Review: Judas Kiss (1998)

Directed by: Sebastian Gutierrez | 100 minutes | drama, crime, thriller | Actors: Simon Baker-Denny, Gil Bellows, Carla Gugino, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Til Schweiger, Hal Holbrook, Philip Baker Hall, Joey Slotnick, Greg Wise, Lisa Eichhorn, Richard Riehle, Beverly Hotsprings, Roscoe Lee Browne, Tom Hodges , Bobby Hosea, Jack Conley, William Lucking, Googy Gress, Beverly Penberthy, Susan Chesler, Elizabeth Lauri Hamel, Jeanette Arnette, Yvette Lera, Pilar Camporredondo, Victoria Duffy, Brett Tabor, Matt Gerald, Russ Fega, David Nott, Brian Gattas, Kristina Malota, Tracy Courtney

Blind trust in each other is what you need for an important job like a kidnapping. You have to be well attuned to each other, understand each other at a glance and have a common goal.

Coco and Junior have a good time together. They are madly in love, have no fear and seem to take on the world. After small sex chances, it’s time for the bigger work. They engage two fellow criminals and the four of them further elaborate on the kidnapping of a large – and of course rich – internet entrepreneur in detail. So far so good.

But can you still trust each other if things don’t go according to plan? During the kidnapping they are spotted and one of them decides to shoot the witness. This woman turns out to be the wife of a senator. This does not make it easier for Coco and Junior. The police on your heels, a lot of media attention and as the title suggests: a traitor in the game.

We can be grateful to Quentin Tarantino for the new genre he introduced. Director Sebastian Gutierrez has paid close attention to Tarantino’s films. Hard crime, lively characters, a good dose of humor and an unexpected twist. Add these ingredients together and there is “Judas Kiss”.

In addition to the side of Coco and Junior, the side of the police and FBI is also highlighted. A cynical detective who predicts the kidnapping is a nasty business. And then he is also forced to work with a female FBI agent. For these two servants of the law it is also about trust. Are the witnesses telling correctly what they saw? Do they interpret information correctly? This aspect gives Judas Kiss an extra dimension. Those involved on both sides struggle with the question: who can I trust? And: how can this come to a successful conclusion?