Ratchet

1998 ""

Ratchet

4.5 | 1h54m | R | en | Thriller

Having missed several deadlines, and with the studio's attorneys hassling him, screenwriter Elliot Callahan (Tom Gilroy) takes the advice of his agent and rents a beachside house on the island Nantucket to find the peace and quiet he needs to get the creative juices flowing. There he meets the seriously intense Henry Carver (Matthew Dixon), who's written a screenplay he wants Callahan to read. Before long, Callahan suspects that Henry might be a serial killer writing about himself and that his screenplay is worth plagiarizing.

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4.5 | 1h54m | R | en | Thriller | More Info

Released: February. 06,1998 | Released Producted By: , Country: United States of America Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:

Synopsis

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Cast

Tom Gilroy , Margaret Welsh , Mitchell Lichtenstein

Director

John Johnson

Producted By

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Trailers & Images

Cast

Tom Gilroy

as Elliot Callahan

The World Made Straight Dream Boy Wild Tigers I Have Known Sweet Land Series 7: The Contenders Ratchet Spark Land and Freedom A Matter of Degrees

Margaret Welsh

as Catherine Ripley

Ratchet Mr. & Mrs. Bridge Smooth Talk

Mitchell Lichtenstein

as Tim Greenleaf

Ratchet The Wedding Banquet The Lords of Discipline

Reviews

Wilbur-10 I suppose this is just about watchable as erotic thrillers go. Everything is very tame though and were it not for the one torture scene ( hands nailed to table in case you were wondering ) and the themes of bondage and murder, this would probably get a 'U' rating.The story has scriptwriter Elliot Callahan heading off to Nantucket island to try and find some inspiration for his latest, overdue, assignment. Once there he becomes embroiled in the usual small-town high-jinks of murder, madness, sex and violence. The chain of events spiralling out of control after he decides to pass off the local weirdo's script as his own.There is little else to say really - all the characters and performances are dull and bland ( apart from the 'comic-book-guy' on the plane who is quite amusing ) and the story is uninvolving, full of unexplored themes. To be fair the film seems to have had some thought behind it ( the opening and closing credits are neat ) and I'm prepared to believe that writer/director John Johnson put some passion into the project, but nothing really comes together properly.All I learnt was that scriptwriters are semi-alcoholic, whining wimps with no morals or dress sense. I mean this guy was sobbing when he was having the nails pulled out of his hands. I seem to remember Barton Fink blubbing as well - jeez !! - pull yourself together you writers.Also, can anyone enlighten me as to the meaning of the title - maybe i'm missing something obvious but why Ratchet ?

alexander.stroeck Not every boring movie is a film noir. This one has not the style and cinematography to be honored as film noir! Not very persuasive actors try to have inteligent dialoges. At least the german version is far under my expectations. Could have been much better- sorry: 4/10

Oakley-5 You have to take this film for a satire to appreciate it. AS such, it is enjoyable and well written. The scene where the main character is brutalized is one of the cleverist in recent memory.