A woman tormented by an abusive, sadistic husband desperately tries to find her way out of her predicament. She discovers that she may have found the solution in her cooking class, she finds out that one of the men in her class is even more of a sadistic psycho than her husband, and she hatches a plan to get him to kill her husband.
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After seeing this movie a second time (caught it a few years back on cable) I realize Tom Cruise totally ripped off his characterization of the psycho in "Collateral" from Mark Harmon in this movie. Wayyyy too eerily similar to be a coincidence. Right down to the odd demeanor, hidden rage and creepy buzz-cut hairdo.The only real complaint I have about this movie was the woman's character. Honestly, she gave a performance worthy of a mediocre Lifetime Channel film, while Mark Harmon actually surprised me with what he brought to this role. His part, although a bit outlandish, was actually believable. To the contrary Ms. Goodall's portrayal of an abused wife and terrified captive was grossly inconsistent. Either she didn't do her homework or she just went on set everyday, cashed her check and didn't give it much effort. The best thing about this movie was the ambiance and style for the second half, which was mostly dominated by Mr. Harmon. I'd like to see him in more after seeing this.
It appals me (having worked as a rewrite man at MGM back in the 60's) how some of today's films ever get produced. Poor scripts seem to be the rule, plus in the case of this disaster, poor direction, an unattractive and inept cast, and pacing that rivals a snail's pace. Dear Gussie, is it any wonder that many of us over-50's are staying home and reading a book instead of wasting time watching trashy contemporary attempts at film. There's only one blessing in this film: there are no special effects.
Standard B-movie fare. But strangely watchable. Caroline Goodall is kinda babe-like.....and the plot has a decent enough twist. Gotta wonder, is Goodall the sister of Jane Goodall of chimpanzee research fame? Looks similar. But her sister picked chimps better than Caroline picks men. 5/10. Just barely worth renting on video if you have seen everything else.
Predictable but fairly well-made battered wife movie. Mark Harmon has a nice touch of menace to his character. The beginning of the movie takes away all tension at the end by basically showing the results of the climatic scene. I liked Michael Beach as the cop. He just projected a very good-guy quality.
