Double Exposure (1982) User Reviews

Photographs and memories

[Chase_Witherspoon · 5/10 · 5 April 2012]

First time I saw this film many years ago, I thought it was a pretty fair slasher film, but on second recent viewing, it's waned a bit - while Callan is okay as the central character, a men's magazine photographer suffering from bizarre and murderous apparent dreams, Jim Stacy as his knock-about brother, maimed in an auto-accident, is perhaps the film's highlight. The switch in dominance between Callan and Stacy's characters is interesting to see evolve, but it's a transition that's made difficult to follow due to the film's erratic narrative. Joanna Pettet gets undressed and even has a "When Harry Met Sally" moment with Callan in the back of his camper-van, as the only woman with whom Callan's emotionally fragile character can consummate.

The violence is pretty extreme at times, with sado-masochistic homicide the flavour of the early eighties slasher film getting 'double exposure' here, full-frontal female nudity, mud-wrestling, even Cleavon Little in a minor supporting role as a cranky police chief. It's eclectic. The cast has surprising depth with producer Callan managing to assemble an enviable cast that includes big Bob Tessier as a bar manager, Pamela Hensley as a ball-breaking detective, Seymour Cassel as Callan's shrink, Misty Rowe as Stacy's squeeze, Sally Kirkland as a voluptuous hooker and blink-and-you'll-miss Terry Moore in a flashback dream sequence.

Lairy wardrobe, colourful dialogue, pulsating synthesisers and tricky cinematographic effects momentarily distract you, but the narrative is so inconsistent and the editing (or perhaps scene sequence and continuity) so incoherent at times, that it never maintains any momentum. Highly stylised, the bold concepts and loud motifs (not to mention the substantial cast) should have made for a better movie all things considered, and yet, it's still no Brian DePalma psycho-thriller.

ALL I WANT IS A SIMPLE RELATIONSHIP

[nogodnomasters · 6/10 · 24 April 2019]

Adrian (Michael Callan) is a troubled photographer. He dreams about people dying and they actually die the way he dreamed it, go figure. He lives in a large travel trailer, drives a 928 Porsche, wears his shirts open, and has some of the worse pick-up lines ever...except for the ones used by his brother (James Stacy) who is missing an arm and a leg.

There are two cops tracking the killer (Pamela Hensley, David Young) who work for the proverbial angry black chief (Cleavon Little). The cast includes minor roles by Misty Rowe and Victoria Jackson before she discovered Big Macs. The film overall is poorly scripted and acted. The hair styles and automobiles did bring back some memories.

Parental Guide: F-bomb, sex, nudity (Joanna Pettet from Casino Royale, Sally Kirkland of General Hospital, Jeana Keough a ZZ Top Video girl, Debbie Zipp)

Double Exposure

[Scarecrow-88 · 5/10 · 29 March 2012]

An LA serial killer is slaying prostitutes, moving next to nude models, and the film proposes that charming photographer Adrian (Michael Callan), a ladies' man, is perhaps this person. A cop dressed as a hooker is stabbed in the neck from behind and the LA police are seemingly powerless to stop the killer even when they are staked out only a block from where the murder took place. The film establishes the fact that Adrian is having bizarre nightmares involving women and violence. In one of these "dreams", Adrian murders a model in a pool, the victim later pulled from said pool by the police; detectives working the serial killings are frustrated that so few clues have turned up to give them some idea as to his identity.

Adrian is a womanizer, lives in a rather nice mobile home, and sees a shrink (Cassavetes vet Seymore Cassel) regularly to help him cope with the strange dreams awakening him often at night in a cold sweat. Adrian has a crippled stuntman brother (missing an arm and leg due to a stunt gone awry), BJ (James Stacy), who is still rather sore about a broken marriage. BJ, however, still performs dangerous car stunts and tries, despite the handicaps, to pick up women at the local discos/dance clubs. Adrian begins what seems like a potential romance with a nurse who works at a rest home for the elderly but quits dating her (although she stays on his mind; he even stabs her in one of his dreams!).

