Eeeyikes, maybe it's just me and I don't like the seventies (although I myself am a product of it). Maybe it's because I was forced to watch this movie as part of a class assignment. Whatever the reason, I just could not sustain much respect for this picture.

The music, lord help it, is pretty laughable. The recognizable pieces include some of the true classics of seventies disco, which I admit, had their place and time. The rest of the score is appropriately placed scary music that alerts the viewer at least five minutes ahead of any violence taking place.

The editing is pretty jarring--at one point I was actually startled when a relatively quiet scene was followed by a scene of rather loud discussion with no preamble. And people suddenly have things in their hands which we never saw them pick up--little distractions of that nature.

The acting--well, I can't say too much about Faye Dunnaway and Tommy Lee Jones, who distinguished themselves in superior films. I will say that a couple of times in this movie I wanted to give Dunnaway a big ol' Virginia ham because she goes a bit out of her way to convince us she's scared. I don't have a great deal of fault with Tommy Lee, except that I saw a more convincing portrayal of a split personality in Primal Fear. Auberjonois chewed scenery throughout, but at least he probably had fun--go see MASH and he's vindicated as well. That leaves Dourif, who sadly might have been given more of a part but is instead consigned to the fate of a plot device, with a bad haircut and always the air of the street vagrant about him. The models--well, what can we say, it's not as if many models could have done much better. And poor Raul Julia, HE could have been someone.

The plot itself is interesting, but I thought it was entirely too conciliatory towards the audience at the end. I mean, we don't NEED the explanation of a split personality, and we never SAW any hint of it before. Why couldn't he just have been a bad guy out to seduce (and therefore dominate) Laura and eventually win her trust and kill her? Would it have been so hard to be complicated?

But all this is highminded babble. Guys will watch it if they like seeing excessively thin women with bad hair walking around half naked. I can't think of a reason for a girl to watch, unless she likes Tommy Lee Jones without all the crags in his face. Overall, I think the depiction of the murders (especially the shots of bloody eyes, I mean come on) is overdone, the nudity is pretty needless (the massage scene with the two models? What is THAT?), and the plot disappoints itself in the end with a needless justification. Not a film I'd watch again.

Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: None of the Above
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age