This was a laughably awful train wreck of a movie. It has some of the worst acting ever committed to celluloid. Zoe Lund is one of the most annoying, terrible actors I've ever seen. If Larry Cohen picked a random person off the street to star in the film, she would have done a better job than Zoe Lund. Zoe Lund couldn't have done a worse job if she read her lines off of cue cards. I don't know how any competent director could look at her abysmal performance and think the film was worth releasing. Brad Rijn is also an awful actor, who puts on a hilariously bad accent, and does the film no favors. Add to that the fact that Eric Bogosian turns in a pathetic, inept performance, and it makes the film a real slog. In addition to the awful acting, you get the z-grade, incompetent directing and writing of Larry Cohen. He attempts to imbue this film with some pathetic, third rate Hitchcockian by way of De Palma characterization and atmosphere, but he fails completely. Also, the score is an annoying, tepid stew of random drum machine sounds and uninspired synth washes. A big fail all around.
Review of Special Effects
Special Effects
(1984)
A master class in bad acting, poor writing, and inept direction
8 September 2021