Review of Deathtrap (1982) by Kevin M. W — 11 Jun 2012

This is a really well written film, it definately has origins in the theatre. It films follows its play predecessor, it applies many of the theatrical special effects such as the typical "somewhat ironic" overdramatic lightening effects at the final scene. The plot itself is clever and has really been well thought out and the amount of twists and turns in this flim can fufil any die hard mystery/thriller fan. For that alone the film is worth a viewing, however, im not sure if this film is a great film solely because of the plot.

I believe that there are quite a few faults that seemed to turn this film into a bit of spoof mystery, it is odd but I felt that half way through it could have been a comedy if it had been funny! The acting seems too over the top for my liking, though I feel that the its the characters themselves are meant overdramatic. Dyan cannon performance was the definition of this, she earnt a rassie nomination for her acting but I felt the character itself of Myra made her acting seem annoying and really over the top. I thought it was unfair to give her that title, her annoyance actually was a sensible plot point (not to give too much away).

Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve suffered from the same symptom though to lesser extent and they were both charismatic characters and enjoyable actors to see on the screen.

The soundtrack to this film struck me as a bit peculiar (harpischord in full swing!!), a bit 18th century england for my liking and it added to the "spoof" feel to this film.

I think the bottom line to this film is that great plot, definately worth watching, it feels as if it should have stuck to a play rather than a film. Don't get me wrong, "play to film" films are a great and understand move, but being played in a cinema rather than a theatre has brought nothing cinematic to it, unfortunately. I guess its a great chance to see a great play!