Messenger Of Death
(1988)
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Religious fanaticism and corporate greed lace a tale of murder within a renegade Mormon sect. What the cops can't do to solve the crime, an intrepid reporter takes upon himself, with violent results. Charles Bronson and director J. Lee Thompson are teamed once again in this action/mystery set in the Colorado mountains. |
The title promises the usual Charles Bronson bloodfest. Hang on a minute, though: the script is by Paul Jarrico, a mild-mannered intellectual who was blacklisted and then produced the provocative, Union-financed Salt of the Earth. This was Jarrico's final screen credit. Bronson plays a Denver crime reporter whose investigation of a multiple killing leads him into Mormon society and a family who seem to be ritualistically following the examples of Cain and Abel. Veteran British director J Lee Thompson juggles the various elements — mystery, biblical allegory, bloody thriller — with great assurance.