A very interesting story line that comes up short in the dialogue. The suspense is luke warm, but it keeps you hanging until the end. Race Darnell(Patrick Swayze)is in prison, falsely convicted of killing his wife. While in prison he writes a best seller and corresponds via tape cassette with four different women. Just before being released, two of his tapes are switched causing him death threats.

Swayze seems to have lost his macho swagger, for this movie at least. He comes across as a victim, not the hero he usually plays. One of the women he toyed with on tape is Gia Carides. She is lovely and I would personally like to see more of her. I'm sorry I haven't noticed her until now. She probably has the best acted role in the movie. Roger E. Mosley plays the prison warden that befriends Swayze.

Also featured are Bruce McGill and Kim Myers. Swayze fans will watch this with jaded interest. There are just enough plot twists to make a decent movie.

Swayze plays an inmate on death row wrongly convicted of killing his wife, and whilst in prison he corresponds via cassette tape with four ladies. A prank by one of the jail guards results in tapes getting switched and one of the ladies announces she wishes to exact revenge for this slight, and the rather clever screenplay keeps you guessing right up until the end. It's quite a dark murder mystery of sorts, a gripping thriller, and Swayze really plays Race Darnell very well. Whilst the plot has a few holes, or rather improbabilities, I think it's clever and you have to keep your wits about you whilst watching and after-wards may just feel as ragged as Swayze's denim shirt. Certainly not a brainless film experience, and it has some great stunts, familiar faces and good performances. All in all a rather good film, well Directed and well shot (though nothing arty or unusual) on location in some varied places. The plot carries this film, as well as the performance of Swayze; I enjoyed seeing him riding a horse and dancing (albeit just a bit) again in this - I'm a great admirer of his work and this is a not so well known but noteworthy example of his acting talent.

Note: Katy Selverstone (FBI woman) bears a striking resemblance to Jodie Foster, don't you think?

This movie had the potential to be a decent thriller, but it was hampered by only having about twenty minutes worth of good script, which was mostly used up in the beginning. After that holes started to appear in the story that one could drive a truck through. The movie followed a descending curve from good to ordinary to bad to ludicrous by the time it concluded. It's not recommended.