Sworn to Vengeance (1993) starring Robert Conrad, William McNamara, Gary Bayer, Sharon Farrell, Peter Breck, Tom Atkins, Michael Cavanaugh directed by Peter H. Hunt Movie Review

Sworn to Vengeance (1993)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Robert Conrad in Sworn to Vengeance (1993)

Conrad the Super Cop

"Sworn to Vengeance" is another one of those true story movies which in this case is based upon the Lake Waco murders. Now the Lake Waco murders is a case from 1982 when a couple of fishermen discovered he body of a murdered teen boy and when the police show up on the scene they discover the naked bodes of two murdered girls as well, all three had been stabbed repeatedly with evidence of the girls being sexually assaulted. The true story involves a character called Truman Simons who was one of the first on the scene and who despite the investigation running dry persuaded his superiors to allow him to continue investigating which almost a year later finally heralded a break through.

Now with most movies based on true stories the names have been changed and as such in "Sworn to Vengeance" Truman Simons becomes Sergeant Stewart. And what this movie does is frankly a little creepy because whilst at the crime scene we watch Stewart lean over the victim's bodies and basically swear to get vengeance for the crime committed against them. That may or may not have happened but the way it comes across in the movie makes Stewart out to be a bit freaky.

Robert Conrad in Sworn to Vengeance (1993)

What we also see at the time of the actual murders is a woman who has a vision of the attacks going on, a vision which left her traumatised and screaming by what she is seeing. Of course a psychic calls the cops and they are sceptical of what she is saying, it is pretty typical. But we know she must be pivotal and so we see Stewart end up working with her.

The thing about "Sworn to Vengeance" is that it becomes less about the actual crime and more about Sergeant Stewart, the impeccably dressed cop, highly dedicated and very smart. Early on we see how his dedication and professionalism makes him unpopular with one of the station's detectives as he bust a drug deal that the detective had been working on. And there is more including a shirtless scene to show what great shape he is in which all goes to creating this almost super cop which if that was the intention is well played by Robert Conrad. But for me it takes away from what I watched the movie for, the dramatization of the true story.

What this all boils down to is that "Sworn to Vengeance" was interesting and a little entertaining but not in the way I had hoped for because rather than being a dramatization of the true story is more a characterisation of a super cop.


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