A several-films-down-the-line knock-off of LA FEMME NIKITA, THE SILENCER is a wild bit of nonsense with limited high-camp appeal.
Angel (Lynette Waldon), a leather-clad mystery chick affiliated with some sort of CIA sisterhood who saved her from the streets, has been trained to terminate all who criminally exploit women. She gets her assignments via an autobiographical "Silencer" arcade video game that can be found in any
bar in LA--a city which, in keeping with the NIKITA motif, is rendered as a Eurotrash-opolis, full of Continental types, haute-couture models, stubby sports cars, sidewalk cafes and even a blind beggar in a beret playing accordion.
Angel assassinates a succession of pimps and predators in a narrative that resembles an extended perfume commercial, taking time out to dally with Tony (Paul Ganus), who lives in an apartment filled with Catholic icons and ecclesiastical music. But Angel has another male admirer, a Mickey Rourke
look-a-like named George (Chris Mulkey) who haunts every murder site saying things like "First the kill, then the thrill. My poor Angel!" in an echo-chamber wail. He's an obsessed ex-lover, and he and Angel finally face off after she eliminates the lead evildoer on her list, who's disguised as a
sleazy actor, using a prop gun loaded with bullets instead of blanks.
Angel is accurately described by Tony as "Madonna with a pistol," and the athletic Waldon doesn't so much play her as preen. One of her targets is portrayed by trash-TV pioneer Morton Downey Jr., a victim of karma if there ever was one. Debuting director Amy Goldstein shows off her music-video
background to oneiric extremes with Angel's travails; it's hard to say whether THE SILENCER was meant to be taken seriously or not, but it's quite a specimen. One thing's sure: the gun Angel wields is the loudest "silencer" heard in quite some time. (Sexual situations, nudity, violence,
profanity.) leave a comment
