This is a fascinatingly campy bad thriller, reminding me of those types of movies that started with 1981's "The Fan" and continued later in the decade and beyond with films like "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle", "The Temp" and "Sleeping with the Enemy", films that were a bit different from neo noir like "Body Heat", "Fatal Attraction" and "Basic Instict". It's delightfully trashy in its unrealistic approach to the subject matter of how an adoptee reacts upon discovering who his real mother is. William McNamara is a fantastic villainous psychopath, somehow managing to get a job with broker dealer Donald Sutherland and insinuating his way into the life of his family which includes second wife Lesley Anne Warren and a son from previous marriage (Christian Tessier). But it's obvious from the start that he intends on destroying everything good about that family even though apparently he had a good family life with the people who adopted him. This leads to several very shocking murders, some of which are very disturbing in the way they are presented and one sick twist that is truly deranged.
I couldn't help but the intrigued and how this was unfolding, as McNamara goes from sweet and charming, smart and seemingly dedicated, to finally very dangerous. Lenore Zann is appropriately trashy as his oversexed girlfriend, while Rosemary Dunsmore is very funny as Warren's old pal from high school, expressing a lust for McNamara, while Tia Carrare gets in on the action as an investigator of adoptions for parents wanting to find their adopted children and adopted children wanting to find their real parents. This film has some moments that definitely keep the audience interested, but there are many elements that are eye-rolling, and others that will make other viewers despise it with all the fiber of their being. But for those who can get past all the elements of absurdity, it's an enjoyable if extraordinarily farfetched thriller that can only end one way. Perhaps the writer saw the classic Greek play "Oedipus Rex" too many times and decided to take their own twist on it. Looking at it from that aspect, I found this absolutely delightfully demented, with Sutherland and Warren managing to make interesting characters who become unknowing victims to a fascinating over-the-top psycho.
I couldn't help but the intrigued and how this was unfolding, as McNamara goes from sweet and charming, smart and seemingly dedicated, to finally very dangerous. Lenore Zann is appropriately trashy as his oversexed girlfriend, while Rosemary Dunsmore is very funny as Warren's old pal from high school, expressing a lust for McNamara, while Tia Carrare gets in on the action as an investigator of adoptions for parents wanting to find their adopted children and adopted children wanting to find their real parents. This film has some moments that definitely keep the audience interested, but there are many elements that are eye-rolling, and others that will make other viewers despise it with all the fiber of their being. But for those who can get past all the elements of absurdity, it's an enjoyable if extraordinarily farfetched thriller that can only end one way. Perhaps the writer saw the classic Greek play "Oedipus Rex" too many times and decided to take their own twist on it. Looking at it from that aspect, I found this absolutely delightfully demented, with Sutherland and Warren managing to make interesting characters who become unknowing victims to a fascinating over-the-top psycho.