Hot Target (1985) Reviews

• Not on target

  Wizard-82012-04-13

  "Hot Target" comes with several interesting aspects attached to it. For starters, it seems to be an attempt to be a modern day film noir, inspired by films like "Double Indemnity" and "The Postman Always Rings Twice" though having "R" rated elements like nudity and sex. It's also interesting that this film's focus is on the woman, instead of the man. As well, it's interesting that this time around the movie is not American, and is instead an English/New Zealand co-production and set in New Zealand (not England, as some previous user comments have stated.) No doubt this movie had the potential to be entertainingly different, though the actual execution makes it anything but. For starters, while this was made for theaters, it sure doesn't look like it - it has a cheap British made-for-TV feel throughout, and the music score also has this feeling. Second, in several aspects the movie's plot is too close for its own good to another modern day film noir ("Body Heat"). But what really sinks the movie is its weak tone - it never comes across as terribly sexy, terribly tense, or terribly mysterious. And it's capped with an ending that's far from satisfying and raises questions that are never answered. Apparently these filmmakers didn't look carefully at past film noirs to know that you don't just need certain elements - they have to also be well executed.

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• A solid little erotic thriller

  Woodyanders2009-01-05

  Wealthy and lovely, but bored and dissatisfied American Christine Webber (nicely played by gorgeous blonde knockout Simone Griffith of "Death Race 2000" fame) feels trapped in a stale and unhappy marriage to cold, ruthless New Zealand businessman Clive Webber (an effectively callous and obnoxious portrayal by Bryan Marshall). Christine receives some much-needed excitement in her life when she meets and gets seduced by suave professional thief Greg Stanford (a fine and charismatic performance by the hunky Steve Marachuk), who plans on breaking into Webber's house so he can steal all their valuables. Writer/director Dennis C. Lewiston relates the compelling story at a steady pace, doesn't skimp on either the tasty female nudity and steamy soft-core sex (the luscious Griffith looks absolutely delectable in her birthday suit and sweats quite fetchingly during her lusty love scenes), and delivers a few nifty twists in the film's last third after Greg's plans go disastrously awry. Griffith and Marachuk display a strong and engaging chemistry as the attractive and appealing leads, with sound support from Marshall (who makes for a perfectly hateful jerk), Peter McCauley as the determined, no-nonsense Detective Inspector Nolan, John I. Watson as Clive's loyal bodyguard Benjamin, and Renee Johansen as Christine's adorable daughter Sandy. Both Alec Mills' crisp cinematography and Gil Melle's supremely funky'n'jazzy score are up to snuff. An enjoyable movie.

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• hot target is hot stuff

  froberts732011-06-25

  As has been noted, this is part of a Crown International series, almost all of which contain the same scenes of nudity and lovemaking, all surrounded by ho hum plots. Those were the USA offerings. "Hot Target" is a New Zealand offering starring absolutely stunning Simone Griffeth, an American lass now, with her husband, selling expensive real estate in South Carolina. And, she is a damn good actress. Those love scenes could, and should have been, more abbreviated and it would have appealed to a more general audience - well - not the Pixar enthusiasts. Anyway, all the palaver about the plot is a lot of horseradish. It was easy to understand, the story tight and taut. The acting by all involved was first class. Steve Marachuk, the only other American in the cast, was excellent as the cad. All involved turned in excellent performances. Anyway, ignore the naysayers and, if you can get hold of this, grab it. I guarantee it will keep you involved for at least 92 of its 93 minutes.

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• Worth the penny?

  lazarillo2008-09-25

  This movie recently appeared as part of a collection of 8 movies retailing for about $4 (used). So while it's not good, the real question perhaps is, is it worth 50 cents? Well, I'd say Simone "Death Race 2000" Griffeth's generous nude scenes are definitely worth 49 cents. But it's that extra penny that's the real sticking point. In the movie's favor, it was pretty early entry into the "erotic thriller" genre, a genre which has only gotten worse and worse with each passing year, and it was obviously inspired by "Body Heat", perhaps the ONLY classic erotic thriller. Interestingly, the gender roles are completely reversed here--it's Simone Griffeth's character, an American woman married to an obnoxious British industrialist, who is the naive prey, while the man, a handsome American thief and con artist, is the seductive predator (a homme fatale?). The overall plot though occupies that gray area between uniquely bizarre and completely non-sensical. It's also interesting that it is set in Britain, and aside from the two leads, features an entirely British cast. After all, the Brits are not exactly known for erotic thrillers (or for anything erotic, for that matter). Of course, that doesn't make the movie good or bad, but it is interesting. But is any of this really worth that extra penny? I don't know--flip a coin.

