Against the Law (1997 film)


Against the Law is a 1997 American action crime drama directed by Jim Wynorski and starring Nick Mancuso, Nancy Allen and Richard Grieco.

Plot

Headed towards Hollywood, Rex is a mentally ill drifter with a penchant for balls-to-the-wall gunplay. Trapped in a delusion that he is a modern 'Old West' gunslinger, Rex begins a murder spree that leaves police and law enforcement dead in his path. Meanwhile, hard-drinking cop John Shepard is suddenly thrust into the spotlight by newsanchor Maggie Hewitt after killing one of L.A.'s most notorious drug dealers in a skilled shoot out. When Rex learns of this heroic deed, he becomes fixated on both Hewitt, who he begins to stalk and terrorize, and Shepard, who he vows to shoot and kill. As a tense high noon battle looms on the horizon, John and Maggie scramble to outwit and outshoot this delusional maniac.

Cast

The film was written by Steve Mitchell with Bob Sheridan. Mitchell hoped to direct and wrote it with John Terlesky in mind for the lead. Jim Wynorski bought the script for Sunset Films, a company he was operating with Andrew Stevens for Cinetel Films. Mitchell said he thought the film "ultimately turned out to be one of Jim’s best movies, but there are a lot of things I’m not happy with. The casting was a lot of it."