Double Exposure (1982)

Perfect cast and a good story

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Blistering performances.

The Plot.A photographer for a men's magazine is disturbed by a recurring dream he has that he is killing his models by various gruesome means. Then he discovers that his city is being terrorized by a slasher who is stalking and murdering women on the streets. He begins to suspect that he may actually be the killer.It's a bad but watchable movie. Lots of plot hole and silliness to contend with.About 15 minutes into the movie you know who the killer is.There a pool scene with a very thin and super hot Jeanie Keogh who what the fat OC Real Housewife. Wow. No wonder her husband lost interest.She was some freaking hot chick in her prime. What the heck happened?Movie gets its R rating because there is some female full frontal. They didn't groom back then! Yuck.Sally Kirkland was a hooker in this film. She hit the wall 25 years ago!Cleavon Little was in his quick decent to obscurity in a cameo.The movie is silly, but watchable.

A serial killer who likes to photograph the bodies of his victims stabs a streetwalker through the neck with an icepick, only to discover that his latest target is a male undercover cop in drag. Sergeants Fontain (Pamela Hensley) and Buckhold (David Young) arrive on the scene moments later to find that the killer has fled and that they are too late to save the life of their colleague. So begins this lurid early '80s psychological thriller that is totally preposterous, yet which offers up so much silliness, sex and slasher-style violence that I found it impossible not to enjoy.As the police continue their investigation, fashion photographer Adrian Wilde (Michael Callan) becomes their chief suspect: you see, he's been visiting his shrink a lot lately, suffering from dreams in which he brutally murders his models using modus operandi identical to those in the real-life slayings. As the dreams and murders continue, Adrian himself begins to wonder if he is the killer, but there are several more camera-carrying suspects for the viewer to choose from, including psychiatrist Frank Curtis (Seymour Cassel), bald bartender Alec (Robert Tessier), and even Adrian's own brother, stuntman B.J. Wilde (James Stacy), who has only only one arm and one leg.Intertwined with this murder storyline is a soap-opera style romance between Adrian and beautiful blonde Mindy Jordache (Joanna Pettet) which makes Double Exposure feel like a TV movie at times, a fact not helped by a cast better known for acting on the small screen. As a result, the sex and violence that punctuates the film only seems all the more exploitative: it's a bit like watching an episode of Hart to Hart, but with full frontal female nudity and graphic killings (come to think of it, Stephanie Powers in the buff would have made that series sooooo much better).The film's most entertaining moments occur during Adrian's dreams, in which the photographer, wild eyed and ranting, coaxes a beauty into a swimming pool before drowning her, kills another woman by throwing a rattlesnake into a bin liner and popping it over her head, strangles a hooker who flaunts her wares, and slashes a naked chick across the throat and breasts. Sexy highlights include Adrian romping with a babe called April (the same woman he slashes in his dream), the lucky photographer getting it on with Mindy (who moans her appreciation), and B.J. Wilde getting to grips with a female mud wrestler.The film eventually reveals the killer to be none other than B.J., who is even more emotionally troubled than his brother, the guy having never got his head round the idea that his mother was a whore (and probably a little bit upset over being cursed with such a silly name). It is never adequately explained how a bloke with only half his limbs could be such a successful murderer (strangling that hooker would have been especially hard) or, for that matter, how he manages to tie up Adrian in the supremely daft denouement.7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

Reportedly, Crown International studios original plan for this pick-up was to give it a fairly wide release, but after a bad reaction from audiences during previews, they ended up dumping it in just a few theaters before it went to video. Watching the movie, one has to wonder why the studio heads couldn't see for themselves they had an unsuccessful movie on their hands before showing it to audiences. To be fair, it's not a terrible movie. While low budget, it never looks cheap, being well shot. It's also acceptably acted. However, it's the script that sinks this movie. The story is very slow-moving. It takes forever for the movie to set up the situation, and once that happens it continues at a crawl until the end. Also, the ending does not really explain the haunting murder dreams the hero was having throughout the movie. I guess the movie could have been a lot worse, but that's hardly a ringing endorsement.

"Double Exposure" is a lurid thriller starring Michael Callan ("Cat Ballou", "Mysterious Island") as Adrian Wilde, a photographer who's begun having nightmares in which he murders his models. And, naturally, these women begin to be murdered in real life in the same fashion (as well as some other people), so we have to wonder, IS he responsible? He certainly does look like he's coming unglued. Callans' performance is indeed an intense one, although he has his lighter moments, too, as he aggressively pursues a new acquaintance, Mindy (Joanna Pettet)."Double Exposure" sometimes goes back and forth between this lighter tone and a sleazier one as these unfortunate women (and one dude) meet their demises. As a result, the incompetent detective played by Pamela Hensley pops in and out of the story. The identity of our deranged killer isn't going to come as any great shock, unfortunately, but until we get there the movie does have its moments along the way. For one thing, it comes up with a true corker of a murder set piece involving a trash bag and a snake - an inspired bit of nastiness. Some other kills are done slasher style. Doses of sex and nudity are adequate; there's a brief bit of full frontal and it's nice that the filmmakers could include an interlude of mud wrestling.The movie does look quite nice in the Panavision aspect ratio (with cinematography by R. Michael Stringer), and the music score by Jack Goga is impressive.The cast is definitely above average for a Crown International production; also featured are James Stacy as Callans' brother (the two are actually believable as brothers, and share a good chemistry), Oscar nominee Seymour Cassel as his psychiatrist, and Robert Tessier as a lowlife bartender. Popping up in other supporting roles and notable bits are Misty Rowe, Frances Bay, Jeana Tomasina, Sally Kirkland, Terry Moore, Victoria Jackson, and Kathy Shower. However, Cleavon Little is wasted in a clichéd role as Hensley's agitated superior.Nothing great, but undeniably easy enough to watch, "Double Exposure" should be sufficient to satisfy the needs of trash movie lovers. Trivia note: it has its roots in another movie of nine years previous, "The Photographer", which also starred Callan, who even had the same character name.Seven out of 10.