Stressed out LA detective John Berlin gets too near the edge following the destruction of his marriage and decides to leave the violence an un-ending hub-bub of the big city and take a job in the supposedly quiet northern tow of Eureka. Unfortunately, he isn't there long before he finds himself obsessed with pursuing a serial killer with a thing for blind young women. The case isn't new and Berlin's old-time buddy, Freddy Ross and his boys have spent the last six months investigating a string of seven murders. They have dubbed the case "Jennifer 8" because Berlin is positive that he knows the identity of the next victim. She is beautiful blind student Helena Robertson, the roommate of the latest victim. As he steps up his investigation, Berlin finds himself falling for Helena. Meanwhile, he has become so obsessed with finding the killer that pal Ross begins worrying that Berlin is having a breakdown and so goes with him on a late night surveillance of Helena's school. A tragedy ensues leaving Berlin to not only go it alone, but also to clear his own name. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Review by All Movie Guide
All Movie Guide
lost interest.
After his critically acclaimed debut, Withnail & I, and his disturbingly odd sophomore effort,
How to Get Ahead in Advertising, audiences were surely expecting some sort of offbeat comedy from filmmaker
Bruce Robinson. But having in mind the fact that he'd written the scripts for dramatic fare like
The Killing Fields and
Fat Man and Little Boy likely didn't prepare moviegoers for this by-the-book serial-killer thriller. With enough chemistry between
Andy Garcia and
Uma Thurman to keep one interested in the characters, a compelling little performance by
John Malkovich (who seems like he's doing someone a favor by taking on such a small role), and an ample amount of tense "Is the killer there?" moments, Jennifer Eight is certainly an acceptable accompaniment to a comfortable couch and a bowl of popcorn. Just don't expect to ever think about the movie again without someone reminding you that you saw it. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide