Hit List (1989)

In 1989 film-maker William Lustig had made a sleeper in the shape of the serial-killer thriller Relentless, but also that year he did the worthwhile low-budget action-thriller Hit List, which kind of went by unnoticed between the likes of Relentless and the Maniac Cop features.

A mafia boss organises the hit/child kidnaping of a former associate turned witness under police custody, but unbeknown to the hired hitman, he takes out the wrong people and kidnaps the wrong son. The father of the snatched child comes home to find his friend dead, his pregnant wife injured and his son gone. The FBI wants the mafia to believe they have the witness' son, so their witness can still testify, but this means putting the father of missing child behind bars until that happens. Overhearing the plans, he flees and kidnaps the FBI’s witness in the hope of tracking down his son.



Hit Listis systematic as can be with its genre staples, but director Lustig does a competently slick job and the mouth-watering cast of character actors he had at his disposal simply aimed up. Well, everyone expect for their lead; a drunk Jan-Michael Vincent. So this spelt constant troubles around the production. Even post-production, when all of Vincent’s dialogues were re-dubbed. Honestly, I didn’t mind Vincent’s performance, even if it’s mainly him inquiring “Where’s my kid”?, but it did feel a bit uneven. So this meant a lot fell onto the surrounding cast; Lance Henriksen, Leo Rossi, Charles Napier, Rip Torn, Ken Learner and Harold Sylvester. Henriksen is certainly unforgettable as the deadly hit-man, who also happens to be a lady’s shoe salesman by trade. After you see this guy go to work... you wouldn’t you dare ask for a discount? It’s a great, nasty bad guy turn! Rossi is in good form as the humorous wise-guy/informant. Enough so, Lustig would cast him again in his following film; Relentless. An excellent Napier gives a crusty turn as the FBI agent and Torn adds plenty of weight and fire to his Mafia boss caricature.



The support cast are excellent and they needed to be, as the pulpy plot was basic and somewhat unspectacular even with its few suspenseful set-pieces and tough brutality (e.g. a shootout in a kid's laser zone, where everyone obliviously goes about their business?!). It doesn't entirely go all-out, as the hardy script does take its time by opening up with a bit of character drama, yet Lustig’s taut, go-for-broke execution of the stunt work amplified the intensity where the story lacked. I wouldn’t call the action frequent and gangbusters, but it’s serviceable and well-paced. This really comes to show, in its absurd climax, providing ample excitement with some fatal stunt-car driving and agile photography. It won’t blow you away, but this urban action-thriller remains gripping to the very end.