Bump in the Night

This film is about pedophilia and well-done for the time. The first rate cast includes Meredith Baxter Birney as a single mother and alcoholic whose young son is kidnapped by a pedophile played eerily well by Christopher Reeve in one of his dramatic performances. We know him better from his Superman films and "Remains of the Day." Sadly before his accident, he was truly a gifted actor and is missed today. In this film, we have appearances by Shirley Knight as the friend who tries to help the mother out and the boy's time is running out before he's abused by the pedophile. The story is set in New York City but is filmed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Sometimes I get in the mood for a made-for-television movie, what with their predictable plots, completely unknown cast (in this particular case, however, Christopher Reeve plays a pretty believable scumbag), point-and-shoot cinematography, and overly-dramatic dialogue that's only there to fill time rather than add depth to the characters -- you know, all that good stuff. Hey, say what you will, but I find them to be pretty nostalgic.

Going off title alone, I assumed this flick would be riding firmly in the horror lane. Not the case -- this is definitely a thriller through and through, though you could make the argument that because of the dark subject matter at hand there's some slight crossover. And while it's not a good movie, I think that dark subject matter is actually handled quite tastefully.

Feels kind of like a Richard Laymon novel was tamed down and adapted to screen.

There are better ways to spend an hour and a half, and there are worse. In 1991, it would've been a treat to see something like this at home. Nowadays, not so much.

A separated, former New York Newsreporter is passed out drunk on her sofa, when her 8 year old son gets himself ready and leaves for school. She is woken by the telephone saying he has not arrived. He has been abducted by an impostor posing as a friend of his Dad's.

In a very difficult role as a paedophile who abducts the boy, Christopher Reeve is absolutely superb as creepy Lawrence Muller.

Don't be put off by the made for TV tag, Reeve brings his A-Game and Meredith Baxter put in a shift too.

The first half of this movie is the best, the second act where a drunk friend of Baxter's draws an incredible likeness to Reeve in under 60 seconds after seeing him for a couple of seconds, the Police allowing Baxter to interrogate witness's, check registration plates, and have her own police escort without cautioning her for interfering with a police investigation gets a bit implausible, as does the fact that Social Services are never called, and at the happy ending Baxter is allowed to take the boy home without any repercussions for her gross neglect.

But Reeve's performance more than makes up for any other short comings, and it will stay with you long after the move has finished.

I can only guess there must have been some seriously strong contenders for male performances that year, as the fact that Reeve did not even garner a nomination of any kind for this movie is ridiculous.

It's a shame Reeve's performances as Superman (still the best Man Of Steel/Clark Kent for me) over shadowed everything else he did. As he is a damn fine actor.