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Post by Captain Spencer on May 23, 2019 3:35:58 GMT
Watched the new Shout! Factory release of The Seduction tonight, and it was my first time seeing this thriller about a crazed fan stalking a beautiful newswoman. Overall it was just average.
Morgan Fairchild is well-suited to the leading role, as she does project that high glamour newswoman persona, but her acting ranges from pretty good to so-so. Andrew Stevens is an OK actor when he's in the right material, but here he isn't really all that convincing as a deranged lunatic; basically, he was just miscast. Furthermore, his Derek character wasn't really all that well-developed, and we really don't know much about his background or what makes him tick.
Director David Schmoeller (who gave us the cult horror film Tourist Trap) does a competent job in handling suspenseful scenes, and Mac Ahberg delivers some nice cinematography, but Schmoeller's script gets contrived at times. Is the security so bad at the TV station where Derek can just waltz in and out anytime he pleases? And when asked how he was able to get in the place, he just simply says "Oh it wasn't that hard." I mean, c'mon!
So all-in-all it amounts to a routine and predictable thriller that offers little in the way of surprises.
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on May 25, 2019 8:32:37 GMT
I seen that like 10 years ago. I recall it being OK.
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Post by petrolino on May 25, 2019 12:25:04 GMT
I like it. I have the old U K dvd release. Did you enjoy Morgan Fairchild's performance? As you mention, she seems suited to her role here. I find she has a strong presence on screen.
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Post by Captain Spencer on May 25, 2019 12:55:03 GMT
I like it. I have the old U K dvd release. Did you enjoy Morgan Fairchild's performance? As you mention, she seems suited to her role here. I find she has a strong presence on screen. I thought Morgan's acting was fairly good; it varies. Actually, I thought Colleen Camp gave the best performance. I love how she delivers that line "Art fart!"
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Post by petrolino on May 25, 2019 12:57:54 GMT
I like it. I have the old U K dvd release. Did you enjoy Morgan Fairchild's performance? As you mention, she seems suited to her role here. I find she has a strong presence on screen. I thought Morgan's acting was fairly good; it varies. Actually, I thought Colleen Camp gave the best performance. I love how she delivers that line "Art fart!" Colleen Camp made some cool movies back then. A creepy horror movie she's in with Sondra Locke is 'Death Game' (1977).
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Post by Captain Spencer on May 25, 2019 13:02:54 GMT
I thought Morgan's acting was fairly good; it varies. Actually, I thought Colleen Camp gave the best performance. I love how she delivers that line "Art fart!" Colleen Camp made some cool movies back then. A creepy horror movie she's in with Sondra Locke is 'Death Game' (1977). I heard about Death Game. That's the one about two women who kidnap and torture a man, correct?
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Post by petrolino on May 25, 2019 13:05:39 GMT
Colleen Camp made some cool movies back then. A creepy horror movie she's in with Sondra Locke is 'Death Game' (1977). I heard about Death Game. That's the one about two women who kidnap and torture a man, correct?
That's the one. It was recently retooled by Eli Roth as 'Knock Knock' (2015).
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Post by dirtypillows on May 29, 2019 7:19:24 GMT
Watched the new Shout! Factory release of The Seduction tonight, and it was my first time seeing this thriller about a crazed fan stalking a beautiful newswoman. Overall it was just average. Morgan Fairchild is well-suited to the leading role, as she does project that high glamour newswoman persona, but her acting ranges from pretty good to so-so. Andrew Stevens is an OK actor when he's in the right material, but here he isn't really all that convincing as a deranged lunatic; basically, he was just miscast. Furthermore, his Derek character wasn't really all that well-developed, and we really don't know much about his background or what makes him tick. Director David Schmoeller (who gave us the cult horror film Tourist Trap) does a competent job in handling suspenseful scenes, and Mac Ahberg delivers some nice cinematography, but Schmoeller's script gets contrived at times. I s the security so bad at the TV station where Derek can just waltz in and out anytime he pleases? And when asked how he was able to get in the place, he just simply says "Oh it wasn't that hard." I mean, c'mon! So all-in-all it amounts to a routine and predictable thriller that offers little in the way of surprises. I just watched "The Seduction" for the very first time about a week ago. I had been wanting to see it forever, but it never seemed to be available. Then it popped up on Youtube. I should have not been disappointed because you can tell by the premise that is probably going to be an awful movie. But I was. It was pretty terrible. First, Morgan Fairchild is no actress. Okay, she was good in the 1978 tv movie "Initiation of Sara", and that's it. She is pretty enough to look at, but she also resembles the models from "Eyes of Laura Mars", wearing an inordinate amount of makeup, pretty tacky... But she has a cold presence and she's very blah here. Andrew Stevens in ridiculously miscast as the clueless, dimwitted peeping tom. This movie just doesn't know what it's doing with so many dumb out of nowhere stalking scenes. And no suspense value. It was just lame. I might have to watch it again, though, to see if it might be have some of the replay value that certain mindless films seem to have, e.g., "Visiting Hours"...
