Hi, this is Richard. I'm in your apartment, and I'm going to kill you.
What’s the Work?[]
Lisa is a 1990 teen-thriller flick directed by Gary Sherman and starring Cheryl Ladd, D.W. Morffett, and Staci Keanan as the titular protagonist. Lisa Holland is a fourteen-year old who wants to get a older man as her boyfriend/date and calls them with her classmate Wendy. Turns out that one just so happens to be a serial killer who hunts down women. It’s up to Lisa to figure that out before he succeeds in targeting her too.
Who is Richard and What Has He Done?[]
Richard is a seemingly charismatic and polite man who is secretly the infamous Candlelight Killer. Starting the movie grabbing items, lighting up candles, and pouring wine, he breaks into a young woman named Mary’s apartment after posing as her fiancé Andy, and chokes her while declaring he loves her before raping and ending her life: the story making it into the news. Tomorrow, a 14-years old middle school student named Lisa accidentally bumps into him while carrying groceries and Lisa feels a deep connection with him. Richard drives off with his tapes.
Richard gets a call from Lisa while she gives him questions about which woman is she because he’s visited many in his life and wants to get his photo and he later succeeds in murdering and raping Allison. Richard puts on a fancy suit and goes to his job at a restaurant while Lisa and her best friend, Wendy Marks stalk him. Richard for his part checks out another girl named Judy with her car beforehand. Richard later enters Judy’s residence and rapes her before ending her life.
Richard once again gets a message from Lisa and demands a clue from her but gets nothing. Richard rewinds the tape and has dozens of names listed. Lisa and Wendy gets a newspaper from the latter’s father which reveals that the Candlelight Killer has seven victims. Richard later goes to his vehicle while Lisa hides in the backseat. Richard enters a store to give the elderly owner a note, only for his alarm to ring. Richard, feeling that he’s being used, wants to get to know Lisa and gets her to confess her name.
Richard has Lisa tell her backstory and reveals he knows her look and voice before calling it a date. Wendy gets suspicious and warns Lisa to blow him off or otherwise get him and her mother Katherine together. Richard is seen working out his arms with weights and Lisa informs she’ll be wearing her mom’s sexy, white dress. Lisa and Katherine reserve at the restaurant Richard works at. Richard greets the customers such as Morgan and gets a check from a waiter, containing a note and a kiss.
Richard follows Katherine back to her apartment complex and sees her turn the lights off. Richard spies on her and plants cigarettes on the car pocket before smoking himself. Katherine finds out that Richard strike again in Venice as they discover Allison’s corpse after seven days. Richard grins evilly as he witnesses Katherine turn the lights on. Richard phones Lisa and accuses her of being Katherine when she protests that it isn’t.
Richard then sneaks in and records to Katherine before withholding her hostage. Lisa arrives and views Richard’s book right as he swipes her and explains his plan to have sex without her consent, only for Katherine to stab him in the back. Richard chases them, grabs Katherine and tries to impale her with the knife, but Katherine pepper sprays his eyes. Richard desperately bangs on the door to break it open and hunts them down. However, Katherine strikes him with a bat and Richard is sent flying off the window to his demise. The only thing remaining is the tape on the phone repeating “Hi, this is Richard” over and over again.
Heinous Standards?[]
The only villain within the movie and he has several innocents that he raped and killed, leaving a haunting message foreshadowing their fate, strangling one and recording it all on tapes: of which there are many of. In addition, Richard desperately does as much as he can to add Lisa (who’s a teenager) and Katherine to his body count when he discovers the ruse between him and the former. So he easily passes. It also helps that it is a low-stakes thriller.
Mitigating Factors?[]
Richard acts pleasurable to most people around the town, but it’s explicitly a mask to his cunning and sadistic nature. Richard merely threatens Katherine’s life at first and later on goes to dispose of her which shows that he is capable of showing restraint when he needs to but it isn’t treated as a redeeming quality. Finally, Lisa screams “No!” when Katherine causes him to fall to his death but, I’m not inclined to treat that as disqualifying when seconds earlier he was going to finish her off.
Final Verdict?[]
A solid yes to the Candlelight Killer.