Mortelle séduction

Some people may snicker at this film, but back in the heady days of 1982 we just weren't as sophisticated about the celebrity stalker phenomenon as we are today. We didn't have to be, it was a more gracious and civilized time to live and, I might add, a golden era for television.

But dark days were just around the corner and those of us in the public eye owe the lovely Ms. Fairchild quite a debt for her eye-opening work on this film. I myself found it particularly enlightening when she demonstrated the dangers of being stalked while showering, swimming nude or taking a bubble bath while stroking one's silky thighs.

I'd also like to say that though some philistines may have nominated Colleen Camp for a Golden Raspberry award, I thought she was fantastic in her role, though we could have seen more of her.

I've seen this movie about three times,and its preposterousness(is that a word or did I just make one up?)made it something that practically all parties involved,particularly the leads, would probably want to forget they took part in. Having said that,it is at least marginally interest-emitting and,of course,lovingly sexual.

I recall that when this movie was being primed for release in early 1982,the selling point was almost entirely around the (still)lovely Morgan Fairchild--who,at the time,was nursing a floundering career after her series "Flamingo Road" was left to whither on the vine by NBC--and her sex/nude scenes. Sure enough,the scenes where she is sans trow are lovingly shot and have a lushness of editing and sound(her bubble bath scene has a particularly rapturous feel,reminiscent of Angie Dickinson's opening scene in Dressed to Kill) that would make the viewer believe that Andrew Stevens' creepy script boy stalker ISN'T the only one stalking Fairchild's eye-candy news anchor-lady.

Another IMDb commenter gave away some perceivably important plot points. Suffice it to say,the thriller/suspense/mystery element of this movie languishes behind the soft-core erotic quality of the film up until the last twenty minutes of the film,when suddenly the urgency of a dangerous stalker(with amazing ability to hide and enter people's abodes)with rapist/deadly abilities comes to the top of the agenda. This is probably ONLY a recommend for FAirchild fans and worshipers,since it is a donut-hole without her.

I first saw this movie when it first came out and I was still in the Army. I enjoyed it then, probably because of Morgan Fairchild but recently saw it again and decided to comment on it, especially after I read some peoples negative reviews.

This movie in my opinion delivers with its plot. There is no doubt that Morgan is being stalked and there is no doubt that the stalker has every intention of getting to Morgan. I thought Morgan Fairchild was very good in this movie, especially when you consider that she was a lot more of an inexperienced actress at the time this movie was made. Andrew Stevens was very good as the stalker and the rest of the cast was fine.

You could certainly remake this movie with a bigger budget and get a very good movie. This movie is not a classic but its certainly a watchable movie. Watching this movie you will get into the plot and you will be wondering what the stalker is going to do next.

I'm not really sure if this movie was originally made for TV; but I wouldn't be surprised if it was as it has all the hallmarks of a made for TV thriller, and unfortunately that isn't a good thing. The film is called The Seduction but there's nothing really seductive about it; admittedly 'The Tired, Cliché Ridden, Suspense-less Thriller' might not have been the wisest choice for a title; but at least it would have been a bit more apt! The movie takes the often used idea of a stalker taking his stalking of a famous person too far; in this case the famous person is pretty newswoman Jamie Douglas. Morgan Fairchild, who takes the lead role, is actually one of the best things about the film; she delivers a good performance and looks nice too, unfortunately it's wasted with such tired material. There's very little suspense in the film and director David Schmoeller (who previously directed the decent seventies horror Tourist Trap) seems more keen to focus on humdrum events. There's the odd sex scene and it's slightly steamy but nothing to get excited about. The ending is actually fairly well done but it's not worth an hour and a half of tedium getting there! Overall, I'm actually quite disappointed in this because I love a good throwaway thriller; but this is not a decent example and therefore not recommended.

for anyone who might tend toward romantic obsession, here's your cure. do yourself (or a friend) a favor and (get him to) watch this film. fifteen minutes into the film, you just want to punch andrew stevens in the mouth. the problem is that the harasser never seems to know what a jerk and a fool he is being. here's the message, written in big red letters. too bad more men don't see themselves this way until it's too late. of course, derek (mr. stevens' character) becomes a very bad person by the time he gets his due. if only derek could see himself in this movie, maybe then he wouldn't have taken that first step. sure, not all crushes are actually stalkings. and there is the risk that the truly disturbed stalkers won't understand that this movie is supposed to help them not to do it. the movie may just make a lot of people paranoid. still, it as an effective counterpoint to the CINEMA PARADISO-style treatment of unrequited love, and too much of that sort of fantasy romance in cinema just exacerbates this social problem.

it's not so much a thriller as a public service announcement. amazingly, farrah fawcett is in BURNING BED just two years later. one has to think that blossom kahn had more to do with this film than the credits reveal.

it's obvious why morgan fairchild took the script. ms. fairchild was never the bimbo that people accused her of being. (i have a friend who was at a bio lab at harvard when she phoned to discuss primate genetics for several hours! no kidding!) the kind of power that julia roberts uses today to deliver ERIN BROCKOVITCH was enjoyed by ms. fairchild in 1982, and she seems to have used it here. ms. fairchild even gives up her body with shocking compliance (with dozens of nude scenes, and almost constant appearance on screen) in order to keep the drooling men in their seats until the lesson is complete. as easy as it is thus to applaud ms. fairchild, mr. stevens deserves greater praise. not many leading men would have taken such a role in 1982, and mr. stevens is the perfectly detestable pretty-boy delusional peter-pan smarm. the boys will watch this film for ms. fairchild, and they will learn to leave the girls alone because of mr. stevens.