"Double Exposure",at times, seems more concerned with Adrian's photography duties instead of the plot centered around the murders…it almost feels like director Hillman could care less about the thriller aspect of the story in favor of following around Adrian on his many exploits. Actually, the serial killings subplot feels like exactly that: a subplot that intrudes on the LA adventures of photographer Adrian. If you do not like Callan or his character then "Double Exposure" will be a trial to get through I assume. It is only as the film progresses, and Adrian's mental condition worsens, that the serial killer part of the plot becomes more substantial. The film gives you warts and all in regards to the character of Adrian, his life's routine as a photographer. Again, how you like Adrian could dictate the experience. Callan really gives a full bore breakdown by film's end, really "going off the deep end". His character's reason for struggling to maintain his sanity—mommy was a whore. Yep, this development is pretty derivative.

The laid back approach and jarring editing style (one minute we are in a hotel as Adrian sets up a shot with model Bambi and his brother, immediately moving into the next scene where he forces a model to help him unload camera gear as she gets dressed in clothes meant to reveal her tits) could be detrimental to the overall viewing experience as well, because director Hillman doesn't seem to want to make a straight thriller in the general sense.

It is all about expectations, I think: this film sets you up with what appears to be a formula thriller then the screenplay seems to "change strategies". Quite an unusually paced movie. The detectives of the movie (including barking police chief Cleavon Little, given little to do but rip into his cops) are barely developed, because they seem to be characters Hillman seems less interested in. The revelation of the killer shouldn't really be of great surprise.

Joanna Pettet is very good as Adrian's love interest, Mindy, wanting a prosperous relationship, but this will be tested as his psyche starts to fracture into pieces. Cassel really seems disinterested in his part as Adrian's psychiatrist, popping up periodically in small doses, worried about his patient's mental state as the model murders seem eerily related to the dreams often detailed during sessions. Cutie Misty Rowe is a model who befriends BJ and believes Adrian could be the killer. The lurid activities of brothers Adrian and BJ add a bit of sleaze to the film: this is definitely a Crown International Picture.

Drunken, late-night TV-watching heaven

[lazarillo · 15 May 2004]

I had to scan the credits of this movie for surnames beginning and/or ending in vowels because I'd swear it was an Italian giallo. All the signs are there: gratuitous violence and nudity, out-of-control cinematography, a completely ridiculous plot. Michael Callan is a photographer who has incredibly cinematic dreams where he murders his beautiful, half-naked models. When his beautiful, half-naked models start being murdered in real life, both the police and his psychiatrist (Seymour Cassel) begin to suspect that he is the killer. But is it him or is it his creepy brother who is missing both an arm and leg (but still gets to date former "Hee Haw" honey Misty Rowe and mud wrestle Playmate-to-be Kathy Shower)? If you've seen even one of these kind of movies, you already know the answer. Still if you love Italian giallos and 70's and 80's low-budget American exploitation flicks (a select group of people, I know) you'll be in drunken, late-night TV-watching heaven with this one.

Ego trip for leading man Callan.

[gridoon · 3/10 · 15 September 2002]

Michael Callan plays a smarmy photographer who seems, nonetheless, to be regarded as a perfect "catch" by any woman that runs across him; could this have anything to do with the fact that he also co-produced the film? He's a "hero" whom it's very difficult to empathize with, so the movie is in trouble right from the start. However, it's troubles don't end there. It has the production values of a TV-movie (check out that head made of clay or something, near the end), and the ending cheats in a way that I can't reveal, in case anyone wants to see the movie (highly unlikely). Let's just say that the killer knows more than we were let to know he knows. (*1/2)

TV cast in a bad R rated romp

[dbborroughs · 3/10 · 30 July 2009]

A cast of 1980's TV movie and TV series guest stars (Misty Rowe, Pamela Hemsley,Clevon Little, Seymour Cassel among several others)in the story of a photographer who has dreams about killing his models. Of course the models and other people start turning up dead causing all sorts of complications.