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Post by dirtypillows on May 29, 2019 20:18:02 GMT
I just watched "The Seduction" for the very first time about a week ago. I had been wanting to see it forever, but it never seemed to be available. Then it popped up on Youtube. I should have not been disappointed because you can tell by the premise that is probably going to be an awful movie. But I was. It was pretty terrible. First, Morgan Fairchild is no actress. Okay, she was good in the 1978 tv movie "Initiation of Sara", and that's it. She is pretty enough to look at, but she also resembles the models from "Eyes of Laura Mars", wearing an inordinate amount of makeup, pretty tacky... But she has a cold presence and she's very blah here. Andrew Stevens in ridiculously miscast as the clueless, dimwitted peeping tom. This movie just doesn't know what it's doing with so many dumb out of nowhere stalking scenes. And no suspense value. It was just lame. I might have to watch it again, though, to see if it might be have some of the replay value that certain mindless films seem to have, e.g., "Visiting Hours"... I recall when The Seduction was playing at the cinema when I was a kid. It didn't interest me at all and I liked those kind of films. I wouldn't say Visiting Hours is mindless by any means. There is much virtue in it as a psycho thriller and excellent acting and it does have suspense. I liked "Visiting Hours" more than "The Seduction", but, for me, all these early 80s slasher/thrillers fulfill the same basic need in me. "Visiting Hours" did have two main characters (and some very good performances) who were better developed than in most movies of the genre. They all help me turn my brain off for a couple of hours. I might have just as easily said "Terror Train" or "Halloween 2"... Those are pretty mindless thrillers to me, but I enjoy all of them (or most of them), to varying degrees, of course. Though I didn't think "Mother's Day" was mindless nor "Motel Hell", but those are really different genres, anyway. I just wonder if I rewatched "The Seduction", I would enjoy it in this way. It was a pretty flat movie, but there were also some outlandish scenes, and maybe there would be some unintentional humor to be found, which I always enjoy.
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Post by dirtypillows on May 30, 2019 21:53:19 GMT
I liked "Visiting Hours" more than "The Seduction", but, for me, all these early 80s slasher/thrillers fulfill the same basic need in me. "Visiting Hours" did have two main characters (and some very good performances) who were better developed than in most movies of the genre. They all help me turn my brain off for a couple of hours. I might have just as easily said "Terror Train" or "Halloween 2"... Those are pretty mindless thrillers to me, but I enjoy all of them (or most of them), to varying degrees, of course. Though I didn't think "Mother's Day" was mindless nor "Motel Hell", but those are really different genres, anyway. I just wonder if I rewatched "The Seduction", I would enjoy it in this way. It was a pretty flat movie, but there were also some outlandish scenes, and maybe there would be some unintentional humor to be found, which I always enjoy. Motel Hell and Mother's Day are good examples for your point and pretty much defy genre category. Horror films that are darkly satirical and have a wicked streak of black humor. They are perhaps not quite as easy to watch unless one is in tune or connects with the creative thought process behind them.
Visiting Hours does have some social commentary running through it, though it is not properly explored or developed, especially involving Colt and his psychosis. We see a few flashbacks of his childhood, which is supposed to give us the impression that he hates women because his mother threw a pot of hot oil in his drunken father's face because he was attempting to get amorous with her. We only get a brief impression that Colt had a good relationship with his father as a kid and nothing is explored beyond that. We are supposed to just accept that men cause all the domestic grievances in a woman's life and she has the right to violently fight back anyway she can..... This film has been accused of misogyny, when it is in fact about a misogynist killer, yet at the same time, it can also be accused of misandry. That said, the intense and austere presentation overrides any thematic flaws that it wants to present us with. I have a soft spot for VH and rate it as one of the better psycho slasher thrillers from the early 80's.
