Twisted

Based on the play "Children! Children!" by Jack Horrigan, Twisted is a five-year old film that is being released now to coincide with the popularity of its star Christian Slater (Robin Hood, Pump Up the Volume). In his first film, Slater plays Mark, a brainy teenager who for no apparent reason is one sick pup. For kicks, Mark likes to dissect animals, pull the arms off of his little sister's dolls, and listen to his affair-hopping mother's phone calls. Twisted opens with the current housekeeper taking a one-way trip down a long flight of stairs, and a shot of young Mark watching. When the folks hire a babysitter for the night, weeks later, and the woman (Lois Smith) is a sensitive type recovering from the death of her mother, we know that old Mark is gonna have a field day. The plus is the acting jobs by both Slater and Smith, who ensure that you'll stick around the finale. The minuses are the same ones germane to this genre of film: unanswered questions. Namely, why is Mark such an evil little cuss? Because he's smart? Not enough reason. Fans of babysitter-locked-up-with-a-madman movies will find Twisted a cut above the standard fare, and Slater fans (mostly teenage girls) will automatically check this out but, for libraries, it's not a necessary purchase. (R. Pitman)