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• A Hot Target but cool viewing

  bbhlthph2009-08-25

  Filmed in New Zealand in 1985 but first seen here as an NTSC DVD in the late 1990's, this film is set in the U.K. and features such esoteric activities as cricket matches. Believing it would only have a limited appeal to North American audiences, distributors never released it for theatre showings here . The original DVD was not reprinted, and by now the film would no doubt have achieved almost complete oblivion this side of the Atlantic but for the fact that a couple of years ago the distributor, Crown International, packaged it with seven other thrillers as a dual double sided DVD release marketed at about the usual price for a single film on DVD disk. Clearly this compendium was of considerable interest to IMDb users as most of the eight films suddenly started to become candidates for user comments again. Such packaging arrangements work well for many older viewers who have nostalgic recollections of one of the films featured, and have been waiting for a DVD version to become available. The film which led me to buy this complete set was French Quarter, a film that I would rate above any equivalent current release I have seen so far this year. I commented on it for IMDb in 2005 at a time when no DVD was available, and my comments (still on record in this database) indicated that I would certainly buy a DVD version should one become available. The other seven films were a bonus. All new to me, only two proved to have any interest - Pick-up and Hot Target. Comments so far made on this database.do not fully do justice to either. Perhaps I will pick up the computer to comment on Pick-Up later, now it's time to consider Hot Target which has been described as an inferior English imitation of Body Heat. Technically inferior certainly; with Kathleen Hepburn and Mickey Rourke starring in Body Heat this could be taken for granted:, but it is not an imitation. I felt the story in Hot Target was one which was much closer to real life as most people experience it - making it a film many viewers may find more meaningful and remember longer. 90% of paperback books listed as crime thrillers are about premeditated murders which, thank heaven, almost certainly constitute less than 10% of the serious crimes committed. The same goes for films, most viewers will never carefully plan and commit a murder and this makes it harder for them to identify with the characters in Body Heat In Hot Target we have a wife who feels suffocated by life with an overbearing husband,(SPOILER IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWS)and is therefore a relatively easy prey for the confidence trickster who seduces her in order to take impressions from her house keys whilst she is in the bathroom. Neither of them has any killer urge and this makes it easier to become involved in the story which seems closer to real life than to a lurid paperback novel. Don't get me wrong - I really enjoyed watching Body Heat but, just as with most paperbacks, it's story started fading as soon as I had seen it - Hot Target left me with much more to think about, and in this respect it was a better film. Although it did not have quite the intensity that Hepburn and Rourke achieved, there was nothing shabby about it. Other commentators on this database confirm that Simone Griffeth, Steve Marachuk & Bryan Marshall all gave very competent performances (as did Peter Mc Cauley in a shorter part as the Police Inspector). One viewer even commented that Simone Griffeth sweated in a most convincing way during her sex scene - I would not go this far, most aspiring actors would give a lot to be able to control their sweat glands during moments of stress, but I do not believe many of them have ever mastered this art. It is probably fairer to comment that the make-up department showed more care than is often the case by providing a supply of body oil at the critical moments. Kudos to them! Another reviewer comments that Griffeth's nude scenes are worth all but a cent of the price he paid for the DVD, but that he cannot quite decide whether the rest of the film warrants this last cent. I enjoyed the humour, but this and other comments do give an impression that we are discussing soft-core porn rather than erotic drama. This should be corrected, the nudity is very brief, extending for a total of perhaps two or three minutes of the running time, and is certainly not exploitive. For example during a tryst in a secluded spot at a cricket match, a nipple shot lasting about one second served to show the couple were not discussing the finer points of England's national game. The nudity could probably have been dispensed with, but it contributed to the story so why should it have been? Some may not have been happy with this film's conventional aspect ratio, but all things considered I felt it was a competently made and enjoyable film. If you are considering buying this collection do not let these reviews deter you. IMDb currently rates Body Heat at 7 and Hot Target at 5. Both are good but not great films, I rate them equally at 6, Hot Target is less sophisticated, but it is closer to everyday life and for me this balanced things up. It is easy to make a film more intense when the characters become caricatures, however whether I have become involved with these characters is more relevant to my assessment. Is this not a good basis for judgement? .

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