Hardcore (1979)

Hardcore — now showing as part of a Paul Schrader retrospective on the Criterion Channel — is a fascinating but not completely successful film. George C. Scott plays Jake Van Dorn, a very religious Midwestern dad who has to travel to seedy Los Angeles when he learns his daughter, Kristen (Ilah Davis) has entered the adult film industry.

The film is a fascinating look at how the business functioned in the late 1970s. But Scott’s transformation from everyman to shrewd undercover avenger isn’t totally convincing. And it feels a bit melodramatic that Kristen descends so quickly into very violent films.

Still, Season Hubley is excellent as Niki, Jake’s guide into the seedy underworld. it’s fun to imagine an older and more accomplished Schrader remaking this film with someone like Liam Neeson, the master of dad-on-a-rampage movies.