Why Didn't They Offer This To Brian DePalma, Or Somebody?

There must be a reason this first-rate scenario -- along with a first-rate cast -- wound up in the hands of a James Goldstone, whose directing skills were flaccid to say the least. At every turn I could envision this in the hands of an early DePalma, who would then have been coasting on the success of "Carrie" and might have brought dazzling pyrotechnical skill to a high-tension cliffhanger like this.

It reminds me of John Avildsen's "The Formula": ambitious story, high-powered cast, strong musical score. That film, too, was a waste of great potential. The studio was obviously counting on the material so good it basically directs itself, like Day of the Jackal.

That said, this IS worth watching, and Bottoms is distinctively creepy as a domestic terrorist.



There, daddy, do I get a gold star?