Dave gets bogged down by a grim moral message while yearning for the simplicity of a throwaway thriller.

The films they made a quarter of a century ago may be on the cusp of extinction, but it’s often fascinating to look at the career paths taken by those who began life directing straight-to-video fare.

Take Daphna Edwards.

Today she’s billed as a music label founder, an author and a philanthropist, and is recognised in Washington’s halls of power for her work on behalf of vulnerable children. Edwards is also renowned as the President of Cinémoi, a television network that focuses on film, fashion and international style and that once boasted Jonathan Ross as its creative director and minority shareholder.

The irony is that all these things so prevalent in Edwards’ current life were all suggested – albeit awkwardly – in FOOTSTEPS, her debut movie.

Adrenaline junkie TV reporter Jason Drake (Damian Chapa) is living in the professional fast lane. However, his high speed existence begins to spiral out of control when he witnesses a double murder and then becomes acquainted with the dangerously seductive Amber (Karina Lombard). As the passion between them intensifies, he suspects that she has other suitors – especially when he finds a bullet hole in his windscreen and a threatening note accompanying it…

“Children are always the victims,” remarks one character in Footsteps – and it’s clear that under the guise of a traditional thriller, Edwards has ambitiously tried to combine the themes of causes that she’s passionate about with the generic tropes of a late night schedule filler. Despite her good intentions, Footsteps stutters more than it sings, becoming weighed down by a schizophrenic tone and an excessively intricate storyline.

It starts off well enough too. Drake is the typical newshound action man, forgoing a stable family life in exchange for the hottest story. Amber, on the other hand, seems to be the archetypal femme fatale, throwing smouldering glances and making it her priority to seduce our leading man. Gradually, though, whimsical drama takes a back seat, and Footsteps evolves into a heavy-handed message movie that culminates in a gnarly rape sequence and a postscript about child abuse. Understandably, a picture that circles around a heinous subject isn’t expected to digress into a Doris Day/Rock Hudson love-in – but it does turn Edwards’ project into a tough watch and, subsequently, a very hard sell.

The most engaging aspect of Footsteps is the music. Given her background, Edwards clearly has a good ear, and the score by Amilia K. Spicer is hauntingly diverse. Almost outshining this aural brilliance is a beautiful cameo by Martika – she of chart-topping Toy Soldiers fame – on both the soundtrack and on screen in an acting role.

Footsteps premiered on Showtime shortly before the millennium and on MTI Home Video not long after that. In the U.K. it popped up on VHS under the title ‘Footsteps: Tracks of a Killer’ via the short-lived Xscapade Pictures.

Also known as ‘Expose’.

USA ● 1998 ● Thriller ● 93mins

Damian Chapa, Karina Lombard, Maria Conchita Alonso, Sandra Bernhard, Tippi Hedren ● Wri./Dir. Daphna Edwards