Fatal Passion

'Fatal passion' is so astoundingly blunt, and lacking of all subtlety, that it frankly is much more of a comedy than a thriller. The opening credits utilize a font that I swear I recognize from either 'Saved by the bell,' or some other early 90s live-action kids' television programming. We're treated to an astounding abundance of nudity that is only ever gratuitous (mostly from star Lisa Comshaw, apparently also known as Tori Sinclair), and sex scenes are filmed with such similar outrageous forthrightness that I can't help but laugh. Some performances (Lawrence Tierney, Cynthia Rothrock) bear traces of meaningful range or nuance, but to a greater extent most are characterized by unbelievably straightforward, plainspoken delivery and comportment that can't possibly be called "acting." Nowhere is this more true than with Comshaw (her casting here was obviously not based on dramatic skills), and especially with Steve Vaughn (cinephiles the world over should be grateful for how few credits he apparently has to his name). I won't say this movie isn't entertaining, but to the extent that it is, it's mostly for the wrong reasons.

In all fairness to the cast, the shortcomings in their contributions surely can be ascribed to at least some degree to thin material, and weak direction - and filmmaker T. L. Lankford is to blame for both. Though Lankford's work as director is broadly unexceptional, his guidance of the cast seems to hone in squarely on black and white moods without any consideration for shades of grey. Meanwhile, his dialogue varies between brusquely bland, overwrought, and clichéd, and scene writing is no better. Characters are flat and unremarkable, and like the narrative are largely defined by tropes. The concept has potential, and that potential has been teased out elsewhere to vibrant, exquisite ends (see Maria Alice Arida's 2018 short film 'Instinct'). Here, sex and violence in the first act that should be invigorating is only funny. Romance in the second act waters down the possibilities and makes for a weird tonal shift that's unconvincing, if not also unintentionally humorous (and on par with the tawdry sex scene in Uwe Boll's 'BloodRayne' in terms of sensuality). Would-be moments of emotional weight just don't cut it. And the third act slams all this together with deep inelegance, and a climax that all but totally breaks suspension of disbelief.

I do earnestly appreciate the work on the movie from behind the scenes. I feel like more attention and detail was applied to, say, set design and decoration, than to anything else we see. Hats off to the crew! Would that more care were put into other aspects. I don't think 'Fatal passion' is outright bad, but it's stunningly weak in too many important ways - writing, directing, acting - for it to be anything more than very, very average. Above all, a thriller should be thrilling (imagine that), and this is decidedly not. Whatever it was to draw you in to this movie, even with all its flaws you could certainly do worse. Still, with so many other pictures to watch in so many other places, why would you go out of your way for this one? Uneven and unbalanced from the very start through to the very end, 'Fatal passion' is a title to watch more out of idle curiosity than earnest desire.

Being a huge fan of Cynthia Rothrock, I opted to rent a copy of this film when I saw her name in the credits. Cynthia is one of the all-time greatest martial-arts stars, ranking along with Chuck Norris & Jackie Chan. So, imagine my surprise when I viewed this movie and saw that, not only was her role just an extended cameo, but she had no fights scenes. The only scene worth watching was a bedroom scene in which she wears a somewhat revealing nightie. This was a major departure from her established martial-arts personna.

As for the rest of the movie, the only other positive component was Lawrence Tierney (the original 'Dillinger') scenes. Horror movie? More like cheap pathetic movie.

Despite selling itself as something rather cheap and exploitative, there is actually a lot of heart, and soul to this movie, if you look beyond the dark violence, and blood splatter. "Fatal Passion" is the tale of an damaged artist, Rebecca Barlow(Lisa Comshaw) who combines murder with her works in a most unique way, using the bodies of her victims. However, she soon finds herself developing something of an attraction for a young man, Adam Baxter, and she must come to terms with her past, as Adam tries to save her from her destructive nature, and rescue her humanity.

What I do applaud in this movie, is the understanding of the nature of "modern art," in a way beyond the satirical "Ha, ha, it's a car tyre, and they say that's art" style of most comedians. What art constitutes these days, is savagery, aggression and violence, which makes the point of the film - oh, yes, there is one - all the more poignant. Rebecca's final exhibition of bloodied statues is really a lot more palpable, and less unpleasant than anything Damian Hirst ever exhibited for sure. But, the fact that she can get away, quite literally here, with murder, and get paid for it, is all the more fascinating. The more bloody and perverse her works get, the more they sell. Fantastic? No, it's just modern art, the cult of being unpleasant.