I liked what you wrote about VH. I think it would have been a stronger film if they have given some more background expository. Like the scene with his dad was very playful and sweet (if I remember correctly.) They should have shown us two parents who were equally dysfunctional, but to Colt's childlike mind, his mother came off as the worse parent. And I do like how they have scenes with Colt taken care of his infirm father. You have given the movie a lot more thought than I ever have. It's just sometimes the movie feels like it is a character piece and sometimes it is closer to a straight suspense-thriller. The movie does sometimes work on both levels, but it could have been an excitingly good movie if the filmmakers could have produced a more compelling blend of the two. The main reason why I cited VH in my post was, I think, because both movies are about a stalker. Same with "The Fan"... And that is ridiculous to accuse VH of misogyny, when it is just the one person who is misogynistic and it should be clear that he represents the villain of the piece. Wow, people can't past the end of their noses some times! How could they reasonably see this movie as misogynistic. The main character is a strong, intelligent, successful, resourceful AND likable woman! Did these viewers overlook that. You make a good point about how VH could have just as easily be accused of misandry, with its mentally disturbed and violent woman-hating man.
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Post by dirtypillows on May 31, 2019 12:18:03 GMT
I liked what you wrote about VH. I think it would have been a stronger film if they have given some more background expository. Like the scene with his dad was very playful and sweet (if I remember correctly.) They should have shown us two parents who were equally dysfunctional, but to Colt's childlike mind, his mother came off as the worse parent. And I do like how they have scenes with Colt taken care of his infirm father. You have given the movie a lot more thought than I ever have. It's just sometimes the movie feels like it is a character piece and sometimes it is closer to a straight suspense-thriller. The movie does sometimes work on both levels, but it could have been an excitingly good movie if the filmmakers could have produced a more compelling blend of the two. The main reason why I cited VH in my post was, I think, because both movies are about a stalker. Same with "The Fan"... And that is ridiculous to accuse VH of misogyny, when it is just the one person who is misogynistic and it should be clear that he represents the villain of the piece. Wow, people can't past the end of their noses some times! How could they reasonably see this movie as misogynistic. The main character is a strong, intelligent, successful, resourceful AND likable woman! Did these viewers overlook that. You make a good point about how VH could have just as easily be accused of misandry, with its mentally disturbed and violent woman-hating man. I love talking about favorite horror films with you Mr. D. 
There were probably more scenes written and filmed and what makes Colt tick, appears to have been truncated, hence under-developed. Because Ironside is a very good actor, he was able to make his Colt disturbed in each individual moment and his performance comes across as very real and he is an imposing presence. The film was lucky to have him to make it work as well as it did. Ballin triggered him and he was out to get her, and anyone else who got in his way, were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Yes, we really did need to know more about why Ballin triggered him. How did his mother treat him? Was the film suggesting he was just like his father because he was male, was his father really a bad guy on the domestic front, yet Colt didn't appear to have any issue with him? In this sense, the film wants us to side with Ballin's stance on women's rights who have been violently abused in the home and struck back with lethal violence, but at the same time, takes a biased slant, as though women are the victims first and foremost and the men are just scumbag wife beaters, and in Colts place, just a cold-blooded sociopathic\psycopathic killer, because a woman fought bac k...his mother. As a child, Colt was disturbed by her actions and yet apparently not his fathers. By default, because he was a male child, the film makes him a product of a dysfunctional family and therefore turned into a psycho as well and all because his mother seriously hurt his father because he was trying to touch her boobies. Yes, there was some confused thematic elements presented here and it slants to males being the horrid ones. A misogynist killer, in a misandrist themed film. 
Have you seen Vice Squad - 82' Mr. Dirty? That is a goody too. Wings Hauser is a scary psycho pimp and the cop is a cutie on his tail. They make a good double bill.
And you as well, Toasted Cheese. "A misogynist killer, in a misandrist themed film..."
Yes, I saw "Vice Squad". I thought it was enjoyable sleaze and pretty well-done. I think my first introduction to the movie was actually in a clip from the badly edited ode to scary movie "Terror in the Ailes", narrted by Donald Pleasance and Nancy Allen. Wings Hauser was a very memorable scary villain. That bit where he is trying to sweet talk that girl who is terrified on the other chain-locked door, and she actually unlocks the door for him.... If I had seen that in the theater, I am sure the whole audience would have been chiming in "....he's gonna kill you, girl! Don't let him in!" And then she lets him in. "I cannot believe how dumb you are"... He says something like that to her. I think, without looking it up, that terrified hooker was Nina Blackwood, one of the four original VJ's from MTV. Blackwood had this real raspy speaking voice. The only other person of note I can remember is Season Hubley. I liked her.
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