Sous le charme du mal

Once again Ashley "THE DEMON KILLER" Laurence has managed to change a low-budget TV movie into a world famous money-making success. As with her earlier successes (Triplecross, Hellraiser 1/2, Americanski blues etc) the film is filled with all the bad language, sex and violence that helped me through childhood, but this time, my fellow Ashley-girl fans, she is taking her fair share of the action.

Of course, it does! Stepfather, brilliantly performed by Terry O'Quinn. Here we have almost the same story: he can't live without love and respect (luckily he can live without family with children). Here Eric Rhodes (Galligan) kills his girlfriends if they are "strange". By the way, there are some scenes familiar to me too. For example the episode when Galligan struggles Laurence's ex-boyfriend with a telephone cord (not exactly like in Stepfather 2). Then he takes him to the hotel and he hangs him and types a short letter in Notebook. No doubt, they have borrowed this scene from Stepfather, part two. And in general that's an average thriller, which contains some promise and well-done performances.

Eric Rhodes will do anything to find his soulmate by Valentine's Day, including murder. Will Cupid guide him to happiness, or will his psychotic behaviour be his downfall?

The film starts with a man named Eric talking about his perfect soulmate and the search to find her. We see him with his girlfriend Linda, the woman he's passionately in love with. When he proposes marriage after only a few dates, she laughs it off. He doesn't take that well at all and kills her. Fast forward 2 years later, and we Eric who sees a young woman in a bookstore named Jennifer Taylor. He is immediately infatuated at first sight. Jennifer just moved to Los Angeles to live with her sister after a bad breakup.

As the movie goes on, Jennifer begins to be wooed by Eric and his romantic rhetoric along with a vast knowledge of romance novels. Eventually she goes to his house where she meets his creepy older sister Dana that lives with him. Eric and Dana have an odd brother-sister relationship that borders on incestious. Slowly, Jennifer starts to see Eric for the controlling monster he truly is. Can she escape his hold over her or will she be murdered by the man who seems like the perfect guy?

Cupid is a very watchable and at times entertaining little flick. It sticks to the cookie cutter formula of creepy late 90's thrillers involving "the perfect guy" who isn't all that he seems, but adds the whole cupid/soulmate element to it. Eric truly believes in the power of mystical love and that there is one perfect woman out there for him. It drives his every move in the film, including pushing him to kill off a few characters along the way.

Zach Galligan who played Eric was pretty effective in a role that was unlike anything I've ever seen him do. He definitely was nothing like what we saw in the Gremlins series. Ashley Laurance was good as the lead "final girl" with very little material to work with. Mary Crosby however was the true star in this one, acting as the jealous sister who hated anyone that was in a relationship with her brother.

Overall, Cupid is a fun movie to watch on a Sunday afternoon when you're in the mood for a ridiculous late 90's chiller that has made-for-TV vibes. Murders occur, but the gore and scares are non-existent. It's a tame thriller that entertains subtly.

5/10

A crazed man obsessed with falling in love stalks the new girl in town in 'Cupid'. We first see Eric kill his girlfriend killing her after she refuses to accept his engagement. They had only just met recently, but being the romantic Eric is, he thought it was appropriate. We then see our leading lady Jennifer arriving in town. She applies for a job at the local bookstore and that's when she meets crazy guy Eric. They talk about the story of Cupid which she knows of (and he is obsessed with), and they start dating. We also meet Eric's insane sister Dana who is madly in love with him. In order to capture Jennifer's heart, Eric will have to go through Dana and a few others to reach his goal.

I really enjoyed this thriller/horror flick. It was pretty fast paced, and I never lost interest throughout the entire thing. I thought the acting from Zach Galligan and Ashley Laurence was strong. Mary Crosby was particularly great as the disturbed sister of Eric. It was strange to see Galligan play crazy after his good guy role in the Gremlins series. The story is pretty good as it explores a bit of the story of Cupid and Psyche.

I'd check this one out if you can find it. I got it on VHS years ago, and I don't believe it's on DVD as of yet.

7/10

i've always thought zach galligan was a little cutey, especially in gremlins, where he played the lovable doofus. i should have known something was up when the movie started and he was trying to come off as some slick, suave romantic type. WRONG!! he couldn't pull this role off if it was a loose pair of drawers.

the story idea is pretty good, but it just does not work with these wooden performances. even if you're really bored, don't waste your time on this one.