Where to watch Hit List
3 Stars
Gangster boss Vincent Luca shall appear in court to account for his crimes – but he has a man at the police who tells him names and locations of the witnesses, so he can kill them all – but one: In the last hit, the professional killer gets into the wrong house. When the owner Mark Collins comes home, he finds his pregnant wife unconscious in the kitchen, his friend dead in the living room and his son kidnapped. The police officer wants Luca to believe he has the real witness’ son and sends Collins into prison. But he manages to escape and takes things into his own hands.
William Lusting (if you know, then you know) is the director of cult classics, and Hit List is another fantastic entry, albeit with much less fanfare than those previously mentioned titles, in the moviemaker’s lauded filmography. Hit List is made with such skill that it’s like watching a product from the great Brian DePalma if he were relegated to toiling in the B-movie ranks, and I mean that as high praise. Lusting is able to wrangle the notoriously difficult cast, including Jan-Michael Vincent and (especially) Rip Torn, while also showcasing the unique charms of Lance Henriksen, who portrays an assassin working a day job as a lady shoe salesman for a cover.
Hit List is a quality thriller due to the thought and detail that went into the production; somebody gave a shit, and that shows in the final product. Jan-Michael Vincent, the one-time heartthrob, looks swollen and disinterested. Vincent was the Brad Pitt of the 1970’s, and his appearance and obvious distain for the project are similar and commonplace in the latter-day direct-to-DVD Steven Segal movies. Solid supporting work from Charles Napier, Leo Rossi, and a slew of other familiar faces makes Hit List a forerunner for the biggest surprise of 2024.
Directed by: William Lustig
Written by: Aubrey K. Rattan, John F. Goff, Peter Brosnan
Starring: Jan-Michael Vincent, Leo Rossi, Lance Henriksen