Over done not very good thriller has enough nudity and violence to get an R rating but not enough good material to engender any real interest. This is best described as the sort of movie that gave the cable channel Cinemax the alternate name of Skinamax. I really can't see the point of watching this unless you need to see every sleazy thriller out there. (I also have to comment that this film is filled with smoking, to the point that it becomes laughable when anyone lights up)

Slightly sleazy, giallo-flavoured slasher

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 9 December 2015]

Here's something a little different from Crown International Pictures: a giallo-flavoured slasher with a strong psychological angle and a decidedly nasty edge. DOUBLE EXPOSURE tells the tale of a photographer plagued by nightmares in which he kills a string of young and beautiful women, and a real-life series of killings taking place at the same time. Could he really be the serial killer responsible?

DOUBLE EXPOSURE feels very much like an '80s-era giallo along the lines of A BLADE IN THE DARK or NOTHING UNDERNEATH. It has an unusually vicious edge to it for a Crown International film; it's not that it's particularly gory - and it's certainly nowhere near as gory as your average Italian giallo - it's just that the murders are ruthless and mean-spirited. Being a Crown film, there's ample nudity if you're after that, along with a very low budget that gives a schlocky look to everything that occurs.

The cast give solid rather than unspectacular performances and there are supporting turns for a few familiar faces like Cleavon Little. Michael Callan is pretty good as the weirdo lead, covered in sweat and acting deranged for the most part, although anybody with any experience of this particular genre of films will guess the identity of the killer early on in the proceedings. Nevertheless, DOUBLE EXPOSURE is a breath of fresh air when compared to Crown's typical output (i.e. low budget sex comedies).

Watchable trash.

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 16 March 2012]

"Double Exposure" is a lurid thriller starring Michael Callan ("Cat Ballou", "Mysterious Island") as Adrian Wilde, a photographer who's begun having nightmares in which he murders his models. And, naturally, these women begin to be murdered in real life in the same fashion (as well as some other people), so we have to wonder, IS he responsible? He certainly does look like he's coming unglued. Callans' performance is indeed an intense one, although he has his lighter moments, too, as he aggressively pursues a new acquaintance, Mindy (Joanna Pettet).

"Double Exposure" sometimes goes back and forth between this lighter tone and a sleazier one as these unfortunate women (and one dude) meet their demises. As a result, the incompetent detective played by Pamela Hensley pops in and out of the story. The identity of our deranged killer isn't going to come as any great shock, unfortunately, but until we get there the movie does have its moments along the way. For one thing, it comes up with a true corker of a murder set piece involving a trash bag and a snake - an inspired bit of nastiness. Some other kills are done slasher style. Doses of sex and nudity are adequate; there's a brief bit of full frontal and it's nice that the filmmakers could include an interlude of mud wrestling.

The movie does look quite nice in the Panavision aspect ratio (with cinematography by R. Michael Stringer), and the music score by Jack Goga is impressive.

The cast is definitely above average for a Crown International production; also featured are James Stacy as Callans' brother (the two are actually believable as brothers, and share a good chemistry), Oscar nominee Seymour Cassel as his psychiatrist, and Robert Tessier as a lowlife bartender. Popping up in other supporting roles and notable bits are Misty Rowe, Frances Bay, Jeana Tomasina, Sally Kirkland, Terry Moore, Victoria Jackson, and Kathy Shower. However, Cleavon Little is wasted in a clichéd role as Hensley's agitated superior.

Nothing great, but undeniably easy enough to watch, "Double Exposure" should be sufficient to satisfy the needs of trash movie lovers. Trivia note: it has its roots in another movie of nine years previous, "The Photographer", which also starred Callan, who even had the same character name.

Seven out of 10.

A Messy And Awkward Movie That Tries, But Doesn't Pass Muster.

[P3n-E-W1s3 · 5/10 · 23 April 2022]

Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Double Exposure; before launching into my critique, here's a breakdown of my ratings:

Story - 1.00 Direction - 0.75 Pace - 0.75 Acting - 1.00 Enjoyment - 1.00

TOTAL - 4.5 out of 10

William Byron Hillman is his own worst enemy, and it's his double exposure as a writer and director that damages the movie. He has a good basic idea, which is similar to other films - aren't they always(?) The trouble is the red herrings and misdirection. There's not enough or none at all. That goes for both the story and the directing. I'll be amazed if you've not figured out who the slasher is halfway through. It wouldn't have taken too much to strengthen the whodunnit part of the story as there are four suspects it could be. All Hillman had to do was cast suspicion on them all at different times. Doing this would pull the audience into the film more as they try to figure out who the killer was. But he didn't.

