Jack's Back is an odd movie and kind of deceiving. You see, no one in their right mind is gonna market a movie this complicated. So what the box tells you is that Jack's Back is about a murderer mimicking the Jack The Ripper slayings of a century ago. Well, that's only half the movie. Really just 1/3. Jack's Back is a murder mystery turned revenge noir turned suspense thriller that manages to avoid drowning itself in murky plot, pointless subplot, or endless dialogue in an attempt to competently tell the story and wrap everything up in the end. From the title and basic premise of the film one may think it's just your basic slasher type/murder mystery exploitation stuff that was being recycled and rehashed endlessly during the period when this movie was released. If so, you're wrong...

Writer/director Rowdy Herrington gives us a strong, well developed script with great characters and memorable situations. His ability to shift from a murder mystery to revenge flick to thriller deserves major acclaim. Props to Herrington for creating such likeable and complex characters in the process. From a directing standpoint, Herrington gives the movie a moody and uneasy atmosphere, blanketing it in thick fog and laying on a soft, soporific score to boot. Love that song "Red Harvest," too.

James Spader delivers a layered and very strong duel performance that engaged me and kept my eyes glued to the screen. Cynthia Gibb gives a strong performance as well. I dug how the script didn't go into familiar romantic territory even though Spader and Gibb have great chemistry together, the story didn't need it.

It was great to watch a movie with such a dense storyline that never forget what it was supposed to do - entertain. I was intrigued and fascinated with the story, performances, and Herrington's ability to construct such a multi-layered plot and still find a way to pull it all together. Jack's Back isn't conventional in the least, it marches to its own drum, has class, and is well written, acted and directed. Check it out!