KNIGHT MOVES (1992)

MORGAN'S RATING

At a posh seaside resort, during a world chess championship, the police find themselves baffled by a series of bizarre ritualistic murders. And all the evidence points to chess master Peter Sanderson. So police Chief Frank Sedman and detective Andy Wagner call in psychologist Kathy Sheppard to examine the mind of their suspect. But when the body count rises, the police come to rely on Sanderson's sharp intelligence to steer them in the right direction. And when Kathy and her mysterious subject become romantically involved, a startling revelation threatens to change the rules of the game.

Christopher Lambert (Peter Sanderson), Diane Lane (Kathy Sheppard), Tom Skerritt (Capt. Frank Sedman), Daniel Baldwin (Det. Andy Wagner), Codie Lucas Wilbee (David, 9 Years Old), Josh Murray (Peter, 14 Years Old), Frank C. Turner (Doctor), Don Thompson (Father), Megan Leitch (Mother), Alex Diakun (Grandmaster Lutz), Ferdy Mayne (Jeremy Edmonds), Katharine Isabelle (Erica Sanderson), Mark Wilson (Newscaster), Kehli O'Byrne (Debi Rutlege), Blu Mankuma (Steve Nolan), Monica Marko (Miss Greenwell), Walter Marsh (Chess President), Charles Bailey-Gates (David Willerman), Arthur Brauss (Viktor Yurilivich), Suzy Carby (Desk Clerk), Sam Malkin (Doctor Fulton), Elizabeth Baldwin (Christine Eastman), Dwight McFee (Technician), Pat Bermel, Holly Chester (Officers), Elizabeth Barclay (Loraine Olson), Rebecca Toolan (Mayor), Aundrea MacDonald (Mary Albert), Freda Perry (Attractive Girl), Marilyn Norry (Nomesearcher).

IN THE GAME OF LIFE AND DEATH, ONE WRONG MOVE COULD BE HIS LAST.

FACTS

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

RELEASE DATE: January 22nd, 1993 (USA) BOX OFFICE OPENING: $459,900  (USA)  BOX OFFICE RESULT: $923,418 (USA)

DIRECTOR: Carl Schenkel. WRITER: Brad Mirman. PRODUCERS: Jean-Luc Defait and Zaid El Khoury. CO-PRODUCER: Dieter Geissler. EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Guy Collins, Christopher Lambert and Brad Mirman. LINE PRODUCER: Gordon Mark. ORIGINAL MUSIC: Anne Dudley. DISTRIBUTOR: Interstar.

QUOTES

David's Father: I've got a drunk for a wife and a lunatic for a son. I don't need this shit anymore. You're crazy, both of you.

David: Pain. Pain is just a state of mind. It's something you learn to live with; I have.

CRITICAL COMMENTS

David: Do you think that I put you through some big ordeal. It is nothing compared to what you have caused me. In your eyes, I was just another small town boy to be crushed beneath the shoes of the great child genius. Peter Sanderson: Nothing I could have done to you, nothing warrants what you did. David: Pain is relative, remember. You can not judge mine.

"Pulp thriller for Lambert fans." -- Kevin A. Ranson, Moviecrypt.com

"It's possible to view Knight Moves as an example of experimental cinema -- that is, as an attempt by its star to make it through the entire film without once changing expression." -- Hal Hinton, Washington Post

"The fabric of Knight Moves is woven out of cliches. Plot elements have been borrowed for almost every mystery and thriller ever filmed." -- James Berardinelli, Reel Views

Peter: You couldn't find your dick in a windstorm.

Grandmater Lutz: You're acting like a superstitious school boy, Peter. What's next, incense and Rosary beads?

"One thing Knight Moves proves is that no amount of chilling music, wild camera movements or intense direction can make a chess game exciting...boasts the same kind of illogical plotting, idiotic motivation and ridiculous dialogue." -- Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Captain Frank Sedman: What about Huxley? What is that? Peter: He was referring to a quote by Thomas Huxley, "The chessboard is the world...the rules of the game are what we call nature. The player on the other side is hidden from us but we know that his play is always fair, just, and patient. We also know that he never overlooks a mistake.