base on the james ellroy novel blood on the moon and james wood be lapd detective lloyd hopkins who discover the terribly mutilate corpse of a young woman and immediately start compare the scene with previously unsolved murder . he become convince a serial killer be at work here and prey on woman for the last fifteen year . soon and more gruesome murder occur and detective hopkins become a target himself . detective hopkins be the kind of amoral sleazeball that make dirty harry seem like a little angel in comparison . he the kind of cop that blow your date away and leave his partner to clear the mess and then ask the woman if she need a ride home and have some fun . james wood also co produce with director james b. harris and long time buddy of stanley kubrick and producer of the killing ( 1957 ) and path of glory 1958 ) and lolita ( 1962 ) and who also write the script for this hard edge cop thriller . i make the mistake expect a really good film and mostly base on wood presence and the writing of james ellroy and and kubrick sidekick james b. harris take the directorial helm and but harris hardly shine in that department . his direction be adequate and but not much more . best to watch this a a gritty cop flick and trashy and cynical and sometimes a bit silly with plenty of misguided attempt at humor on account of lead man james wood and always a plus and in any film . it a reasonably well execute cop thriller and but no classic . expect an enjoyable slice of b movie nonsense and you probably would not be disappoint . camera obscura positive .