No, he had a different approach. Confuse the audience with the direction. He intersperses the dream sequences in a way you're unsure of the order of the dream and the murder - which came first? Making the film awkward and disjointed is never a good idea. Seldom few directors make this style work. Hillman is not one of the few. The harshness also tars the tempo, adding to the disarray. Apart from this substantial mishap, the rest of the filming is passable. In all truth, the dream sequences are respectable too; it's just their arrangement in the movie.

The cast is the shining light of this picture, which isn't saying too much. Generally, all the actors and actresses deliver decent performances. However, there are a couple of moments when the lead man gets too whacko. His joy is in overkill mode when he fantasises about the pool killing. The grin should have been chilling, but it was over-the-top ludicrous. Then there's the scene where he has a breakdown juncture. Instead of offering insight into the mind of a mentally disturbed man, it comes across more as a comedy moment, which isn't funny.

Double Exposure is a messy below-par Dark Thriller come Chiller that could have risen above averageness. I'd say it's worth a look-see if there's nowt else on the box. But, I wouldn't suggest buying it, let alone hunting it down.

Please feel free to visit my Killer Thriller Chiller list to see where I ranked Double Exposure.

Take Care & Stay Well.

Dreams! Models! Amputees!

[Bezenby · 7/10 · 19 February 2013]

A good old early eighties slasher film with a distinct giallo flavour to it, Double Exposure does what it sets out to do, but adds a little character to the proceedings too. Adrian Wilde is a photographer who suffers from bad dreams, especially those where he's killing the models who work with him. His brother, a stunt man whose career cost him an arm and a leg (literally), offers support but seems to be increasingly bitter and angry at the world. Wilde meets a girl called Misty, but his dreams and failing grip on reality threaten the relationship, and when the models start turning up dead in real life, Wilde reckons he's got a big problem on his hands.

The giallo side of things rears it's head as it become apparent that the true life killer is a photographer, but in the giallo style, just about every male character wields a camera at some point, from Wilde and his brother, the local barman, the psychiatrist and a gay colleague of Wilde's. Some of the killings seemingly take place in Wilde's dreams, and although the gore level is low the nasty level is quite high, especially when one model has her head forced into a bin bag that contains a snake.

So, is Wilde a nutter or is there some other utter nutter muttering in the background (with a camera shutter covered in butter)? I'll leave that up to you to find out, but I enjoyed this film, although I'm kind of getting fed up watching middle aged men getting it on with the chicks, like.

slasher on low value

[trashgang · 5/10 · 5 March 2013]

A photographer Adrian Wilde (Michael Callan) doesn't know of he is dreaming or awake when people are being killed while he is taking pictures. In the meanwhile he's the 'stud' of them all and all the ladies are falling for him. But in the town girls, some he photographed, are actually being murdered. Of course the question Adrian asks is if he's the killer.

More a thriller then a horror this is rather low on the killings. The first whore being killed looked a bit tame. There's a bit of nudity here and there and even some full frontal but I was never in full force with this flick. I just couldn't care what happened, the killings I did care but Adrian himself I just couldn't care.

The biggest name here is Seymour Cassel as Dr. Frank Curtis. For a slasher made in the heydays of horror and slashers this is extremely low on all aspects to be called a horror. It has more a television film look. Still unavailable on DVD or Blu Ray, only on VHS.

It's only the fact that Adrian is a playboy that makes this a failure. All girls want him and that makes it a bit unbelievable. Almost no blood or gore to see in a period when the red stuff and gore were the big thing.

