Stalker

STALKER is the Martin Kemp-directed remake of the notorious video nasty THE HOUSE ON STRAW HILL, a sordid tale of depravity and murder that came out in the mid-'70s. Thankfully enough has been changed in this story to make it an effective shocker in its own right, one that even fans of the original film will find has surprises in store.

Truth be told, I quite liked this movie. It's no classic but it is a solid little thriller and, given it's a low budget British B-movie, the quality is a lot better than you'd expect. The dull Anna Brecon stars as a mousy writer who goes off to live in a remote country cottage to work on her new novel, only to fall foul of a psychopath.

STALKER benefits from effective direction, some shocking moments of violence, and decent performances from the supporting cast. Best of all is Jane March (COLOUR OF NIGHT) playing the secretary and having a ball with the role. Dependable character actors like Billy Murray and Colin Salmon turn up and are most welcome, and there's even a minor part for Linda Hayden, who of course starred in the original film. STALKER is a film that kept me interested throughout, and that's a rare enough thing for a low budget film these days.

A question I ask rhetorically. An interesting 70s shocker/video nasty with a unique cast, Udo Kier, Linda Hayden and Fiona Richmond, and loaded with rape, softcore sex, simulated masturbation and slashing. Did it need an updated remake? Not to mention I Spit On Your Grave, Mothers Day, House on Sorority Row, Black Christmas and many more low-budget slashers shot in the 70s and 80s that producers decided to remake in watered down versions for no reason.

What I don't understand is why Linda Hayden would trash this film and then appear in the remake.

This is an (oddly unacknowledged) re-make of the 1970's film "House on Straw Hill". The gender of the protagonist has been changed to female, but the same basic plot remains--a blocked writer, who is trying to finish a novel, hires a sinister secretary, who quickly takes over both her book and her life (and casually murders several people). The ending of this movie though goes in quite a bit different direction.

The movie was directed by Martin Kemp, who is mostly known for his acting and music. The original "House on Straw Hill" was the only British film to be labeled as a "video nasty" during the infamous British censorship hysteria of the early 80's (most of the other banned "nasties" were Italian cannibal films or obscure American horror flicks). It was banned not because it really had that much violence or that much sex, but what the authorities considered to be an unhealthy combination of the two. Oddly, this remake has less violence and far less sex than the 70's version.

The cast is interesting. Udo Kier, who played the protagonist in the original is sorely missed, but Linda Hayden, who originally played the sexy psycho secretary gets a cameo role as the housekeeper (which is odd since she has had nothing good to say about the original film over the years). Her former role meanwhile is played by Jane March, who has had a remarkably similar career to Hayden. Both appeared in notorious erotically-themed films as teenagers ("The Lover" and "Color of Night" for March and "Baby Love" and "Blood on Satan's Claw" for Hayden) that may have hindered their later careers (March has done little work since the 1990's while most of Hayden's later work was in goofy sex comedies and a cameo role in "Boys from Brazil"). March is not nearly as good as Hayden in this role, neither as sexy nor as deliciously evil, but I think Hayden was just a much better actress (extremely underrated actually).

Frankly, this whole project is a very strange undertaking since the original film is still essentially MIA in Britain and is only getting a DVD release in America this year. And the remake doesn't even use either title of the original (which is better known as "Expose" in Britain), but goes with the bland title "Stalker" (actually, also the title of great Tarkovsky film). The movie itself isn't bad, but this whole project seems very odd and misguided.

Not to be confused with the 1970s Soviet film where three men wander off in to the Russian wilderness and do absolutely nothing for four hours STALKER is no less unentertaining . Based upon a British horror movie from 35 years earlier whose only claim to fame it was banned by the BBFC . It features a plot about a female writer working on her second novel but instead of getting on with the task of writing a book she sits in the garden , sips a glass of wine , has a bath , lies in bed and does a hundred other mundane things , none of which involve typing stuff up on a lap top . There might be something about to happen because creepy music plays out on the soundtrack . Ms Writer sits down in a chair , creepy music . Ms Writer stares at a computer , creepy music . Ms Writer brushes her teeth , creepy music . In fact no matter what happens creepy music is the star of the movie . Considering the director of STALKER is Martin Kemp the talented pretty boy from Spandau Ballet this might be the reason for it

The 1976 film 'Trauma,' also known as 'Exposé,' was "nasty" in legal terms and certainly in terms of its violent content, but well made and enjoyable such as it was. Modern remakes of older genre flicks are always dicey in one way or another (most often by needlessly being bloodier, or simply More), but to revisit a concept doesn't mean new renditions can't be worthwhile on their own merits. I think there are some promising aspects of 2010's 'Stalker' - but on the other hand, it also begins to form an impression rather quickly, and I can't say it's a good one. I had mixed expectations in the first place, and regrettably I think those were pretty spot on.

There's little need for comparison, except perhaps to note that for however harsh 'Trauma' got at any point, the plot progressed with natural fluidity. That is absolutely not the case here. There's nothing inherently wrong with starting out with the same root premise (an author with writer's block, a tumultuous relationship with a personal assistant), then taking the story in other directions; there's nothing inherently wrong with fashioning additional narrative elements beyond the core. There are some good ideas in the screenplay. But as the director overseeing the production, Martin Kemp approaches the material with astonishingly blunt, heavy-handed, club-footed indelicacy, and this is reflected in most every element. The plot development here is curt, blocky, and unconvincing - so bare-faced that we can easily predict the outcome before there's any sort of reveal. There's not a trace of nuance in any of the performances, and as a result chief stars Anna Brecon and Jane March become sad points of aggravation. We're treated to a few would-be "gotcha!" moments or jump scares in early scenes for no reason, a tack which is subsequently dropped.

I actually quite like the notions that are put into 'Stalker,' flavors that lightly recall yet certainly diverge from antecedent 'Trauma.' I love psychological horror; it's one of my favorite genres. It is also, however, a genre that emphatically requires finesse, and without it the resulting picture all but falls apart and becomes boring. Even more to the point, any story that culminates with a "twist" needs to keep the truth hidden away until a singular precise moment, or at least dole out only miniscule kernels for the attentive spectator to pick up on. Here the lack of subtlety is so prominent and glaring that there effectively is no twist, and what we're left with comes off as merely a hollow trope.

It didn't need to be like this; 'Stalker' could have been a good movie. It's not just Kemp's direction, though, because even the screenplay as written would have needed significant rewrites to paint over the neon lights that inform the predictability. I hoped to enjoy this, but I really can't say that I did. Whether you're a fan of someone involved, of the 1976 film with Udo Kier and Linda Hayden, or just a cinephile generally, there's no real need to check this out. I wish all on hand the best of success, and hope lessons have been learned from the mistakes, but as it stands 2010's 'Stalker' is just a big lump of coal.