Fatal Bond (1993)

You won't be disappointed!

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

FATAL BOND is an Aussie addition to the run of psycho-thrillers that did tidy business in the early 1990s after the success of FATAL ATTRACTION and the likes of THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE. It's a low budget enough piece of entertainment that nonetheless has some undeniable charm in terms of era and setting, and somehow I always find these 'Ozploitation' movies more enjoyable than their American counterparts, possibly because they're more unfamiliar. FATAL BOND's directed by Vincent Monton, who previously wrote LONG WEEKEND among others.This one sees imported American starlet Linda Blair (of THE EXORCIST fame, of course, and with a subsequent career in B-movie cinema) playing a young woman who gets a new boyfriend in the form of the edgy Jerome Ehlers. The problem is that Ehlers always seems to attract violence and on top of that a young girl he was seen talking to at the beach is found dead the next morning. Is Blair's new beau a serial killer? You'll have to watch this to find out, but it moves through the genre tropes with ease and provides a slice of switch-off-the-brain viewing material. Ehlers gives a good and mysterious performance in this and I always like Blair although she's not the world's greatest actress. The requisite sex and shower scenes tease nudity although Blair plays it tame for most of the running time.

I love these small known films based on true events, though I know bits would of been slightly altered if that was an understatement. The film stars the late Jerome Ehlers, one of my favorite actors, and I was shocked to hear about his passing. Ehlers, who I consider a good actor, slips into this role perfectly as a dangerous, on the edge, handsome, impulsive, could be, psycho, killing women. He falls in love with a woman (Exorcist's Blair) who starts to suspect, he's not the guy she thinks he is, as their sexually charged relationship intensifies. They take a vacation. Ehler's character, an ex con, who's great at shirking, and outrunning authorities, I must point out, gets involved with a late teen, (it's the bikini) makes out with her that night. The next morning, she winds up dead. Was it Ehlers? Could be? He hardly reacts when seeing her photo in the paper. Ehler's character has violent tendencies, and we see this is his unlawful activities. On the whole, I really enjoyed this movie, that gets very climactic, with a shocking admittance, as the real truth comes out, which I never expected, though I really liked. Blair, I must say I liked too, and there are some funny and tasteful moments, one involving Ehler's attire that a young punk criticizes. He does get quite intimate with the young lass, before her demise, that small time actress, actually a comedian. We have other suspects that come into play of course, where I like how thrillers can be formed from true stories, without trying to be thrillers. I mean, if that's what went down, that's what went down. Truly recommended Aussie pic.

This Australian movie is up there with Red Rock West as one of the best thrillers I've seen. It has a great anti hero (Jerome Elhers) who like Nick Cage has a great edgy screen presence. This is the best film Linda Blair has been in since The Exorcist. She captures the character of the girl enraptured in this man on the run from something he won't reveal. A great film, highly recommended.

I love this movie. I saw it a few years ago on cable. What could be better than Linda Blair in Australia trying to learn Italian while she is dating a hot dark-haired guy? There is something for everyone here: hot scenes of both Linda Blair and Jerome Ehlers (the male lead), nice scenery of Australia, and a sense of mystery. I think overall what helps the movie is the cinematography. Try catching it on cable.