to some rather bizarre consequences.

Good thing Lou, went on to much better things.

Bad, bad, bad movie, but.....

[johnboy1 · 3/10 · 9 January 2005]

This is a classic example of a "B" movie. It has it all...bad dialog, bad acting, bad directing, and bad acting. Is it worth watching? Well, maybe.

Even good old Ben Johnson doesn't help, as he seems to realize what a turkey this movie really is. Shame, as he was a fine actor.

The story involves a small Texas town, in which a couple of lowlifes rape a woman and murder a young man (right in front of his father). The man's murder is one of the most intense, well-made scenes I've ever seen, and is the best part of the movie, IMHO. Unfortunately, the rest of the film pales by comparison.

The dead man's father seeks justice, and will stop at nothing until he gets it.

In the end, as you would expect, the bad guys get what's coming to them.

The real reason that this film might be of interest is the Lou Diamond Phillips connection (billed as Lou Diamond here). He co-wrote the screenplay, and plays one of the two bad guys. His performance in the movie is the best in the film, and might be worth watching, for that alone. Ironically, the only other exceptional performance is young Thom Meyers, as the unfortunate son, since both actors die in a similar fashion in the film.

All in all, it's a boring film, worth watching for Phillip's and Meyer's performances, but little else.

Original Title

[Ilabeth · 7/10 · 1 September 2005]

This movie was originally made as "Not For You", and it did not contain the exact graphic rape and murder scenes, as seen in Trespasses. We were told that nobody would pick up the film unless it carried an R rating, so it was rewritten, re-shot, and re-released as Trespasses. While the addition of Lou Diamond helped with sales in Latin-American countries, I prefer the original working title and script. I played Ilabeth Dempsey, and it was a wonderful experience, both as an actress, and to be part of a group that was desperately working to make Texas the 3rd coast production area it so richly deserved. I only wish people could have seen the rough cut of the original movie. The acting, directing, and crew people are some of the finest people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing and working with. If the public knew the budget constraints, as well as all the other obstacles of making a small independent film, I believe they would be kinder, and find the proper context for reviewing this movie.

Unconvincing melodrama

[lor_ · 19 March 2023]

My review was written in August 1987 after watching the movie on Academy video cassette.

"Trepasses" is a Texas-made melodrama that proves that the lightning that made "Blood Simple" a sleeper hit doesn't necessarily strike twice. Filmmaker Loren Bivens is working from similar hothouse material but fails to come up with the style and thrills of the earlier Coen Bros. Effort. Pic was shot in 1983 under the moniker "Forgive Us Our Trespasses".

Executive produce Robert Kuhn toplines as Franklin Ramsey, a simple cattle farmer who, in a poorly integrated prolog, learns the perils of being a good samaritan, when he and his son Johnny (Thom Meyer) fifht with two thugs (co-director Adam Roarke and co-writer Lou Diamond Phillips) who are raping neighbor Mary Pillot at her farm. Phillips kills Johnny and the thugs escape.

Six months later, the killers are still on the loose. Pillot's dad (Ben Johnson), who runs the local bank, dies, leaving her Yankee husband (Van Brooks) in charge.

Melodramatic gimmick that makes the plot tick is that Pillot and Kuhn feel a bond from the traumatic rape incident and fall in love. Hubby Brooks actually witnessed the rape but was too gutless to help out. When he finds out about the adulterous affair he seeks revenge. Totally improbable twist has Roarke and Phillips, fresh from a police lineup, hired by Brooks to poison Kuhn's cattle. Kuhn catches the thugs in the act, kills them in self-defense and plot unravels as Brooks spirals to suicide.

Acting is way too lowkey by the leads, especially comatose Kuhn and Brooks. With a mournful musical score, picture is sleep-inducing rather than suspenseful. Only point of interest is the presence of Phillips, currently the hot star as Richie Valens in "La Bamba", very convincing with a mustache as an evil young heavy.