Relentless

Directed by William Lustig, Relentless follows two detectives (Leo Rossi’s Sam Dietz and Robert Loggia’s Bill Malloy) as they attempt to find a vicious serial killer (Judd Nelson’s Arthur Taylor) before he strikes again. It’s fairly standard thriller territory that’s employed to watchable (and periodically electrifying) effect by Lustig, as the filmmaker, armed with Phil Alden Robinson’s screenplay, delivers a briskly-paced endeavor that benefits from its almost inherently compelling subject matter and raft of compelling performances – with, in terms of the latter, the movie’s success due in no small part to the irresistible buddy-cop chemistry between Dietz and Loggia’s respective figures. (It doesn’t hurt, either, that Nelson turns in suitably creepy work as the unhinged antagonist.) And although the picture admittedly does peter out slightly in the buildup to its exciting climax (ie the disappearance of a key character adversely affects the film’s forward momentum, ultimately), Relentless does, for the most part, come off as an entertaining serial-killer thriller that fares better than one might’ve initially anticipated.

*** out of ****