Noir master John Dahl make a foray into the thriller based on a ludicrous gimmick. Ray Liotta plays a medical examiner who discovers that neurobiologist Linda Fiorentino has developed a method for extracting the memories of the dead from their spinal fluid and hopes to use this technique to clear himself of the charge of murdering his wife. Dahl has abandoned the filigree of oblique humor that had made his noirs Red Rock West and The Last Seduction so stylish, and he treats the silly premise with unfortunate earnestness. After injecting himself with his wife's spinal fluid to find the real killer, Liotta goes on a rampage, raiding so many cadavers that he seems on the verge of becoming a spinal fluid junkie. The usually intriguing Fiorentino is completely wasted after the opening, becoming just another woman in distress. Ironically, Liotta gives one of his best performances in a part loaded with inane dialogue, but it's wasted in this mad scientist fiasco.