The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Usually in crime related thrillers, the viewer is exposed to the killer quite early. Everyone is introduced to what they look like, the faces they make, and how they speak. And along with this key element, are the police. This is obviously one of the main materials that's needed for a "police" thriller, but even that is not the main substance in this film. But what makes this film different from the others is that the killer is NOT exposed until very late in the movie. In my opinion, this is a great psychological effect that heightens the senses of the viewer and makes them more intrigued about seeing the killer. I'm disappointed that this film wasn't critically acclaimed. The body of the plot is more or less the same as Law Abiding Citizen (2009): an individual with psychological issues makes calls to a contact and tells them whose next to be killed.Kurt Russell stars as a Miami news reporter who's tired of writing stories about the recently deceased/murdered. Unfortunately, his co- workers are not willing to let him go so easy. Co-starring with Russell is Mariel Hemingway who plays his girlfriend. Both of them want to move out of Miami to escape to a place that is less crowded. Unfortunately, Russell's character, Malcolm Anderson, is having a hard time convincing his boss that he's tired and wants to leave. Kurt Russell is great actor and he plays well at being a tired reporter. Mariel Hemingway is convincing as Russell's girlfriend and although we never see her actually doing her "job" as a teacher in this film, she is good at caring for her and her boyfriend's safety.The real problem arises when a person calls confessing that he killed one of the people Anderson reported about. The killer is played by Richard Jordan. I think Jordan is a very competent actor. I say this because of the way he portrays his character. The personality of the killer is very stealthy. Whenever his voice is heard on the phone, it has a very unpleasant sound. The way he talks isn't smooth; he pauses with his sentences. This can make the conversation sound even more uncomfortable. That is how good Richard Jordan is at his character. Every time I listen to his voice it still gives me the goose bumps. It's unfortunate that his career never took off to big heights. I know that he was cast in many movies, but very few were well known films.Lastly, what really makes this an effective thriller is the suspense, and the music. The suspense in this film is different from the regular action thriller. For every scene, the viewer must listen to what is going on. Without the conversations, the viewer will be lost on what is happening. I would suggest watching this film like it was regular horror flick. The difference is that the story is on a more personal level. It's very rare someone will have a spirit haunting him or her inside their house, but when serial killer is on the loose, one can never really feel safe. Adding to the suspense is the musical score provided Lalo Schifrin. There are two different tones that Schifrin puts in this movie: the first is when the film is focused more on the press. Schifrin has the music sound like everyone's busy and scrambling about. The other side to that is when Anderson talks to the killer. When the camera is focused on them, it has a very ominous feel, in a sense that something bad will happen in a couple minutes. All these factors of music, suspense, and character personalities add up to a strong thriller. I'm glad I was able to see it.The Mean Season is a gripping crime thriller that deserves more than what it has minimally achieved. The tension between scenes are really agitating thanks to a chilling performance by Richard Jordan.

"The Mean Season" consists of showing how a psychotic tries to promote himself with his crimes by getting the attention of a journalist (Kurt Russell) who also sees a way of not only promote his writing talents and be famous but also his detective skills while trying to get this guy before he kills more victims.This is like "Zodiac" before "Zodiac" (the film) but a little after the facts of the real Zodiac killer, so there isn't much good this film can do now but back in the 1980's people, I guess, were easily impressed with this thing. It never gets scary and informative like Fincher's film, and it never gets bloody like any other flick on the same issue. Talk talk talk, that's all these characters know what to do and their talks aren't so well written to make you involved with this. And the film goes for too long in its 90 minutes or so, don't know how they did it. And there's a supermassive wave of plot holes, dumb moments, no excitement in the rare action sequences presented and more talk.The villain played by the late Richard Jordan makes this movie worth seeing, he's incredibly good. But a film rarely is sustained with only performance. The supporting cast is good but they're not at their best but it's very nice to see Richard Bradford playing one of the good guys for once. Mr. Kurt Russell has plenty of good stuff made in that decade such as "The Thing" (coincidentally he and Richard Masur act along here as well), "Big Trouble in Little China", "Overboard", "Tango & Cash" and "Escape from New York". "The Mean Season" is not one of them but it's not his fault that the script was weak. It's very visible that there's zero chemistry between he and Mariel Hemingway, even though the guy tries hard and achieves some success, the girl is just bad, bad, bad. Without question, one of the most clichéd and boring films I've ever seen. A generic picture specially made for less demanding viewers who get easily satisfied with junk. 4/10

I liked this film very much. I thought the plot was unique. When a newspaper reporter (Russell) gets such a break - a killer calling him with just enough information to make them both famous, one has to understand the writer's following up and getting involved. Maybe it wasn't one of Kurt Russell's best films, to put it mildly, but he didn't hold back. He was understanding when the script called for it, romantic, when the script called for it and frightened when the script called for it. Muriel Hemingway was good, too, and her chemistry with Russell was interesting. The music was compelling and location (Miami) colorful. Don't underrate this film. Watch it with an open mind and enjoy yourself. The other star in this film is the hurricane (mean season) and if you've ever lived in Florida, you know how the tension builds when a storm is coming. Richard Jordan is an added attraction. I've never seen him before, but as the murderer, he was scary and convincing.

I think that The Mean Season is an under-appreciated, tightly crafted suspense thriller that, in spite of what other reviews have claimed, does not pander to too many cliché's--this film is old enough to have helped establish those very same tropes that have since become clichés. Remember, this was made before Manhunter, Silence of the Lambs, 15 Minutes, etc etc...and was one of the first films to deal with the whole notion of fame/celebrity/serial killers and the lack of ethics displayed by journalists. The film benefits from excellent performances from Kurt Russell and Richard Jordan. As the two leads they carry the film and Richard Masur,as Russell's editor, sells every line of his character's dialog with complete conviction. Andy Garcia makes a very strong impression and he is perfectly paired with Richard Bradford, who reminds me so much of my 1st step-father (an ex Marine Corps drill instructor turned cop)that i have absolutely no trouble believing him in the role of a burned out, bitter homicide detective. Mariel Hemingway is awful, as always. A truly terrible actress.The direction by Philip Borsos is very tight. His framing and cutting remind of Hitchcock, there is a certain stylish elegance to the images (each of the killings is filmed with a minimum of blood but to maximum stylistic effect) and all in all the plot hurtles forward at just the right level of intensity. I will admit that there are 2 examples of ridiculous false scares in the film which were apparently studio-mandated(no surprise, really)and I guess I should deduct points for that and Lalo Shifrin's sometimes bombastic score--but I am not going to... because after 21 years of mostly pale imitators, The Mean Season is looking better and better with age.