Gore 0/5 Nudity 1,5/5 Effects 2/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0/5

A neat little thriller

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 31 December 2008]

Troubled men's magazine photographer Adrien Wilde (well played with considerable intensity by Michael Callan) has horrific nightmares in which he brutally murders his models. When the lovely ladies start turning up dead for real, Adrien worries that he might be the killer. Writer/director William Byron Hillman relates the engrossing story at a steady pace, builds a reasonable amount of tension, delivers a few gruesomely effective moments of savage misogynistic violence (one woman who has a plastic garbage bag with a rattlesnake in it placed over her head rates as the definite squirm-inducing highlight), puts a refreshing emphasis on the nicely drawn and engaging true-to-life characters, further grounds everything in a plausible everyday world, and tops things off with a nice smattering of tasty female nudity. The fine acting from an excellent cast helps matters a whole lot: Joanna Pettet as sunny, charming love interest Mindy Jordache, James Stacy as Adrien's macho double amputee brother B.J., Seymour Cassel as Adrien's concerned psychiatrist Dr. Frank Curtis, Don Potter as Adrien's feisty gay assistant Louis, Pamela Hensley as gutsy homicide detective Sergeant Fountain, Cleavon Little as a hard-nosed police chief, and Misty Rowe as sweet, bubbly model Bambi. R. Michael Stringer's polished cinematography makes impressive occasional use of breathtaking panoramic aerial shots. Jack Goga's ominous rattling score likewise does the trick. Popping up in cool bit parts are Robert Tessier as a gruff bartender, Sally Kirkland as a saucy hooker, Kathy Shower as a fierce female wrestler B.J. grapples with in the ring, and Frances Bay in one of her standard old woman roles. A solid and enjoyable picture.

Above Average 80s Horror Sleaze - Better Than Expected

[Rainey-Dawn · 6/10 · 11 January 2016]

This film is better than your average stereotypical 1980's horror trashy-sleaze - this one has a story behind the killer. The film is not a killer just snapping pictures and killing women, instead you will view into the life of the killer Adrian Wilde (Michael Callan) - it's his story.

I'm was surprised by this film - it's definitely watchable. It's not a top quality 80's horror but it's better than I ever imagined it to be.

Yes there is comedy-horror in this one - like killing of the female via a snake in a garbage bag... LOL something funny about it yet it's a kind of trashy horror.

Not a bad film to view if you are tired of other horror films and want to watch something you've never seen before.

6/10

No matter how you slice it, it's exploitation.

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 14 October 2021]

No matter how intriguing the mystery, how revolting the crime, seems as if films like this always end up the same to where you really don't care who ends up being the culprit because all the trippe's are the same. There's a series of murders of models and prostitutes, and photographer Michael Tallon is having a dream that he is the culprit. He's been arguing Joanna Pettet whom he ends up getting to date him, and it seems obvious that she'll become an intended target. No matter how fast paced or action packed or horror flick, these films are nothing more than Hi-Tech trash, especially those released to the theater like this was for a brief run, coming and going so quickly that it's nearly forgotten other than on cheap DVD labels.

One scene of a truly sleazy prostitute being strangled in an alley is almost pornographic in nature as she describes what she'll do for how much, wearing garish makeup and looking like Diane Ladd as Flo in "Alice doesn't live here Anymore" without the buffoint. I didn't find any of the characters really all that interesting and the atmosphere just proves how shallow a good portion of the photography/modeling industry has become. But the bottom line overall is that I really just didn't care. I had no interest in exposing myself to the cliches and the unethical characters and predictable twists that cheap flicks like this always utilize, barely just out of the class of soft core adult videos.

Best not to expose yourself to this

[Wizard-8 · 12 May 2012]

Reportedly, Crown International studios original plan for this pick-up was to give it a fairly wide release, but after a bad reaction from audiences during previews, they ended up dumping it in just a few theaters before it went to video. Watching the movie, one has to wonder why the studio heads couldn't see for themselves they had an unsuccessful movie on their hands before showing it to audiences. To be fair, it's not a terrible movie. While low budget, it never looks cheap, being well shot. It's also acceptably acted. However, it's the script that sinks this movie. The story is very slow-moving. It takes forever for the movie to set up the situation, and once that happens it continues at a crawl until the end. Also, the ending does not really explain the haunting murder dreams the hero was having throughout the movie. I guess the movie could have been a lot worse, but that's hardly a ringing endorsement.

