Hot Target

As has been noted, this is part of a Crown International series, almost all of which contain the same scenes of nudity and lovemaking, all surrounded by ho hum plots. Those were the USA offerings. "Hot Target" is a New Zealand offering starring absolutely stunning Simone Griffeth, an American lass now, with her husband, selling expensive real estate in South Carolina. And, she is a damn good actress. Those love scenes could, and should have been, more abbreviated and it would have appealed to a more general audience - well - not the Pixar enthusiasts. Anyway, all the palaver about the plot is a lot of horseradish. It was easy to understand, the story tight and taut. The acting by all involved was first class. Steve Marachuk, the only other American in the cast, was excellent as the cad. All involved turned in excellent performances. Anyway, ignore the naysayers and, if you can get hold of this, grab it. I guarantee it will keep you involved for at least 92 of its 93 minutes.

"Hot Target" comes with several interesting aspects attached to it. For starters, it seems to be an attempt to be a modern day film noir, inspired by films like "Double Indemnity" and "The Postman Always Rings Twice" though having "R" rated elements like nudity and sex. It's also interesting that this film's focus is on the woman, instead of the man. As well, it's interesting that this time around the movie is not American, and is instead an English/New Zealand co-production and set in New Zealand (not England, as some previous user comments have stated.) No doubt this movie had the potential to be entertainingly different, though the actual execution makes it anything but. For starters, while this was made for theaters, it sure doesn't look like it - it has a cheap British made-for-TV feel throughout, and the music score also has this feeling. Second, in several aspects the movie's plot is too close for its own good to another modern day film noir ("Body Heat"). But what really sinks the movie is its weak tone - it never comes across as terribly sexy, terribly tense, or terribly mysterious. And it's capped with an ending that's far from satisfying and raises questions that are never answered. Apparently these filmmakers didn't look carefully at past film noirs to know that you don't just need certain elements - they have to also be well executed.

Hot Target is one of those utterly generic and vague titles that could be applied to a plethora of films, most likely a late 80's effort starring Steven Segal or Jean-Claude Van Damme. So it doesn't really give you much of a clue of what to expect in advance of watching it. When you press play and are then presented with the familiar logo of Crown International Pictures, it would only be fair to say that most will be anticipating a cheap action movie that will be too low budget to even afford Chuck Norris, far less Segal or Van Damme. So, it turns out to be something of a surprise to discover that this one turns out to be a Kiwi erotic thriller. There aren't too many New Zealand set films out there and it's certainly atypical territory for a Crown International release.

Its story focuses on a woman who is unhappily married to a rich businessman. She starts an affair with a stranger she meets by chance one day in a public park. It soon turns out that this stranger has engineered this encounter and has nefarious plans in mind. This film seems to have garnered mostly negative criticism if the reviews here are anything to go by. But I have to say that I found this to be one of the better Crown International 80's efforts. I think the unusual Kiwi setting certainly added a nice unexpected dimension, while the acting and plot line were overall pretty decent. It's no hidden classic of course but it's a good deal better than anything called Hot Target has any right to be.

This movie recently appeared as part of a collection of 8 movies retailing for about $4 (used). So while it's not good, the real question perhaps is, is it worth 50 cents? Well, I'd say Simone "Death Race 2000" Griffeth's generous nude scenes are definitely worth 49 cents. But it's that extra penny that's the real sticking point.

In the movie's favor, it was pretty early entry into the "erotic thriller" genre, a genre which has only gotten worse and worse with each passing year, and it was obviously inspired by "Body Heat", perhaps the ONLY classic erotic thriller. Interestingly, the gender roles are completely reversed here--it's Simone Griffeth's character, an American woman married to an obnoxious British industrialist, who is the naive prey, while the man, a handsome American thief and con artist, is the seductive predator (a homme fatale?). The overall plot though occupies that gray area between uniquely bizarre and completely non-sensical. It's also interesting that it is set in Britain, and aside from the two leads, features an entirely British cast. After all, the Brits are not exactly known for erotic thrillers (or for anything erotic, for that matter). Of course, that doesn't make the movie good or bad, but it is interesting.

But is any of this really worth that extra penny? I don't know--flip a coin.

Billed as a thriller in the spirit of "Body Heat", this film was only available on video in North America -- not surprising, since it is very thin on plot and very heavy on heavy breathing. Loaded with gratuitous nudity, Hot Target will appeal to anyone who is looking for titillation. The American cat-burglar, like the rest of the film's characters, is laughable; there is actually a little bit of entertainment value in the stunningly horrid dialogue. You need only look at the filmography of the cast members to see what a fabulous piece of work can do to a life in film - like, say, end it.

Basically, it's 100 minutes of horizontal jogging under the flimsiest pretenses - great, if you like that sort of thing. If you were looking for a thriller "in the spirit of 'Body Heat,'" then I suggest you see Body Heat.

Direct-to-video. Kills careers - dead.