Flanagan
(John McLaughlin) is a wealthy laundromat owner whose getting hit hard by the
IRS. Meanwhile, his philandering wife Kathleen
(Ghoulies 4’s Barbara Alyn Woods) continues to blow money at the casino, which
threatens to put him deeper in debt. He
pays a gangster to rough up his wife’s boyfriend up a little, just to teach him
a lesson. Unbeknownst to Flanagan, a
crew of kidnappers has just grabbed the guy and they’re expecting a hefty
ransom.
Lust
and Murder on the Las Vegas Strip is moderately well done on a low budget. The cast, which consists of actors with just
familiar enough faces, and some not-bad amateurs and/or local talent, is
certainly game. Ron (The Fugitive) Dean
in particular commands the screen as the one kidnapper who’s on his last
job. Woods has a lot of presence as well
and shares a few good scenes with Hillary Tuck, who plays her suspicious
stepdaughter. It was also nice seeing
Poltergeist’s Zelda Rubinstein popping up at the end as an IRS agent.
The
cast’s noble efforts are ultimately for naught as they are let down by the
predictable script. Writer/director Tom Whitus
was also unable to make the tension pop as the various shootouts and plot
twists fall flat. It’s especially telling
that the scenes of the kidnappers sitting around and busting each other’s balls
while playing poker is a lot more engaging than the rote scenes of them double-crossing
and shooting at one another.
AKA: The Wild Card.
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