Desire and Hell at Sunset Motel (1991)

Right after Disneyland opens in Anaheim, California, in 1955, a toy salesman in town for a convention brings his wife with him so they can both go to Disneyland. They stay at a rundown ... See full summary »

Director:

Alien Castle

Writer:

Alien Castle

Stars:

Sherilyn Fenn, Whip Hubley, David Hewlett

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Sherilyn Fenn	...	Bridget 'Bridey' DeSoto
Whip Hubley	...	Chester DeSoto
David Hewlett	...	Deadpan
David Johansen	...	Auggie
Kenneth Tobey	...	Capt. Holiday
Paul Bartel	...	The Manager
Parker Whitman	...	The Boss
Shannon Sturges	...	Louella
Eric Welch	...	Eddie
Larry Spinak	...	Waiter
Chuck Swain	...	Hula Hoop Boy
Holly Dorff	...	(voice) (as Holly Ryan)
Ruth Britt	...	(voice)
Bryan Scott	...	(voice)
Gary Schwartz	...	(voice)

Storyline

Right after Disneyland opens in Anaheim, California, in 1955, a toy salesman in town for a convention brings his wife with him so they can both go to Disneyland. They stay at a rundown place called the Sunset Motel nearby. Soon the wife is having an affair with a man staying at the motel. The husband hires a psychotic criminal to spy on them, the wife and her lover plan to murder the husband, and the voyeuristic motel manager is spying on everybody.

---

Plot Keywords:

motel | black comedy | female lead | manipulation | temptress | 

---

Taglines:

Sex, intrigue and murder, without reservations.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Mystery | Thriller

---

Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 April 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sunset Motel

Filming Locations:

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Heron Communications, Planet Productions, The Image Organization

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

When the police pick up Bridey at the Drive-in theater there is an Edsel parked there. The movie is set in 1955, but the first model year for the Edsel was 1958, so there would not have been any available until the fall of 1957.

---

Quotes

Deadpan: You're so damned happy in your safe little circle. Do you know where you'll be thirty years from now? Exercising...
[begins snapping fingers]
Deadpan: ... Bargain hunting, 3-D TV in your back-pack jet. You'll have a boss on your neck, kids at your feet, head deep in debt, can't get to sleep. Cause you'll be thinking back to now, going, "I remember then...", but you don't, you missed it, and you'll miss it again. So when you're lying there crying out... where is enlightenment? Just remember how... I told ...
[...]

---

Soundtracks

"SHE MUST BE JELLY"
Performed by Stephen Bittle
Guitar by Henry Hadeed
Written by Alien Castle
Produced by Doug Walter

User Reviews

The Title Is Better Than The Film

The movie was an attempt at film noir and while it succeeded visually, it failed story-wise.

For most of the film, the viewer is too confused, particularly in two of the scenes where time and space seem to totally change, and one of the main characters (played by Sherilyn Fenn) has no idea what is going on. We don't either. The film also is too talky. It desperately needs a bit more action.

On the plus side, the colors in here are nice and the characters are strangely reminiscent of the ones you would see in David Lynch's "Twin Peaks" television series (in which Fenn also starred.) Fenn, by the way, is easy on this male's eyes!!

The 1950s lingo and references were fun (Davy Crockett cap, '50s products such as 20-mule team borax, beatniks, etc.).

All in all, however, the best part of this film was the title.