Fascination

I am trying to think of some redeeming qualities for this film but I can think of none. The acting is mediocre, the script senseless, the music unbearable and the scenery mundane for Florida. The plot has obvious holes, needless additions and incomplete tangents. The plot twists are comparable to pushing a grocery cart up and down a supermarket's aisles.

I thought I was renting a thriller and ostensibly, that was the project's ambition. You know the type: X kills Y but makes it look like an accident and then marries Z to get the money, or some such. 'Double Indemnity', 'Body Heat', 'Matchstick Men' are examples from different eras. In the case of 'Fascination', there is a wide gulf (no, an ocean) between ambition and final result. You can also forget the allusions to sexual passion. This is no 'The Postman Always Rings Twice'.

I give this movie a rating of two stars out of humane sympathy, and because you get to see Jacqueline Bisset light up a few cigarettes. We don't see Bisset much in movies any more and cigarettes about as often.

I give the film a10 for the acting by all principle actors, for its production values, beautiful locations, excellent cinematography and for the unusual storytelling, which made me, discuss the movie with all my friends. I just saw it a second time. It still kept me on my toes, and I discovered many things I overlooked the first time. I highly recommend it to all friends of Hitchcock who was the best in mixing suspense and romance into a potent combination of erotic chills. He also used elements of the film noir even though none are core examples of noir movement. "Fascination" also has those plot twists, surprising performances and a wonderfully ambiguous, sexy femme fatale in Alice Evans. - Also, I predict that Adam Garcia will be a superstar soon. Every girl younger than 25 loves to see him on the big screen...

Of THE WORST MOVIE I'VE EVER SEEN Award. I was dragged to a screening because one of my partners knows the producer Klaus Menzel. Thank God I didn't pay for it, I would have walked out and demanded my money back in the first 30 minutes.

Here's what sucked: 1. BAD CASTING(or bad acting?): NO chemistry at all between Adam Garcia and Alice Evans. There are a few love scenes which even appear as if she is going to crush him, literally. Total turn off.

2. CHEESY: The music was out of a 1980's Knightrider episode, not to mention the opening title of the film was reminiscent of this era/genre as well.

3. BAD STORY: No one cared about Scott's (Adam Garcia's) plight to find out what happened to his dad. Some how he just wasn't convincing anyone. He seemed rather disinterested and so were we.

4. Gratuitous LOVE SCENES: Not sure if this Alice Evans actress is just not attractive at all or what, but I really began to dread seeing her breasts or any part of her for that matter.

5. RANDOM MOANING/BREATHY SOUND EFFECTS: Every time a love scene would ensue there would be some moaning, sexy sound effects, kind of like a soft porn or something. What's worst is these moans and breathy sounds were also heard when a scene would change. What in the world were they thinking? 6. KLAUS MENZEL: Not sure what goes on in this man's head, but he shouldn't be allowed to direct or be in films, unless maybe they are porn. He has a cameo in some club scene where he tries (unsuccesfully) to come on to Alice Evans. He tries to be sexy or something, he is so unappealingly SLIMY. From what I've heard from various people as well as meeting him personally, this is not far from who he really is.

7. FILM GRADE: It looked like cheap grade film, granted the locations were beautiful, but tarnished by this film stock.

8. OVERALL BAD European STYLE AND FEEL: I have 2 words for the overall style and feel of this film, EURO and TRASH.

9. HORRIBLE ENDING: Couldn't it just have ended sooner? Adam Garcia takes her back but not even he seems to know why? They make out again, on the beach, cheesy passion, breathy sounds-- good God can someone please just END THIS?!?? People in the audience even laughed at this, and clapped not because it was good but because it was OVER.

Jacqueline Bisset and Stuart Wilson were the only good thing about this. Too bad they had to be encapsulated in this nonsense of a film.

Someone probably should have told the producers/directors of Fascination that a thriller is, by definition, supposed to be thrilling. Instead, this movie contains one of the funniest opening sequences ever: a buff older dude goes out for a swim, then on his way back to shore, a wave knocks him into a rock, his head hits with a big CRACK, and he drowns. Opening credits roll, with the unintentionally funny "Based on a screenplay by ..." two writers getting a chuckle out of me. Especially when it was followed by "Written, Produced and Directed by Klaus Menzel". Anyway, old dude's wife quickly remarries, throwing her son (Kangaroo Jack voice Adam Garcia) into a bit of a tizzy, which is only resolved when he meet new hubby's daughter, and they get their sex on. A series of unlikely events happen -- the best of which is Garcia and his lawyer buddy exhuming the former's father to perform a toxicology test -- and Garcia's suspicions of the new husband keep mounting. Like many other movies I have watched recently, this would probably make for an enjoyable enough afternoon on TBS/TNT/USA/etc. I honestly think that movies like this need to have their monotony broken up by commercials. Interestingly, this was not a made-for-TV move, but rather an MGM-financed $5,000,000-budget big-screen flop that opened on 10 screens nationwide and grossed a lot less than its budget. How much less? 1/10 would've been nice, but not even close. There are some sexy sex scenes though, so it's not all bad -- Alice Evans is a babe wicked stepsister. I would give it a 3.5 basically for that, but the end of this movie totally blew (even following what came before it), and right before the credits roll there is a joke (I assume it's a joke!) ad for Garcia's character's first album, ballads based on his pseudo-incestuous relationship with his sister. That brings this movie into solid 2.5-3.0 territory -- IMDb says 3.7, so hey!

If you like watching F grade movies this may be the right one for you. I'm all for independent film making, but they should be good independent movies. The acting is horrific and the script just has too many holes in it to allow you to get into the film. Momentum is lost at almost every scene change. A great idea, but obviously not enough time or $$$ to make it what it should have been.

Does the film qualify for distribution?? I don't think so.

If you are looking for a good thriller with suspense, mystery, ACTING!!, try taking a look at "BLINK" (no pun intended). Another movie to watch would be "SLIVER".