Reflections of Murder

I saw this as a very small boy. A very early memory for me is of not being able to sleep for days, thinking that some dead bloke was rising out of the bath. Nice. Still, that'll teach me for pleading to stay up past bedtime. I can't imagine it would have the same effect on me now, but I'd love to see it again sometime

I grew up in the house they used for the interior shots of the school and was in high school when they filmed there. Of course it was a blast getting to watch the movie-making process close up and to meet the actors. Sam Waterston was virtually unknown at the time (this was before his big break in The Great Gatsby with Robert Redford) and was somewhat aloof, as was Tuesday Weld, although I can understand the stress & hours that are involved in movie acting would cause an actor to conserve his/her energy. Joan Hackett on the other hand was very warm and outgoing - she would hang out in the kitchen with our family during her down time and talk away. She obviously fed off the energy of others and I have very fond memories of her, even though she was something of a drama queen. Watching the movie now, I'm very surprised at how well it has stood the test of time. John Badham used the combination of the Bach score and the damp and dead-leafy environment of Puget Sound in autumn to classic effect and I have come to appreciate Hackett's nuanced performance more as an adult than I ever could as a teenager. The movie really captures the feeling of the area and brings me fond memories of my childhood autumns.

There is a special chemistry at work in this movie, and its results are chilling. Tuesday Weld is far from the "Dobie Gillis" bimbo as she has often been portrayed. Joan Hackett is eerily on target and Sam Waterston is complex and intriguing. Especially effective (and spooky) is the set -- e.g. the swimming pool full of leaves in the autumn -- that contains who-knows-what. The original "Diabolique" has a classier title, but has fewer edges than this film. Highly recommended.

made-for-tv remake of french suspense classic "Diabolique". Excellent script, eerie locale (the rain drenched and fog thickened landscape of Puget Sound), sharp editing and fine directing from John Badham make this far superior to average movie-of-the-week. And the performances could not be better. The great Joan Hackett (gone, alas, but not forgotten) and Tuesday Weld give tense, piercing performances. It takes a little while to get used to Sam Waterson playing a villian but when you see this film you understand how easy it is for Waterson to play the dark side of Jack McCoy on LAW AND ORDER. You will be on the edge of your chair during the scene on the bridge as the two women try to change a flat tire with a dead body in the trunk.

First of all, for those of you who don't know this already, this movie is a remake of the classic French film DIABOLIQUE. Secondly, I completely empathize with all the previous reviewers who claimed that this movie traumatized them as a child. I, too, could never quite shake the image of Sam Waterston rising out of the bathtub with those "dead" eyes...John Badham's direction is terrific and highly modern. It has a timeless look, unlike most 70s films with their washed-out, day-for-night cinematography and CHEESY use of the zoom lens. The performances are all solid. The story is taut and suspenseful. Fans who live in or near Los Angeles can rent this movie at Vidiots; everyone else will have to rely on eBay, amazon.com or some other source...