The Last Seduction

Right from the get-go with her introduction in John Dahl's The Last Seduction, Bridget Gregory (Linda Fiorentino) proves she doesn't take shit from anyone. Interspersed with this, her husband Clay (Bill Pullman) panics as he conducts a drug deal. It's clear who wears the pants in this marriage.

Soon after, Bridget steals the $700,000 Clay got from the deal and skips town. She's aiming for Chicago but she stops just outside of Buffalo. Aside from a false name, Bridget makes no real effort to blend in within the small town. But what else is she planning?

Much like Double Indemnity fifty years prior, The Last Seduction has a female lead playing the men who stupidly cross her path like a cheap piano. But make no mistake -- Bridget Gregory is far more ruthless than Phyllis Dietrichson. Bridget will get what she wants, consequences be damned.

And what a role for Fiorentino to sink her teeth into. Very rarely does an actress get to play a character so icy, so calculating, so vile -- frankly, screenwriters are too cowardly to not even attempt it. But both Fiorentino and Steve Barancik took that gamble, and it paid off beautifully.

The Last Seduction paints an absolutely wicked picture. Save for an unfortunate (and very dated) detail in the third act, it's the kind of neo-noir that shows up once in a blue moon. And like Gone Girl twenty years later, it just goes to show that girls aren't always made of sugar, spice, and everything nice.

My Rating: ****1/2

Street Smart

Jerry Schatzberg's Street Smart opens with Jonathan Fisher (Christopher Reeve) failing to pitch several ideas to his editor. Then he comes up with writing a profile on the average New York City pimp. One problem: he doesn't have a pimp to write about so he makes one up. Then more problems arise when an actual pimp resembles Jonathan's "profile"...

Similar to Schatzberg's earlier film The Panic in Needle Park, Street Smart has New York City play as much of a role as those with lines. While not as decayed and grimy as it appeared in the earlier film, the city still proves to be just as lovely as it appeared back in the early '70s. But make no mistake -- it's just as sleazy.

And like Schatzberg's other earlier film Scarecrow, Street Smart has a litany of personalities in it. Using his photographer's eye, Schatzberg captures these figures with an acute sharpness. Every person has their own story to tell in how much screentime they receive, and Schatzberg utilizes that. Film is just photography in motion, after all.

That said, Street Smart falls just shy of Schatzberg's earlier films. Screenwriter David Freeman had a good idea -- basing it on his own experiences at New York magazine -- but the execution of it is limp. Still, it works about 80% of the time.

Street Smart admittedly falls victim to the standard conventions of late 1980s cinema but it's still pretty solid overall. Reeve works well with what he has, as do Morgan Freeman (who was nominated for an Oscar) and Kathy Baker. All in all, it's worth a look.

My Rating: ****

Child's Play

With horror movies constantly getting remakes, sequels, and spin-offs, it becomes crucial for one to seek out the originals. Amid the various re-tellings, it's easy for the original story to get lost in imitation. After all, give credit where credit's due.

It's especially prevalent in slasher pictures. Throughout all the stabbings, dismemberings, and disembowelings, the motive of the killer(s) can get muddled. Granted, some just like to kill for the sake of killing. And that's exactly the case with Chucky.

Tom Holland's Child's Play is what kicked off the nearly forty-year franchise, and it's little wonder as to why it's later after all these years. As Don Mancini's pride and joy throughout this time, it's clear that he knew he had a good idea (even if he didn't like some of Holland's ideas for it); he was going to take it and run with it.

Admittedly, Child's Play is darker than future entries in the franchise, but even then, it has its own macabre charm. Cinematographer Bill Butler (no stranger to horror himself) captures the unease in middle-class life, making it stand out from both its sequels and other slasher films of the decade. It's not that common, that's for sure.

Child's Play is one of those rare horror titles that proves creativity goes a long way. With a sharp wit, it's something often lacking in other films of the genre. After all, you can't spell "slaughter" without "laughter".

My Rating: ****