It is a notably cheap work, shot for very little, and visually, rather sparse. Writer/Director T. L. Lankford obviously is ashamed to have his name attached to this, hence his rather savagely ironic pseudonym of "Gib T. Oidi" - an anagram of "Big Idiot." A little harsh, perhaps? What does stand out from its' rather impoverished style, though, is the strength of the story itself, which is simple, pacey, succinct and darkly visceral. The whole thing is a gruesome parade of bloody violence, and rather explicit sex scenes, and yet, it does all come to a refreshing point. There is a lot of charisma in this tiny budgeted thriller, that other "acclaimed" sex/violence movies like "The Girl with the dragon tattoo" totally lack, because, whilst it is rather trading on its' own graphic nature, things do happen for a reason.

Lisa Comshaw, an actress from a rather steamy background herself, as an adult movie star, and fetish model, gives an actually rather strong performance, which is free of all the rubbish you get with big name stars, and in the movie's latter scenes, she comes across as genuinely damaged, and deeply sympathetic, as well as incredibly menacing. There's a great little shot, when a pair of thugs break into her studio, and beat up her brother, and we see her standing in the shadows of the doorway, axe in hand, her dead eyes staring straight ahead. It's a nicely shot moment, which proves that even exploitation actresses can give as good as they've got, in the right situations.

As a weird counterpoint, martial arts phenomenon- not just a title, she really is a good fighter - Cynthia Rothrock appears in a relatively small part as Adam's girlfriend, looking stunning as always, and again, casting aside stereotyping by not having a single action scene in the entire movie. To be honest, I'd be lying if I didn't think that a movie starring a female martial artist, and a cat-fight model, would have a fight scene between the two of them at some point. But, it doesn't. And the story's all the stronger for it.

Lawrence Tierney, the eternal tough guy, plays Rebecca's manager, gruffly and opaquely, and really adds little but someone for Comsahw to bounce off in her scenes. The surprise star of the movie, though, is Steve Vaughn, who plays Rebecca's mentally-damaged brother Tommy, a deeply sympathetic part which he gives his absolute 100% in, and I really felt sorry for him as the movie went on. His damaged state is further useful, because it suggests that Rebecca is just as damaged, only on a far deeper level, and the relationship between the two of them is a nice emotional level to the film, which lends it a lot of heart.

The use of music - Beethoven in this case, although not the "glorious ninth" as heard in "Clockwork Orange" - is effective and rather chilling. The whole thing, is an example of a rare gem, which seems to justify my faith in tiny, zero-budget indie movies, where passion, commitment and ideas shine through, despite a lack of resources. Comshaw's performance was genuinely enthralling, and the confrontation scenes nearer the end were nicely written, and acted by Comshaw and Norcross. The ending is near perfect, intellectually rewarding, rather than opting for a simplistic emotional resolution. It may be difficult to watch, because of its' graphic, and rather sick content in places, but this is definitely a film which deserves a watch.

In response to the previous comment, Cynthia Rothrock originally was planning to play the lead role in this movie. As anyone who has seen this film knows, the female lead in this movie is a leagues distant from CR's usual roles. In the end, she decided to play the role that she appears in; a much safer (and less memorable) part. Disappointing choice - I would have loved to see her play the artist with a secret in this film! As for the film itself, It is a slightly above average erotic thriller/mystery. The actress who ended up playing the lead is quite good, and it's always good to see the late Lawrence Tierney (Dillinger).

This atmospheric, occasionally intense erotic thriller is obviously limited in its scope and budget, but it's still not a bad choice for those who enjoy female serial-killer movies. The unconventionally beautiful redhead Lisa Comshaw (who, according to IMDb, is also a fantasy wrestler and a bondage model - in other words, the kind of woman I want to marry some day) has a magnificent body, and gives an adequate performance as a psychotic painter who kills her out-of-town lovers during or a little after lovemaking and uses their blood to give an extra feeling of realism and violence to her paintings (which sell very well, I might add). But when she meets a nice local guy who seems fascinated by her, will she find true love and redemption from her childhood traumas, or will he simply be added to her long list of victims? Cynthia Rothrock appears briefly as the girlfriend of this guy; her big dramatic scene is the one where he tells her that they should break up, and quite honestly, her acting in that scene is very good. (**1/2)