Sexual Predator (2002)

Thanks for the memories!

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The acting in this movie is really good.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Richard Grieco (TV's Booker) is, Gale, a pale-faced artist who is under suspecion for the murder of Beth's (Angie Everhart) friend. Of course Beth slowly gets closer to Gale then a parole officer really should. This makes Joe, her boyfriend mad and in my opinion, rightfully so. I liked this film a tad more then I thought i would going into it. Perhaps the abundant display of the stunningly beautiful Everhart's mammeries had to do with my appreciation of the film. Because I sure know the stupid, stupid ending plot twist didn't.Where i saw it: Showtime-on-demandMy Thriller Grade: C+in ADDITION to this watch: "Jade"

Spoilers herein.I make a hobby out of finding interesting things in bad movies. Soft porn is a pretty promising playground for this because so many talented people seem to be involved while waiting for something else.And gosh, this project is almost worth recommending.As a thriller it actually works! -- at least so far as the way that the story is structured and paced. The acting is generally bad but in a twist the supporting actors are much worse than the main ones. In fact Angie is no worse than what we accept from Julia Roberts. That's not saying much, and what she does is far less than what the role demands. But that's because the role is surprisingly complex and demanding. Grieco is even better in his greasy Mickey Rourke manner. He is the person who made this happen outside the film and within it. He's not a Vincent Gallo, but there is an edge there. His director and cinematographer let him down though. As old fashioned late eighties soft porn, it sort of works too I suppose. I continue to be amazed at the rocking horse moaning that is supposed to represent copulation. I continue to be repelled at the defacing of natural beauty these women go through for increased breast size. The real star of these scenes is the actress who plays Lisa, the woman killed in the beginning. She is pretty good at what she does and not unnaturally deformed either. Her effects are taken from the much superior "Realm of the Senses." Elsewhere, in her supposedly "frumpy" mode, Angie actually is attractive.Oh well, the real prize for slogging through it is what I call "folding." That's where elements are reflected in other elements, most often in selfaware selfreference. For instance, we have here a photographed film whose chief character is a photographer, and the discovery of his relationship (the relationship of what he does and photographs to what we see as photographed) is through photographs of secondary characters. There are lots of overlaps where what we see as the film are snaps of photographs IN the film. Some art gallery conversation about folding of the photographer's erotic art.There are few reflections of who controls who: a relatively novel juxtaposition of the criminal justice system and bondage and domination in sex. This blurs into the obligatory soft porn convention of our heroine having sex with at least two men. Not unclever. One is the cop, the other the "bad" guy naturally. More: the folding of Angie?s past with what we see ? and why ? is the final revelation.For me, it is another fine example of how ordinary these sophisticated notions have become. Just this time, the film was of much higher quality than usual.Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 4: Has some interesting elements.

I just watched this movie last night, but it went by the name "Dangerous Desires" for some reason. Anyway, this was quite a treat for those who want to see Angie Everhart take it off. Angie Everhart plays Beth, a parole officer who is obviously gorgeous despite her appearance--you know, the "frumpy librarian" type of clothing, the tied back hair, the glasses.....they did a great job of hiding her behind all that at first. During her first encounter with her boyfriend Joe, the glasses come off, the hair comes down and Beth goes to work. The difference is like night and day. Beth's co-worker Caroline has been assigned the case of Gale, played by Richard Grieco. Gale is an artist who was charged with the murder of a woman named Lisa, who just happened to be Beth's best friend and former roommate (go figure). Of course, Beth asks to swap with Caroline to get the case. After some initial resistance from both parties, Beth meets Gale at an art gallery (look for a Gabriella Hall cameo as she plays the girlfriend of one of the browsers) and gets to know intimate details about him. From there, you know it's just a matter of time before they end up sleeping together. As the movie goes on, Beth gets less frumpy and sexier. Her boyfriend Joe, who seems to be the jealous, overprotective type, continues to harass Beth about her close relationship with Gale. He even goes to Gale's house and threatens to kill him if he doesn't stop seeing Beth. Of course, there's some killing going on, too. First, Beth's cat gets killed, then Maya, a woman who does modeling for Gale's artwork, is strangled to death. As the truth of the killer is revealed, Caroline gets a little too close and is bumped off herself. This leads up to the final scene, where Gale and Beth are making out passionately on Gale's bed. Joe walks in on them, gun in hand, and even more secrets come out. Here, we find out who the murderer is, and Beth's ulterior motive for having an affair with Gale. I don't want to ruin it for the 5 or 6 of you who will stick around that long, but let's just say that as the film fades to black, Beth has a big smile on her face. Women: A (Angie Everhart finally showing some skin is enough for me, but brief appearances by Tina Tyler and Gabriella Hall scored extra-credit points with me.) Sex: B+ (Only a handful of sex scenes, but were good for what they were. Angie Everhart is in most of them, so that's enough to keep the grade fairly high.) Story: A (An erotic thriller with a better-than-average script and a couple of plot twists at the end. We also see plenty of character development from all of the major characters involved.) Overall: A- (The "Sex" grade deducts one-third of a point from the final grade, but it was still a great film. Definitely worth taping. Why doesn't Angie do more of these? She looked like a natural. I can see her and Gabriella Hall doing an installment of "Summer Temptations" together--now that would be fun.)

This movie was pretty much what I expected and Angie looks great throughout. The plot was so-so with the end being somewhat predictable. The only reason I wrote this review is that I just can't believe the casting of "Beth"'s (Angie Everhart) boyfriend!!!!! Not even in the bizarro universe could a guy who looks like that (AND whimpers like a little puppy in several scenes) get a second look from a woman who looks like Angie, let alone being a steady boyfriend. I know they try to make her look frumpy in the beginning as though he may be in the same league with her, but it just doesn't make any sense......