Kiss of a Stranger 2004 Horror Movie Review

This film has so many things wrong with it that it actually makes an interesting study for anyone aspiring to be a filmmaker. I wouldn’t call it a “its so bad its good” type of film, but it does seem to be made by a first time filmmaker. What’s wrong with it? Bad dialogue delivered by marginal actors, cliched and contrived plot, lack of suspense, poor development of story/character development…it is a disaster on all counts.


So why two stars instead of one? There are a few things that I like about it. The biggest element I loved was the opening song performance. I’ve never heard that song before (“Another Night Alone” by Deborah Holland)...a cool sounding ballad that sounds like it came right out of the best of the 1980s. An actress who plays Mariel Hemingway’s mother in the film opens the movie by singing that in what looks like a music video (a cheesy one at that). That song gets the movie off to a good start, but it doesn’t last long as we discover that Mariel Hemingway is a lonely lady whose gay best friend advises her to get laid for once. She takes his advice to heart the moment a hunky stud appears (played by Matt Battaglia, who has the annoying habit of overplaying his facial expressions which don’t fit with what he’s saying, rending him a second-rate actor at best).


After her hot one night stand (complete with a cheesy saxophone rifts play in the background like a bad film noir parody), her mystery man disappears out of her life while she’s recounting the details to her gay best friend that she LOVES her mystery man (not LUST). As the film rolls along, the mystery man is branded a stalker and Mariel does some sleuthing around to find out who he really is. There are a few surprise twists that come up, but end up being kind of hokey.


The main thing wrong with it is that the film tries to be of the suspense film variety, though they forgot to add the suspense. We never really get to see the danger of the mystery lover early on and when we finally do, it doesn’t come naturally. This is the kind of tripe film that the USA Network would play late at night. There is also one gratuitious T&A shot that really wasn’t necessary and was obviously only put in there for the type of brainless idiots who would love this film. I would say this film is a waste of time, except for that I really do love that opening song. Anything that introduces me to new music that grabs my ears can’t be a total waste, thus why I give it two stars instead of the one it doesn’t even deserve. I hope Matt Battaglia fired his agent for putting him in this one. With some acting lessons and better parts, he could become a first rate actor. Its also obvious that Mariel Hemingway’s career is going nowhere if she’s still making this kind of crap so far into her career. She might want to find a new agent too. I don’t fault the actors, though Corbin Bernsen is the best actor in this film. The blame rests on the director and screenwriter for making a crappy film that adds nothing to the cinematic arts.