It’s funny, as much as the technical side of moviemaking has advanced, just how much the art of selling movies has also changed over the past two decades. 1982’s The Seduction heralded star Morgan Fairchild’s arrival in the feature film world, and it
arrives on DVD intact with its original poster text, which reads
thusly: “Alone… terrified… trapped like an animal. Now she’s
fighting back with the only weapon she has… herself!” The back cover, meanwhile, quotes a listing from the All Movie Guide that reads, “An erotic thriller with sex, violence and nudity.”
, a glamorous anchorwoman for a local Los Angeles affiliate who lives a nice life with a nice house and a nice man by her side, Brandon (Michael Sarrazin). She also has a devoted young admirer, Derek (Andrew Stevens), who watches her from afar and takes photographs of her swimming naked in her pool. When she rebuffs his advances, Derek becomes more and more aggressive in his attempts to insinuate himself into Jamie’s life. When the police prove no help, what will Jamie and Brandon do to fend off Derek?</p>
<p>In some ways, <i>The Seduction</i> can be legitimately viewed as a forerunner for <a href=)
Brian De Palma’s Body Double, which released two years later and helped make a star out of Melanie Griffith as it also tackled the same sort of topic of voyeurism in the new tech age. The Seduction doesn’t have that film’s bravura camerawork or masterful construction, true, but it’s also a less violent collision of sleaze and high art, whether attempted or achieved. The reason is that writer-director David Schmoeller (Puppet Master) never aims to bite off more than he can comfortably chew. Exposition is exposition, by God, and in place of De Palma’s complicated outdoor tracking shots we’re going to spend more time oogling Fairchild in silk pajamas or something of the like.
Which brings us to the straight rub for which you’re no doubt waiting: does The Seduction score high marks as a softie skin flick? Ehh… so-so, really. Cinematographer Mac Ahlberg shoots a beautiful frame, but the nudity here is mostly of the classy, tantalizing variety. The sex isn’t overt, in other words, save for one third act bump-and-grind — it’s more about peering at Fairchild in the pool or bathtub. Speaking of which, she does look absolutely gorgeous in the movie, though I should point out the above still isn’t from herein.
Anchor Bay’s superlative DVD release of the movie isn’t billed as a special edition, but it does come tricked out with enough of a fine slate of extras that it would easily qualify for such a designation. The 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation is admirably free from grain, and comes with an audio commentary track from Schmoeller and producers Irwin Yablans and Bruce Cohn Curtis. It’s a glad-handing, name-dropping, credit-obsessed affair all the way through, but not without some anecdotal bon mots, such as on the attempted casting of Valerie Perrine and Theresa Russell in the lead role.
, who reveals that one of his finds for the movie was Rita Moreno’s house. A bit more absurd bit still a worthy inclusion is an eight-minute chat with Curtis and Schmoeller about the ripped-from-the-headline inspiration of the piece. A Los Angeles police detective sits in on this one, in theory to offer an updated, “expert” opinion — her contributions are derisible, however.</p>
<p>That said, the extra time and effort put into this title is heartening, even without input and inclusions from Fairchild and Stevens. The movie itself, of course, isn’t groundbreaking, but neither does it pretend to be. <b>Stalker tales like this never really go out of style; they cycle back every two or three years with some nominal twist or update</b>, in the form of films like <i>Fatal Attraction</i>, <i>Fear</i>, <i>Unlawful Entry</i>, <i>The Hand That Rocks the Cradle</i> or any number of other flicks. <i>The Seduction</i>, though, dates from a more naive time, and so while its style — all helmet-hair, shoulder pads and aforementioned silk robes — is somewhat laughably dated, its pulpy, B-movie pleasures remain forever en vogue, now captured and ready for a new audience in the digital age. <b>B (Movie) A- (Disc)</b></p>
<div class=)