Sometimes you just sit back and are appalled at the drivel on screen. This is another bargain basement purchase from Acorn who continually insult their customers with laughable films and series.

This one should never have been released. Every character phones in a performance as if they too know they're only doing it for the paycheck. Peter Davison, he of Dr. Who and All Creatures.... is about the most bored of the bunch.

I have to say the old man is brilliant though. Creepy. But not enough to save this disaster.

1/10.

While young writer, Marcus Walwyn, is working at a publishing company, he gets a mysterious manuscript from a first-time author. The supposedly fictional tale inspires Marcus to emulate some of the patterns in the book as he sees it as some kind of manual on how to commit murder without getting caught.

This is a captivating yarn and all the players are convincing - but a special nod should go out to James Bolam who creates a menacing and evil character - almost without saying a word. (Bolam along with Rodney Bewes made a comedy legacy when they teamed up as two chums in 'The Likely Lads' and 'Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?' in the 60s and 70s.)

Peter Davidson (Yeah, he was 'Dr Who' once but was much more fun in 'All Creatures Great And Small') is also a treat as D.I. Maurice Burt, who makes the connection between a case he handled years ago and the current crop of murders he's investigating.

Liz May Brice is 'frightfully jolly' as the upper-class totty and Natalie Walter is the working class cafe waitress who falls victim to Marcus' obsession. Paula Wilcox at 50 is as sexy and as radiant as she was in 'Man About The House' 25 years earlier. Lots of nice things for the menfolk to look at!

***Minor Spoilers below this warning!***

The story itself isn't very complicated... Marcus creates a fantasy relationship with Karen who he sees on the London Underground. Best chum, Sharon, warns him off so she's first for the chop. Boyfriend, Darren, stands in his way so he's next. And very quickly the cops have a pretty good idea what's going on - but of course, they need evidence.

Then the Detective remembers an almost identical case he had donkey's years ago and wouldn't you know it, Helmut Kranze is out on license from Broadmoor.

It's a well made, tense drama and the outdoor shots also create their own realistic atmosphere of the UK at the turn of the century. But Bolam steals it and is worth the extra two stars!

THE STALKER'S APPRENTICE is an odd little British thriller made on a very low budget. It's a TV movie to boot, so doesn't contain any explicit material, even though the premise is slightly disturbing. It's about a routine guy who becomes obsessed with a young woman and begins stalking her, committing a series of murders against anyone who stands in his way.

It's difficult to know what to make of this film. Compared to something like the excellent STALKING LAURA it feels woefully bad but it is quite well-paced and for a '90s movie it hasn't dated too badly, apart from the pop songs playing on the background radios. Gideon Turner is a weak lead but James Bolam has a nice little role as a creepy elder and Paula Wilcox looks surprisingly youthful for her part. Peter Davison is here too as a bored detective investigating the crimes but he doesn't bring much to the part.