Deadly Messages

Now I'm looking this film up online to review I find that it was indeed 'made for TV' back 1985 (I had guessed that within the first few minutes of watching it!). That's normally a sign that you're not going to be getting much for your money - cheap sets, unknown actors and a lot of suspension of disbelief required to properly enjoy it. And, yes, it is all those things. But it's also got its charms!

It's about a young woman who finds an old ouija board and ends up getting the titular 'deadly' messages, which warn her of foreboding and lethal events ahead.

I haven't heard of anyone in the cast (I doubt the main villain from 'Robocop' counts as an 'A-lister'), the script is so-so and do be expecting anything in the way of special effects - there's both no need or budget for that. And yet I kept watching. I suppose this is an instance when you can tell the difference between a 'slow burning' story and a boring one. If this movie was just outright dull then the slow pace wouldn't lead to anything, whereas there was at least a decent attempt at crafting a genuine sense of mystery around the central character.

I actually wanted to know what was going on in her life and her past and I was glad I stuck with it to find out. You can't really judge 'Deadly Messages' against massive Hollywood productions - it's not in their league. But in terms of nice, easy-going little supernatural mysteries than you might happen to come across late night on TV, I have sat through much worse!

I watched this movie initially assuming it was just Lifetime fodder and it started seeming like such. However, the plot became more and more interesting later as the mystery unfolded. The writer of the movie has given an original and quite plausible explanation to what happens to the lead character. The only things that I didn't like were the inclusion of some stereotypes thrillers tend to fall into (e.g. disbelieving cops), and the final scene, which was unnecessary and threw off the flow. 9/10

In DEADLY MESSAGES, Laura Daniels (Kathleen Beller) finds an old Ouija board in her closet, and is soon being stalked by a knife-wielding maniac. As the story develops, we realize that there's much more going on than just a simple slasher film.

This is an interesting made-for-TV movie. It's a definite thriller, but it also has heavy doses of supernatural / psychological horror. So, it could be viewed as either or both. There's a lot of mystery involved as well.

Ms. Beller has a genuine knack for this sort of tele-terror, making the best of her morphing role. Dennis Franz plays what amounts to a dry run for his -then future- role on NYPD BLUE. Kurtwood Smith has what amounts to a cameo role as the top cop on the case.

I read only a couple of other comments about this film, so, I'll volunteer my two cents, as well. 'Cept I'm not gonna disagree with the other reviewers - I, too, thought that this was an above-average flick. Laura realizes that she is locked out of her apartment and peers through a window. Maybe her housemate (who she doesn't know very well) will see her and let her in. Instead, Laura witnesses a guy choking the roomie. In a panic, she gets the fire department to respond to an alarm at her flat. The cops are also dispatched. In spite of Laura's story, the police can't find a body, or any signs of a forced entry or struggle; so, to them, Laura looks like a kook. To make matters worse, it's learned that it's not the first time when the co-tenant has dropped out of sight. One of Laura's diversions is to play with a Ouija Board. From it she receives information about what she saw, her address, and eventually, herself. Throughout it all, she has difficulty convincing a detective - even her boyfriend - of what she suspects and her own identity. Finally, she is confronted with it actually being HER story. The movie starts out kinda slow, but causes one's interest to increase as it progresses. I hope that the unsympathetic portrayal of the police is exaggerated. I guess it was part of the attempt to show frustration at being disbelieved - like: sure you were abducted by aliens. This dummy also appreciated one of the final scenes, wherein the pieces of the puzzle were nicely summed up by those involved. Not a lot else to praise or badmouth here. Bottom line is: it's time and/or reasonable bucks adequately spent.

I am surprised nowadays how many TV movies I've seen are slow-moving - and yet, their scripts run about 1 hour and 42 minutes today as opposed to 1 hour and 52 minutes some 20 years ago.

Even with more time to fill, there were TV movies like "Deadly Messages" around that moved at a quick pace, were suspenseful and entertaining.

The story in "Deadly Messages" continues to evolve until the very end, so there is always a surprise around the corner for the viewer.

Laura Daniels (Kathleen Beller) is a pretty young woman living with her attorney boyfriend Michael (Michael Brandon) when one night, as she is trying to gain access to her apartment from the fire escape because she has no keys, she sees the woman staying with them murdered.

Afterward, she becomes convinced - with reason - that the killer is after her, especially after a Ouija board sends a message that says "I am going to kill you."

The police don't believe her; her concerned boyfriend takes her in for a CT scan, where it's discovered that she's had electroshock therapy. She denies it. Michael then finds more evidence that something is terribly wrong with the woman he thought he knew.

There are parts of "Deadly Messages" that will have you on the edge of your seat, and the suspense really builds. Beller, who seems to be retired now, is a likable actress capable of big histrionics, which were needed for this film.

Brandon has less to do, and his part isn't the most sympathetic, but he comes off fine. Dennis Franz is guess what, playing a police detective in this, and it's a very similar character to NYPD Blue's Andy.

Well above average - I love suspense movies; I wish more TV movies were like this one.