Kris Bolin (Lara Flynn Boyle) is an office temp. Peter Derns (Timothy Hutton) is her boss. We are treated to Boyle in her sexiest role, yet. This is a fairly old movie now, so if you appreciate the younger, killer brunette, ex-model look for 90’s Lara Flynn Boyle then you may enjoy it that much more.
The film starts with a carefully dramatised bit of exposition – Peter used to suffer pretty bad paranoia; to the point of being the bad guy, the monster. His therapist even referred to the ill Peter Derns as Mr Hyde. Later on we may wonder if this is why Kris doesn’t just kill him; if he is spared because she sees the monster in him and feels familiar, and so can’t end him – like that famous scene in Alien 3.
There is an oft unwritten rule in horror movies, certain things make you less likely to get killed (be the protagonist, make friends with the monster, take control of your own fate, face your fears, be a monster yourself.) Just as some things make you more likely to get killed (have sex in the timeline of the materialisation of the fear’s presence, be a silly/slutty girl, do drugs, be popular, superficial and shallow, submit to a hierarchy, be cruel, be a despicable person – usually displaying one of the seven sins.)
I personally enjoy it when the monster decides to punish the despicable character in an effort to solidify in the viewer a feeling that this monster is a necessary evil.
The Temp gets rid of the despicable character fairly early on and doesn’t let up once the blood lust begins. The choice of method and the physical depiction of the violent deaths remind me of the style of Friday the 13th: the series (TV) – which bears no resemblance whatsoever to the Friday the 13th movie series. It’s creepy but safe for television; only implying the gore, never chucking it in your face.
The storyline takes the cat and mouse between Kris and Peter about as far as a cat and mouse game could possibly go. At one time I remember thinking; she knows he’s not falling for it, because he forgot to fake his facial expression. He’s frowning because he knows she cut the brake cable just to fuck with him. But if he wants to (stay alive) hide his suspicion; he needs to fake the expression of someone believing her ploy; fake ignorance and sympathy.
You want to like Kris because she’s sexy and cool. She’s a strong woman who’s not afraid to bend the rules to get ahead. And at first, she takes control of the situation and helps Peter, exactly when he needs it. Because without Mr Hyde, Peter is vulnerable, and the jackals can smell it on him. I almost want a Bonnie and Clyde ending.
Peter decides that if he did sleep with Kris it would be out of lust, and not worth the destruction that would be the inevitable consequence of his slip. Once he makes this decision, Kris is no longer attractive to him; he starts to view her with an element of disgust. Though that’s not to say he’s no longer tempted. Throughout this film I wonder what exactly she wants from all this, does she really just want to be loved by Peter. Wouldn’t it be a cool subversive idea if Peter decides to just go with it? Oh wait; they did that in Basic Instinct.
Why I love this movie: Sexy horror movies are fun just for being so. This is one of the best. Cheap thrills with great characters and a simple, albeit unoriginal story. Basic Instinct, if it were Horror instead of Thriller which is an important distinction, would probably rule the Kingdom of type. Even so, I like Kris Bolin more. She does more with less. Peter Derns is almost The Dude (The Big Lebowski) in his Xen survivalist approach to his situation, yea he explodes a few times but overall he deals with it all remarkably well.
4.5 stars
the joy of eating and the folly of thinking 