"Sometimes I dare death, try and catch me."

[classicsoncall · 5/10 · 23 March 2020]

The movie keeps you guessing the relationship between Adrian Wilde's (Michael Callan) nightmares and the murders occurring on the streets of Los Angeles, and it doesn't clear up all that quickly as the corpses pile up. All the clues point to him being the killer but a quick reversal at the end of the story reveals the twist, and not a very satisfying one to my mind; it seemed like a cheap way out. I was astonished to see that gruesome 'snake in the bag, over the head trick', not so much as a murder tactic, but because I'd seen it once before in a low budget 1970 Western, "Cry Blood, Apache". Can't believe it's been used more than once, which suggests that there might be at least one more flick out there using the same idea. Astonished also that this film had a run time of only a little over an hour and a half, as it seemed to drag on twice as long, especially with all the filler scenes with the various supporting actors. My favorite in a very limited role was Robert Tessier as the bald headed bartender, looking mean as hell but never getting a chance to unload. His best moment in a picture had to be when he banged his head into a locker room wall in the 1974 version of "The Longest Yard". I think I'll go and watch that one again.

Predictable Yet Well Shot

[peterphelps-73255 · 5/10 · 6 November 2019]

A photographer keeps having bad dreams where he has visions of him murdering many of his models. His amputee stuntman brother tries his best to keep his head afloat as the photographer starts a relationship with the woman of his dreams. Is the photographer really the killer? And will he make his new girlfriend his latest victim?

Double Exposure is a wonky and uncomfortable mix of drama, police procedural, and slasher/giallo cliches. It wants to be a character driven psychodrama, but it's never quite deep enough. It doesn't succeed much as a slasher either due to the poorly paced suspense/attack scenes that tend to end on more of a whimper than a bang. To make matters worse, the final twist is telegraphed from a mile away and triggers more eye rolls than gasps.

That said, Double Exposure looks like about 50 million bucks. There's clearly a ton of talent involved in this film and every shot looks like something from a film that's got a ton of money behind it. When all else fails, just turn off the sound and enjoy how the film looks.

Models die

[BandSAboutMovies · 4/10 · 1 November 2019]

A photographer for a men's magazine keeps having dreams where he's killing all of his models. Then, it just so happens that the models begin to die in real life, which means that he may be the killer.

Director William Byron Hillman was also behind the Gary Busey dog reincarnation film Quigley, as well as The Photographer, which is similar to this movie, and he also wrote the 1984 movie Lovelines, which is all about a phone romance line and a battle of the bands.

The lead, Michael Callan, was in Cat Ballou and Leprechaun 3, which is quite an arc. There are also roles for Joanna Pettet (Casino Royale), James Stacey (who was Johnny Madrid Lancer on Lancer), Pamela Hensley (Princess Ardala from the TV version of Buck Rogers), Cleavon Little (Blazing Saddles, Once Bitten), character actor Seymour Cassel, Robert Tessier (who was in The Sword and the Sorcerer as well as Starcrash), Misty Rowe (Class Reunion), Sally Kirkland and Jeana Keough.

Double the suspects, double the thrills

[videorama-759-859391 · 8/10 · 18 October 2014]

When judging the cover of this video, you could get the idea this film is trashy and sleazy. What a façade? Double Exposure is a very well constructed thriller, where you must give thanks to Callan's fantastic performance, for it. He had a bit part as a nasty sleazy businessman in the B prison cult slasher, Chained Heat. He could be the psycho killing beautiful women, snapping shots of them or is the angry, bitter stuntman brother, minus a leg and an arm? Meanwhile Adrian (Callan) is having these really awful dreams, that are practically killing him, all so familiar, are the victims in real life who are being knocked off, justice in those horrible dreams. I like psychological thrillers, which are carefully thought out, motives and all, which can you have you double minded, or where other red herrings are thrown in. Excusing the latter, Double Exposure is one of those movies, where the writer simply just didn't put pen to paper. Like with serial killers, who like, premeditate stuff, this is what the writer's done here, and it's payed off beautifully. Callan's new love interest is one beautiful lass too. Performances here really impressed me, more so Callan's as the troubled and disturbed Adrian Wilde. Callan's presence here is fantastic and has you in, every scene he's in, and you don't know when he could just go off, as being a hyped up character. He has you on edge a lot, really trying to grip on his day to day torment, which has him seeing a shrink (Cassell) who at one stage near it's finale, has to make a choice. Here, the tension really mounts. Although made in 83, the movie has a Seventie's look. But if you love psychological thrillers, and you want to go back in time a bit, this taut little gem, will make your night literally.

