Jacker / Jacker 2: Descent to Hell

Shot during a lull in production during their seminal SOV epic Burglar From Hell, New York based writer / director Phil Herman and his Falcon Video collective concocted Jacker; unleashing another notable fanzine favorite during the ‘90s mail order horror boom that was keenly inspired by the real life rash of carjackings that proliferated in the Tri-State area during the era. Its notoriety inspired the elaborate sequel Jacker 2: Descent to Hell three years later and helped cement Phil Herman’s status as a distinctive and eccentric voice in the analog underground. 

In Jacker (1993), Mike Rivers is a man on the edge. After killing his nagging wife, he embarks on a non-stop spree of violence; executing unsuspecting motorists for sport. The tenacious Detective Jackson harbors an unquenchable thirst for vengeance after Rivers murders his sister in cold blood. With Jackson hot on the trail and Rivers’ crime spree escalating, the two inevitably collide in a savage fight to the death. Featuring another early and revealing performance from future W.A.V.E. starlet Debbie D. (Eaten Alive: A Tasteful Revenge), Jacker combines thick Queens accents, a skateboard vs. car chase, and bowls of blood-soaked mini wheats for an unforgettable, mind-razing cult movie experience.

The pychotic car jacker Mike Rivers awakes and continues his reign of terror in Jacker 2: Descent to Hell (1996). But this time, Rivers returns as a supernatural entity who can inhabit the bodies of his murdered victims. Focusing his ire on his loan disfigured survivor James, Rivers plunges him into a surreal, psychological hellscape that resembles a solarized verision of Harmony Korine’s Trash Humpers. A New York lensed, analog grimefest with a dollop of prophetic social commentary which boasts a stellar cast including Joel D. Wynkoop (Creep, Lost Faith), Nancy Feliciano (Sickened), and Marilyn Ghigliotti (Clerks, Clerks III)!