Jack's Back (1988)

There is a serial killer in Los Angeles and he's duplicating the crimes of Jack the Ripper, 100 years to the day later.  The victim profile matches and the method of death matches.  As the movie begins, it is the day of the last Jack the Ripper murder and the police are desperate to find the likely victim.  Meanwhile, John Wesford (James Spader) is a do-gooder par excellence.  Currently working his residency at a free clinic in the neighborhood where he grew up, he also volunteers at a homeless camp nearby.  In a case of horrible timing, he stumbles upon the final murder and is killed soon after, his death made to look like a suicide.  He becomes the prime suspect as the Jack the Ripper copycat.

Richard "Rick" Wesford (James Spader) awakens from a nightmare in which he witnessed his brother's murder first hand.  Determined to clear his brother's name and get the man who killed him, Rick becomes a thorn in the side of a police department that is eager to have the case closed.  Where his brother was a nice guy, Rick is mostly hard edges.  He has a criminal record, mostly from being a teenage delinquent but one count that sent him to jail or the military.

The movie is generally good though there are times when I shook my head at the nonsensical decisions of the characters.  When John encountered the killer, he chased him.  Why?  You can ID him.  Just call the cops and let them know.  They'll get him.  Nope, after being clearly identified at the final murder, he runs away and confronts the killer, and gets himself killed.  Later, his brother does exactly the same thing!  What is wrong with these Wesfords?  Do they have a death wish?  Luckly, Rick isn't the easy meat in a fight that his brother was but it was still stupid.

There is some really good misdirection in the film.  Several characters seem particularly suspicious.  Robert Picardo is good as a consulting psychiatrist who seems a bit off.  The twins bit was done well.  John mentioned his brother to a patient and also looked at a picture of the two of them as toddlers.  That should have been a big hint that his days were numbered.  Spader was very different as each brother, one being a good boy and the other the bad boy.

Just okay.  If you like Spader, definitely check it out.