The Exile (1997)

Posted by Mrs Giggles on July 26, 2018 in 2 Oogies, Idiot Box Reviews, Series: Perversions of Science

The Exile (1997)

Main cast: Jeffrey Combs (Prisoner #50557), Ron Perlman (Prisoner #40132), Brian Brophy (Investigator), Jeff Corey (The Judge), David Warner (Dr Nordhoff), Oscar Dillon (Jailer), Craig Olsen (Lupita), Jae Woo Lee (Coopersmith), and Maureen Teefy (Chrome)
Director: William Malone

Interesting, David Warner is once again playing the hubris-laden shrink who thinks he can do wonders, only to fail spectacularly – is his character Dr Nordhoff related to that douchenozzle in The New Arrival? In The Exile, he attempts to rehabilitate Prisoner #50557, a serial killer who tortures his victims to death in order to remove “unwanted impurities” from society. The prisoner also documents his murders, so it doesn’t take much to convict and put him in jail. It will take much more to turn him back to “a state of wholeness in mind and body” before the prisoner is brought before the judge, as the arrogant doctor will find out…

Now, the former Dr Herbert West is as usual enjoyable to watch as the loathsome yet oddly magnetic psychopath – it’s actually quite disconcerting just how many sexy-evil villains these anthology TV series have brought to the small screen – and David Warner is, of course, at his usual magnificent deadpan snarling self. In fact, his role here is a far better one compared to the other episode in the sister TV series Tales from the Crypt.

The problem here is twofold: one, the unforgivable under-utilization of Ron Perlman in a completely forgettable role, and two, a script that doesn’t really do or say anything. The whole episode feels like it was constructed around the twist, and even then, the twist is ruined by some heavy-handed delivery. The Exile is all about two solid actors chewing scenery in a meandering script until it is time for them to collect their paycheck and go home. What a shame, and what a waste.

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