A Cross Between a Slasher and DePalma

[Michael_Elliott · 30 October 2017]

Double Exposure (1983)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Adrian Wilde (Michael Callan) is a photographer who is seeing a shrink because he's having very bad nightmares about murdering the women he takes photos of. He tries to strike up a relationship with Mindy (Joanna Pettet) but before long he begins to fear that his dreams are real.

DOUBLE EXPOSURE isn't the most successful film that you're going to watch but there are enough good moments in it to make it worth watching. The best way to describe the film is saying it's a cross between the type of thriller that Brian DePalma would make but with the sleaze factor of a slasher. The two go well together and we get some nice performance that help make the film a bit better than it probably deserves to be.

As far as the mystery goes, for the most part we're given some suspects and we're made to wait until the very end for the killer to be revealed. I thought the mystery aspect worked quite well, although there are some rather silly moments involving a couple cops working the case. The two of them pretty much just show up every so often whenever the film needs to remind the viewer that the murders are being investigated. What really helps the film is the fact that Callan is so good in the lead role of the troubled man who thinks he might be more damaged that he originally thought. Pettet and James Stacy both add nice support.

The film works as a slasher and especially during the scenes where we see the killer talking various women including prostitutes. There's a nice sequence where we see a hooker lure the killer down an alleyway. Director William Bryan Hillman makes the film look quite good but a little more energy and a bit more suspense certainly would have helped things. As it stands, DOUBLE EXPOSURE certainly isn't a masterpiece but it's a mildly entertaining film.

Highly entertaining serial killer silliness from Crown International Pictures.

[BA_Harrison · 8/10 · 28 April 2016]

A serial killer who likes to photograph the bodies of his victims stabs a streetwalker through the neck with an icepick, only to discover that his latest target is a male undercover cop in drag. Sergeants Fontain (Pamela Hensley) and Buckhold (David Young) arrive on the scene moments later to find that the killer has fled and that they are too late to save the life of their colleague. So begins this lurid early '80s psychological thriller that is totally preposterous, yet which offers up so much silliness, sex and slasher-style violence that I found it impossible not to enjoy.

As the police continue their investigation, fashion photographer Adrian Wilde (Michael Callan) becomes their chief suspect: you see, he's been visiting his shrink a lot lately, suffering from dreams in which he brutally murders his models using modus operandi identical to those in the real-life slayings. As the dreams and murders continue, Adrian himself begins to wonder if he is the killer, but there are several more camera-carrying suspects for the viewer to choose from, including psychiatrist Frank Curtis (Seymour Cassel), bald bartender Alec (Robert Tessier), and even Adrian's own brother, stuntman B.J. Wilde (James Stacy), who has only only one arm and one leg.

Intertwined with this murder storyline is a soap-opera style romance between Adrian and beautiful blonde Mindy Jordache (Joanna Pettet) which makes Double Exposure feel like a TV movie at times, a fact not helped by a cast better known for acting on the small screen. As a result, the sex and violence that punctuates the film only seems all the more exploitative: it's a bit like watching an episode of Hart to Hart, but with full frontal female nudity and graphic killings (come to think of it, Stephanie Powers in the buff would have made that series sooooo much better).

The film's most entertaining moments occur during Adrian's dreams, in which the photographer, wild eyed and ranting, coaxes a beauty into a swimming pool before drowning her, kills another woman by throwing a rattlesnake into a bin liner and popping it over her head, strangles a hooker who flaunts her wares, and slashes a naked chick across the throat and breasts. Sexy highlights include Adrian romping with a babe called April (the same woman he slashes in his dream), the lucky photographer getting it on with Mindy (who moans her appreciation), and B.J. Wilde getting to grips with a female mud wrestler.

