Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Deadly Messages



(1985) [TVM] ***

Laura Daniels, who I keep mistaking for ”Jackie” from Too Close For Comfort, witnesses a murder and is summarily ignored by the police despite being repeatedly stalked by the victim’s assailant. Seeking answers from her Ouija board (?) only frightens her more when she receives the message, “I am going to kill all of you!”



Soon her boyfriend becomes concerned about her mental stability and during an (unethical) consultation with Laura’s doctor he learns that she was once the recipient of shock therapy. When confronted Laura denies this allegation. Later Michael stumbles upon this book,



and learns that everything Laura has ever told him about herself, including her name, comes from a fictional book series. Laura continues to deny the reality of what Michael is suggesting and decides to do a little investigating of her own. Her investigation eventually leads to a mental hospital where a nurse greets her with an emphatic, “Welcome home!” Laura appears to be having a major identity crisis…

A late entry for the made-for-TV movie cannon, Deadly Messages looks like a theatrical movie and charmingly oozes the 1980s. I mean, even this guy is in it,



The climax involves a long chase through a blustery October evening with swirling leaves and wailing violins, what’s not to like? It’s a perfect slice of 80s cheese.

5 comments:

Johnny Sweatpants said...

Sounds like fun! I love the look of the killer - it's like he's trying to look 1985.

Octopunk said...

Totally. He's all Terminator.

I expect you know this, JPX: wouldn't that nurse's "welcome home!" be a horribly unprofessional thing to say?

JPX said...

Excellent point!

Catfreeek said...

I love that you tackled so many of these tv movies. It feels like your sorting them out for the rest of us, this one sounds like a lot of fun.

DKC said...

She totally looks like that chick from Too Close to Comfort! This does sound fun!

Malevolent

 2018  ***1/2 It's 1986 for some reason, and a team of paranormal investigators are making a big name for themselves all over Scotland. ...