Certain films are watched for a very limited number of reason. In case of Wilder a.k.a. Slow Burn, 2000 Canadian thriller directed by Rodney Gibbons, the main reason is Pam Grier, legendary star of 1970s blaxploitation films. Here she plays Della Wilder, Chicago police detective whose initially bright career prospects disappeared due to her tendency to act impulsively against perpetrators of crimes against women. When she is given the task to investigate murder of a young woman, she doesn’t take long to identify gynaecologist Dr. Sam Charney (played by Rutger Hauer) as main suspect. Charney used to be respected physician until his career got wrecked due to his womanising and accusations of sexually inappropriate behaviour towards patients. Although the case against him look solid, Charney, instead of confessing the crime, begins to flirt with Wilder. Investigation continues and more murders are committed, with trail beginning to point to large pharmaceutical company which used to conduct dangerous radiological experiments on women. Wilder nevertheless continues to see Charney as dangerous psychopath who uses his charm in order to make her another of his victims.
Made with extremely low budget, this obscure direct-to-video film is nevertheless going to please admirers of Pam Grier, iconic actress whose career was resurrected in 1990s thanks to her greatest fan Quentin Tarantino. Despite being middle-aged, Grier looks very good in this film and director Gibbons, aware of it, turns much of Wilder into “one woman show”. Even Rutger Hauer, one of the most iconic and most prolific actors in low budget action films and thrillers of 1990s, seems very relaxed and allows Grier to take almost all viewer’s attention for herself. The plot and its conclusion aren’t anything to write home about, but the scriptwriter Terry Abrahamson has found the proper mix of action and humour and made sure that they are used at the proper scenes in the film. Wilder isn’t particularly memorable film and its obscurity isn’t hard to explain, but those who watch it are going to experience solid low budget entertainment and are unlikely to regret spending hour and half of their lives on it.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
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