The film eventually reveals the killer to be none other than B.J., who is even more emotionally troubled than his brother, the guy having never got his head round the idea that his mother was a whore (and probably a little bit upset over being cursed with such a silly name). It is never adequately explained how a bloke with only half his limbs could be such a successful murderer (strangling that hooker would have been especially hard) or, for that matter, how he manages to tie up Adrian in the supremely daft denouement.

7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

Solid B-movie

[parkerbcn · 8/10 · 30 May 2021]

This is a much more solid B-movie production that I was expecting. It's kind of an American giallo/slasher combined with some De Palma flare in the storytelling department and has some very surprisingly authentic performances, with a naturalistic and sleazy atmosphere that still permeates from the 70s. It has a very good pace and some surprising set pieces and deserves a much better recognition, like a kind of "Peeping Tom" on coke.

Better Than Expected

[kirbylee70-599-526179 · 8/10 · 28 July 2017]

Growing up there are familiar faces you recognize from TV and movies that for some reason always seem to be around and yet never fall into the category of major movie stars. For me growing up in the sixties and seventies there were a ton of actors like this. You'd see them on nearly every TV series around and they offered solid performances but for some reason never found fame and fortune in film. For me Michael Callan was one of those actors. I'd first seen him in film, actually, in one of my favorites MYSTERIOUS ISLAND. But after that it was mostly TV.

In the mid-eighties I opened a video store and we stocked our shelves with not just the major releases of the time but with side items as well, movies that went straight to video for lack of interest by major studios or produced by smaller companies for just that reason. These films were often good movies but for some reason overlooked. One of those movies I ordered was DOUBLE EXPOSURE. While I didn't recall much of it from that time I did remember it as being a decent film. Watching it again with this new release I found it much better than I'd remembered.

Callan stars as Adrian Wilde, a professional photographer for men's magazines that is having some problems. It seems he continues to have dreams of women being violently murdered in various gruesome methods. At the same time a murderer is on the streets where he lives, killing women much in the same way his dreams show. Not only that the women being murdered the same as well.

Unsure of whether he is committing the murders or just losing his mind Wilde looks for help. His brother offers all the support that he can. A stunt coordinator who lost and arm and a leg on the job, he seems bitter but more positive than Wilde. He also gets help from his psychiatrist Dr. Curtis (Seymore Cassel) as well as medication. But the dreams persist as do the murders.

Along the way Wilde meets Mindy (Joanna Pettet) and the two begin seeing one another. The fall in love and eventually into bed as well. Wilde is drawn to Mindy and finds her to be one of the only women in his life he truly loves. But with the fear that he may be killing women without knowing it has him take on a guarded approach to her as well. Fearful of losing his mind the truth has to be found.

The movie is a nice mixture of slasher film that was popular at the time and giallo which was just being discovered by American audiences around that same period. The killer's point of view seen in many giallo films is there as is the questioning of the innocence of the main character who wants to find the killer. It works well and plays out smoothly by the end of the film.

Everyone involved does a fantastic job. There isn't a bad performance here. The cinematography for a low budget film is exceptional. And as with all of the other films they've been putting out Vinegar Syndrome has outdone themselves here with this one offering a restored 2k version from 35mm original camera negative.

Extras? Once again Vinegar Syndrome outdoes themselves. They include: a commentary track with Director William Byron Hillman; "Exposing Double Exposure" Interview with Cinematographer R. Michael Stringer; Staying on Task" Interview with Script Supervisor Sally Stringer; an isolated score by Composer Jack Goga; the original theatrical trailer; promotional still gallery; and reversible cover artwork by Derek Gabryszak. All for less than most special editions like this would costs.

For slasher fans, fans of 80s movies and fans of giallo this is a movie worth adding to your collection. Not only will you find an enjoyable movie in the genre to watch but you'll get it in the best format possible with the most extras found on the movie. Along with companies like Arrow, Twilight Time and Shout Factory, Vinegar Syndrome is showing that they are a company to be reckoned with when it comes to titles like these. And for fans that's a good thing.