The Seduction, written and directed by David Schmoeller, stars Morgan Fairchild as a popular news anchor and Andrew Stevens as her obsessed stalker. It turned the spotlight on such horrors of stardom just before it reached its crazy 1980s peak and became all too real for some celebrities. Fairchild makes her big-screen lead debut alongside television veterans Micheal Sarrazin and Vince Edwards, better known as TV’s Dr. Ben Casey. There’s also music by Lalo Schifrin and the movie’s theme song “In Love’s Hiding Place” is sung by Dione Warrick. So the picture’s got that going for it right from the start as well as a refreshing pool scene.
Buy The Seduction Blu-rayBeautiful Los Angeles anchorwoman Jamie Douglas (Fairchild) is at the top of her game. She’s got looks, money, a large house in the hills, a rugged boyfriend named Brandon (Sarrazin) and lots of celebrity notoriety. Jamie’s sex appeal is also noticed by handsome young photographer Derek (Stevens), who has stars in his eyes for the sexy anchor that beams into his home every evening. Derek is more than an over enthused fan though and his passion for Jamie turns into a deadly obsession. He rents a home very near his television sweetheart so he can spy on her and take risque photos as she swims naked in her swimming pool. He sends her flowers at the TV station and calls her nightly as young men in love often do but he’s no friendly secret admirer.
The situation becomes dark and deranged after Jamie’s stern rejections. Derek begins stalking Jamie relentlessly and sneaks into her house so he can steal a peek as she slips her sexy self into her nightly bath. Jaime and Brandon turn to a detective friend of theirs named Maxwell (Edwards) for help but he can do nothing as the laws were pretty lax on this sort of activity at the time. Maxwell’s best advice, “get a gun,” which they do and Jamie will have to use during The Seduction‘s thrilling climax, but not before Derek makes her life a living hell.
The Seduction is a thriller that dips into the horror realm as it builds up steam and dives deeper into the deranged antics of Derek. Director Schmoeller, whose work includes the odd horror film Tourist Trap (1979) and cult favorite Puppet Master (1989), does his best to make this psycho thriller pop with some well-timed comic moments and a few good jump scares neatly placed but his efforts still fall a bit short. There are some well-framed shots throughout and a fantastic tracking scene that takes us through the news studio. The telepromoter scene in which Fairchild has a nervous breakdown is also quite chilling.
The cast hold their own for the most part and though some of the dialog is well-written, there are also lines that are complete duds. Edwards’ rant about cops getting crapped on until they are needed is forceful and realistic. Though Edwards and Sarrazin’s roles are a little on the macho cliche side, they do play well opposite Stevens’ creepy, weirdo, sexual deviant nutjob. Fairchild, as attractive as ever, comes across as melodramatic and a bit awkwardly wooden at times as she breathily delivers some of those dud lines while posing seductively for the camera. There’s a department store scene where Jamie and Derek clash that brings to mind “The After Hours” episode of The Twilight Zone where the mannequins come to life and wander the store. Colleen Camp’s efforts at sarcastic comedy relief are mildly amusing but mostly fall flat. Camp, who’s also quite the looker, at least gets to wear some nice lingerie on a magnificent theater stage.
The extra features are filled with great interviews with Fairchild, Stevens, and producer Bruce Cohn Curtis who talks about his work and friendship with horror legend John Carpenter. The audio commentary with producers Irwin Yablans, Cohn Curtis, and writer/director Schmoeller bring some entertaining depth to the movie’s plot while providing numerous anecdotes about the filming locations as well as cast and crew. Stevens’ segment was interesting as he shares his thoughts on not getting top billing but having his name “boxed” in the posters to appease him. Fairchild shares some great memories and reveals that she likes to get a little physical and actually helped coordinate her fight scenes so she could show off her self-defense/martial arts skills. Also amusing is her take on missing her target so many times in the final showdown. Morgan, a proud Texas girl, declares there’s no way she would miss using a shotgun like that. She also muses on the audience reaction to her using the F word at a key point and its necessity in the film’s finale where the tables are turned on her tormentor.
The special features also include an interview with a current LAPD detective that looks back at how stalking crimes are looked upon today as opposed to when The Seduction was made. They touch upon how the wave of celebrity stalkers in the ’80s led to laws being drafted and reforms being made to deal with cases and people who go too far in their love for media idols. A very interesting segment that also sheds more light on the making of the movie.
The Seduction is not the best of its genre but it’s worth a watch, from start to finish for 104 minutes and not simply because of Morgan’s water scenes. Though I have to admit I was seduced into watching this one solely because of the lovely Miss Fairchild and I’m sure I saw it on VHS or cable sometime in the 1980s when I was too young to understand it all.
