Knight Moves (1992)

Sometimes you wander into a Thrift Store and find forgotten gold. This is one such moment. I picked it up literally after coming across a review the day before that mentioned it had an air of Argento and felt like a modern Giallo. Hook…. Line….and Black Glove Killer Sold.

The film starts with a backstory about a young chess prodigy who loses and takes out his frustration violently. The child’s mother is mentally ill and the father walks out on them. The way this is shot instantly brings to mind later era Argento similar in style to Opera. I was intrigued instantly by this.

Fast forward to the present and Peter Sanderson ( Christopher Lambert) is a chess grandmaster playing in his comeback tournament after forfeiting years earlier in a world tournament he was winning. He spends the night with one of the tournament organizers, and she ends up dead minutes after he leaves.

Cut to our detectives arriving on the scene, played by Tom Skerritt and Daniel Baldwin, to start the investigation. Skerritt gives the best performance of the bunch as usual. What unfolds next is a series of murders in a cat-and-mouse game of someone from Sanderson’s past who is trying to send a message to him. That message is a game that Sanderson doesn’t know if he can win.

Diane Lane is the psychologist brought into the case to see if Sanderson is psychotic with split personalities. In the process, they fall for each other. Lambert and Lane were married in real life at the time so their chemistry works in many of the scenes. The killer continues to murder unsuspecting and unconnected women until Sanderson can figure out what game they are playing. It’s not difficult to figure out who the killer is, but it doesn’t detract from the movie. The twist at the end changes the tone slightly, and we get more of the traditional hero vs. villain fight scene. Almost like the director wasn’t sure how to end it and decided that Death Warrant needed to be recreated. It left a few questions as well as it unfolded.

It seems that Lambert always has extra steamy sex scenes in his movies, and while this isn’t as graphic as Highlander 3 ( Geez, that is straight late-night Skinamax), it’s pretty explicit. Diane Lane looks hotter here than she ever has. If you put Sharon Stone from Basic Instinct next to Diane Lane from this….. Stone would be a tough sell. Lane has that IT factor.

What is most shocking is that this was released four years before Scream, and we get the voice modulated ” I want to play a game.” on the phone. Over a decade before Saw, too. It was released three years before Seven, and it has a very distinct Seven feel to it as well. The murders feature writing on the wall above the victim’s head in a similar fashion to John Doe. The killer has that classic black glove and trench coat wardrobe going on, bringing the comparisons to old-school Italian Giallo closer together. The way it is shot, the angles, the tones, and the coloring are all very reminiscent of the late 80s to early 90s style of Argento and Umberto Bava.

In my opinion, one of the things that possibly held this film back was the director’s inexperience. His low-budget TV movie style does creep in here and there, but it doesn’t detract from the fact this was probably his highest-rated work. Plus, it’s solidly executed.  Also, Lambert had lost his popularity at the United States box office as well. Luckily, in a few short years, Mortal Kombat would bring him back to another generation for years to come.

As far as the acting is concerned, it’s believable throughout, but Baldwin, Lambert, and Lane lose focus here and there and it definitely teeters into the over-dramatic at times. Skerritt gives a solid performance and keeps things grounded. Some of Baldwins and Lambert’s back and forth is incredibly entertaining. It is also a little cringe-inducing as well. Standard for Daniel Baldwin though, but we love him just the same.

The DVD I found had me do some digging, and I believe this desperately needs a domestically released Blu-ray upgrade. The film could use some cleanup in the picture department, and the aspect ratio needs to be readjusted. The black box isn’t a good look. There is a region-free Spanish release Blu-ray on Amazon, but this could use American-released rehaul. It’s been a while, and it deserves it.

Finally, I have another solid film to recommend to people after Highlander, Mortal Kombat, and, to an extent, Fortress. I would recommend this over Fortress, to be honest, and I am a big fan of Fortress. It is worthy of being remembered with Basic Instinct, Sliver, The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, Single White Female, Color of Night, and Fatal Attraction. In some instances, this is just as good, if not better, than some of its more popular thriller contemporaries. Now I need to hunt down the 1999 Lambert lead Resurrection.