Double Exposure (1982)

Just perfect...

From my favorite movies..

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

When judging the cover of this video, you could get the idea this film is trashy and sleazy. What a façade? Double Exposure is a very well constructed thriller, where you must give thanks to Callan's fantastic performance, for it. He had a bit part as a nasty sleazy businessman in the B prison cult slasher, Chained Heat. He could be the psycho killing beautiful women, snapping shots of them or is the angry, bitter stuntman brother, minus a leg and an arm? Meanwhile Adrian (Callan) is having these really awful dreams, that are practically killing him, all so familiar, are the victims in real life who are being knocked off, justice in those horrible dreams. I like psychological thrillers, which are carefully thought out, motives and all, which can you have you double minded, or where other red herrings are thrown in. Excusing the latter, Double Exposure is one of those movies, where the writer simply just didn't put pen to paper. Like with serial killers, who like, premeditate stuff, this is what the writer's done here, and it's payed off beautifully. Callan's new love interest is one beautiful lass too. Performances here really impressed me, more so Callan's as the troubled and disturbed Adrian Wilde. Callan's presence here is fantastic and has you in, every scene he's in, and you don't know when he could just go off, as being a hyped up character. He has you on edge a lot, really trying to grip on his day to day torment, which has him seeing a shrink (Cassell) who at one stage near it's finale, has to make a choice. Here, the tension really mounts. Although made in 83, the movie has a Seventie's look. But if you love psychological thrillers, and you want to go back in time a bit, this taut little gem, will make your night literally.

A photographer Adrian Wilde (Michael Callan) doesn't know of he is dreaming or awake when people are being killed while he is taking pictures. In the meanwhile he's the 'stud' of them all and all the ladies are falling for him. But in the town girls, some he photographed, are actually being murdered. Of course the question Adrian asks is if he's the killer.More a thriller then a horror this is rather low on the killings. The first whore being killed looked a bit tame. There's a bit of nudity here and there and even some full frontal but I was never in full force with this flick. I just couldn't care what happened, the killings I did care but Adrian himself I just couldn't care. The biggest name here is Seymour Cassel as Dr. Frank Curtis. For a slasher made in the heydays of horror and slashers this is extremely low on all aspects to be called a horror. It has more a television film look. Still unavailable on DVD or Blu Ray, only on VHS.It's only the fact that Adrian is a playboy that makes this a failure. All girls want him and that makes it a bit unbelievable. Almost no blood or gore to see in a period when the red stuff and gore were the big thing.Gore 0/5 Nudity 1,5/5 Effects 2/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0/5

Reportedly, Crown International studios original plan for this pick-up was to give it a fairly wide release, but after a bad reaction from audiences during previews, they ended up dumping it in just a few theaters before it went to video. Watching the movie, one has to wonder why the studio heads couldn't see for themselves they had an unsuccessful movie on their hands before showing it to audiences. To be fair, it's not a terrible movie. While low budget, it never looks cheap, being well shot. It's also acceptably acted. However, it's the script that sinks this movie. The story is very slow-moving. It takes forever for the movie to set up the situation, and once that happens it continues at a crawl until the end. Also, the ending does not really explain the haunting murder dreams the hero was having throughout the movie. I guess the movie could have been a lot worse, but that's hardly a ringing endorsement.

"Double Exposure" is a lurid thriller starring Michael Callan ("Cat Ballou", "Mysterious Island") as Adrian Wilde, a photographer who's begun having nightmares in which he murders his models. And, naturally, these women begin to be murdered in real life in the same fashion (as well as some other people), so we have to wonder, IS he responsible? He certainly does look like he's coming unglued. Callans' performance is indeed an intense one, although he has his lighter moments, too, as he aggressively pursues a new acquaintance, Mindy (Joanna Pettet)."Double Exposure" sometimes goes back and forth between this lighter tone and a sleazier one as these unfortunate women (and one dude) meet their demises. As a result, the incompetent detective played by Pamela Hensley pops in and out of the story. The identity of our deranged killer isn't going to come as any great shock, unfortunately, but until we get there the movie does have its moments along the way. For one thing, it comes up with a true corker of a murder set piece involving a trash bag and a snake - an inspired bit of nastiness. Some other kills are done slasher style. Doses of sex and nudity are adequate; there's a brief bit of full frontal and it's nice that the filmmakers could include an interlude of mud wrestling.The movie does look quite nice in the Panavision aspect ratio (with cinematography by R. Michael Stringer), and the music score by Jack Goga is impressive.The cast is definitely above average for a Crown International production; also featured are James Stacy as Callans' brother (the two are actually believable as brothers, and share a good chemistry), Oscar nominee Seymour Cassel as his psychiatrist, and Robert Tessier as a lowlife bartender. Popping up in other supporting roles and notable bits are Misty Rowe, Frances Bay, Jeana Tomasina, Sally Kirkland, Terry Moore, Victoria Jackson, and Kathy Shower. However, Cleavon Little is wasted in a clichéd role as Hensley's agitated superior.Nothing great, but undeniably easy enough to watch, "Double Exposure" should be sufficient to satisfy the needs of trash movie lovers. Trivia note: it has its roots in another movie of nine years previous, "The Photographer", which also starred Callan, who even had the same character name.Seven out of 10.