Movie Type: Psychological Thriller, Erotic Thriller
Themes: Woman In Jeopardy, Serial Killers, Dangerous Attraction
Main Cast: Rebecca De Mornay, Antonio Banderas, Dennis Miller, Len Cariou, Harry Dean Stanton
Release Year: 1995
Country: US
Run Time: 86 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
A beautiful but reserved criminal psychiatrist must deal with the obsessive stalking of a dangerous killer in this erotically charged thriller. The film's central tension emerges from the relationship between Dr. Sarah Taylor (Rebecca DeMornay), a highly professional psychologist, and a handsome stranger, Tony Ramirez (Antonio Banderas). After randomly encountering Tony in a supermarket, the normally aloof Sarah lets her guard down and embarks on a passionate sexual affair with the Latino charmer. Soon afterward, however, Sarah receives a series of disturbing threats from an unknown stalker. Her suspicions immediately fall on Tony, as she realizes how little she knows about her new lover. Her fear throws a shadow over their relationship, and her doubts increase as she learns more about Tony's dangerous past. Director Peter J. Hall maintains a fast pace and attempts to keep audiences guessing, introducing additional suspects from an imprisoned serial killer (Harry Dean Stanton) to the next-door neighbor (Dennis Miller). The characters rarely transcend standard thriller types, and the uneven screenplay does not have a satisfying ending, but the chemistry between DeMornay and Banderas may keep their fans interested along the way. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
Beau Starr - Grogan; Phil Jarrett - Spatz; Tim Kelleher - Wabash; Eugene Lipinski - Dudakoff
Credit
Roberto Silvi - Associate Producer, Tom Willey - Associate Producer, Jon Comerford - Casting, Ralph Dietrich - Co-producer, Jean Desormeaux - Co-producer, Terry Dresbach - Costume Designer, Myron Hoffert - First Assistant Director, Peter Hall - Director, Roberto Silvi - Editor, Robert Lantos - Executive Producer, Barbet Schroeder - Executive Producer, Pino Donaggio - Composer (Music Score), Linda Del Rosario - Production Designer, Richard Paris - Production Designer, Elemer Ragalyi - Cinematographer, Rebecca De Mornay - Producer, Andras Hamori - Producer, Martin Wiley - Producer, Jeffrey R. Neuman - Producer, Richard Paris - Set Designer, Chaim Gilad - Sound/Sound Designer, Jordan Rush - Screenwriter, Lewis Green - Screenwriter, David McCallum - Sound Effects Editor
This movie starts off with criminal psychologist (De Mornay) interviewing a client who is a rapist. It is later indicated that she was the subject of daily rapes as a child by her estranged father who is shown to be very ill. Sarah (De Mornay) meets Banderas in a shopping mall and she gives him her number, thus a relationship begins despite the advances of one of her neighbors. Days into the relationship Sarah begins to get death threats and strange gifts, such as rotten eggs and some flowers. As she gets more romantic with Banderas' character the gifts get more extreme. Her lifelong cat was killed later on. Sarah hires a detective and has Banderas followed. He soon tells her that he was a detective and shows her video of her killing her own cat and mailing herself the flowers. It is indicated that she has Multiple Personality Disorder from past trauma. This results in his and her father's deaths. It is shown that she killed her previous boyfriend as well. In the end she starts a relationship with her neighbor.
