anitaken Review of Night of the Cyclone

Night of the Cyclone (1990)

Sorry, Critics. I really liked this film

[10/10 · 15 February 2023]

The cop (Kris Kristofferson) has a difficult relationship with his headstrong teenage daughter -- a model who goes off to an exotic locale for a shoot. She does not return, and difficult Daddy Cop goes after her. He's the kind of guy who's not exactly trusting; one suspects that his job has made him that way. His brief does not extend to the exotic locale, where the local gendarme is in the pay of a rich hedonist who likes nothing better than to find attractive young girls who end up as sex partners for the hedonist himself (after all, he has to do quality control of the merchandise) and rich business =men looking for a good time and willing to pay for it. To this end, the hedonist has the assistance of a young painter whom he has rescued from jail and has set up to practice and sell his art, and incidentally to obtain beautiful young female artist's models for him. DaddyCop finds his wayward daughter living with this young artist, and, unable to persuade her to leave the island with him, he is preparing to return home when a young woman, whom the local cop swears has drowned, is found dead on the beach. Daddy Cop reads the evidence wrong; he thinks the artist committed the crime (not realizing that the artist, who has actually fallen for his daughter, is the reluctant procurer for the hedonist). When both the artist and the daughter disappear, Daddy Cop enlists some assistance from two of the locals with ties to dead young girls, and goes after them, breaking into the lavish house under the cover of an approaching hurricane. Daddy Cop and his stalwart henchmen prove to be every bit st ruthless as the bad guys, who are brutally dispatched. Yes, there is violence, but the hedonist is such slime, the violence is quite satisfactory, much like you enjoy seeing the old gunfighter in a Western mow down deserving bad guys. Daddy Cop actually tries to rescue the daughter's love interest from the hurrican, because his guilt is somewhat mitigated by his change of heart, but the rescue attempt is unsuccessful. There is a love interest for Daddy Cop, which is somewhat superfluous to the story, but the lovely Marisa Berenson is so enjoyable as the lady, plus she softens Daddy Cop, that her addition to the plot is quite acceptable, and her gentler, humorous touch brings Daddy Cop and headstrong daughter back together. Great art it ain't, but I found it quite enjoyable. A good slimy villain, an exotic locale, some peril from nature, and a tough, sexy badass of a cop go a long way with me.