AllMovie

This thriller has a strong anti-nuclear message. It is set in Thorpeville, a Southern town that has an abandoned nuclear-power plant and chronicles a bizarre series of rapes and murders. What is most puzzling is that each of the female victims are found to be radioactive. Investigating the strange killings are sheriff Jake Stern, pathologist Doc Roberts, slightly crazed Vietnam vet Freddie, and a clever reporter Patti Smart. They eventually deduce that the killer is some sort of nuclear mutant and their prime suspect is James Manners, the man who designed the faulty reactor. All of the investigators soon find themselves entangled in a complex conspiracy/cover-up that culminates in an explosive finale.