Body Shot

A low-rent 90s neo-noir erotic thriller, Body Shot is the kind of film I feel would be better remembered had it been given a bit more money to throw around to truly capitalise on its ideas. It's obviously exceptionally cheap in some areas but the film is rather daring in trying to do quite a lot with a little, piling on twist after twist to keep the viewer guessing till the very end, all accompanied by occasionally cheesy action sequences and fist fights that border on laughable. Director Dimitri Logothetis captures that cold neon harshness of 90s LA with some decently lit and photographed night sequences, it's got an easy-going yet down-and-dirty vibe that I can't help but love. The man just can't shoot an action scene for the life of him. I do feel for Robert Patrick, the dude had just made it big with Terminator 2 and was subsequently thrown into the wilderness of quickly produced direct-to-video fodder, and yet he delivers a mighty fine performance here. The chemistry he shares with the stunning Michelle Johnson is lovely although it is Ray Wise who gives the film's best performance although deserved way more screen time. Clif Magness delivers a respectable enough score but it's the songs that truly make the picture and form the main reason I initially wanted to watch this in the first place. Body Shot is unquestionably a film from the heydey period its genres, seasoned with just the right amount of mystery, deception, sex, murder and a sizzling atmosphere making for some sleazy fun that never left me bored.

Perfect example of a small movie that tries to do too much. I knew right away with the noir voice overs things were not going to crystalize. Boy was I right, the script simply tacks on twist after twist, until the viewer has been hopelessly lost. Then there is the police who are inept throughout the entire film, as things spiral out of control. Robert Patrick or should I say "Robert Patsy" is set up for murder, takes beating after beating, has sex time after time with the femme fatale, and eludes the clueless cops without a gun as they shoot at him. Several decent actors are in this including Jonathan Banks, but to no avail, as the convoluted and overly complicated story leads the audience down a path to nowhere. - MERK

The poster obviously uses a shot of Robert Patrick from T2 so lazy.

Well, this movie isn't a classic, that's for sure. The action sequences are quite cheesy and the fist fights sometimes even laughable. For a feature, that is not meant primarily for laughs, this could be sudden death. I'm not even talking about the obvious continuity goofs and lack of depth in the majority of the secondary characters here...

What are the factors then that keep the movie away from being bad trash? The typical and quite twisty plot is fully fermented with some fresh bites thrown in here and there. Robert Patrick - as the protagonist for once - does a fine job (and drops good one liners, too) and Michelle Johnson is stunning and bares a lot - in proper doses.

The special easy going but dirty mid/late 80's to early/mid 90's vibe, unarguably the heydey period of the Neo Noir / Erotic Thriller genres, is definitely there and seasoned with a few quite enjoyable original pieces of music. Overall, this flic was entertaining throughout, diverting, subtly filmed and I was never bored.

I really wanted to give this one a 7, but stick with a good 6+ for now (because there's no 6.5). You might very well like this flic, if you're into the genres mentioned above. Don't expect the quality of genre giants like "Basic Instinct" or "The Hot Spot" and you'll be fine. Give it a shot.

This is another early 90's direct-to-video "neo-noir", made as that genre was becoming increasingly sex-saturated and plot-less, moving towards what would be known as the "erotic thriller" (films that were sometimes "erotic", but almost never "thrilling"). This movie has a lot more plot than your typical "erotic thriller"--in fact, if anything, the plot is ridiculously convoluted. A paparazzi (Robert Patrick) is charged with stalking a female singer (Michelle Johnson) he's personally infatuated with. Barred from approaching her by a restraining order, he jumps at the chance to do a kinky photo session with lookalike of the singer (Johnson again). But when the real singer winds up dead and posed in the position of some of the kinky photos he took, he finds himself framed for murder. The plot twists don't stop there though, and each one gets exponentially more ridiculous than the last.

Robert Patrick made this movie right after he'd had a major supporting role in "The Terminator 2". He played an emotionless robot in that, and he doesn't entirely shake that off here, so he is somewhat hard to sympathize with (even if he wasn't playing a bottom-feeding celebrity photographer). Michelle Johnson is actually relatively good in a dual role, but she insists on keeping her clothes on during her many sex scenes and has only some very brief nudity (which just doesn't work well in a film like this). Her barely-legal, barely-dressed debut film "Blame It on Rio" really showed where her strengths were, and she perhaps should have stuck to that sort of thing. Ray Wise from "Twin Peaks" also puts in an appearance as a slimy lawyer. He's pretty good and really could have used more screen time.

This isn't necessarily a BAD film--for a direct-to-video early 90's "neo noir"/"erotic thriller", it might even be considered above average, but that just ain't saying much I'm afraid.