Peril

I found "Peril" in my local video shop back in Sofia, Bulgaria. Sure, straight-to-video-in-Bulgaria films tend to be real stinkers, but after the first 15 minutes of the film, I started to think I had found an exception to the rule. Michael Pare is a mental patient who goes on a violent rampage. Meanwhile, Morgan Fairchild is a harried housewife who accompanies her semi-disabled husband on a not-quite-legal treasure hunt. The husband falls into a storm drain and can't get out, and Ms. Fairchild goes for help because the water will start rising soon. So far, so good.

Unfortunately, it's all downhill from here. Ms. Fairchild meets Mr. Pare, who kidnaps her. Pointless mayhem ensues, including crack police sharpshooters (okay, one guy sitting on top of a wobbly van...think he'll miss?), a hostage crisis in a gasoline-soaked grocery store, an old station wagon able to outrun a slew of Vermont police cars, and rising water that threatens the trapped husband (who lies moaning in agony, gripping his broken leg, when the plot requires him to be helpless, but can run with just a slight limp when the plot requires him to be helpful).

By the 30-minute mark, I found myself shouting helpful advice to the characters, particularly Ms. Fairchild, who must have read only the first few pages of the script before accepting this role (I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt here). By the 60-minute mark, "Peril" had crossed the line into the painful-to-watch category.

Let's go back to the husband trapped in the storm drain for a moment. He's too heavy for the wife to lift him, so she goes for help. Now that the water is rising, shouldn't it help him? He can simply float up with the water and pull himself out, right? Nope, in "Peril," the screenplay confuses his situation with the often-used movie crisis in which a person is held/chained down while the water's rising (like in "Titanic" or "Hard Rain"), and shows us shots of the water rising slowly up and over his body. You're not chained down, pal...use your arms and swim, already!

The script itself is bad, completely predictable, and no surprises. One has to guess their family relationship, who is uncle A and who is uncle B.

When the father character found the money, why would he be so hung up with the metal box? He behaved as if he would die he chose to die with the metal box.

When people wanted to save him, he sent the empty metal box up first, some kind of humor?

The acting was so bad and that was unconvincing. A very boring movie. Watching it is a waste of time.

The first time I watched Ms. Fairchild was in the early 80s, her acting had no talents. After 40 years, her acting did not improve a bit. Maybe this is her way of showing the world what a dumb blond is supposed to be in a movie. Then, she did it. She had successfully played out an aged dumb blond in this movie with her silly signature acting.