The late Robert Mitchum was one of the major big screen icons of the last half of the Twentieth Century. His heavy-lidded gaze and quiet air of menace stood out in a field filled with weak pretty boys and even weaker scripts.
Mitchum made his mark in crime dramas, so it’s fitting that his more mild-mannered, look-alike son Chris is trying to establish his own career in the genre–albeit in lower-grade productions. (At least in this case.)
In “Lethal Seduction”, Mitchum is a police detective who’s trying to solve a string of apparently related murders. There’s a certain kink factor because the victims were killed while trying to get some nookie. Another link between the corpses is their association with an underworld figure named Gus (Joe Estevez) who, naturally, isn’t the most sympathetic character ever committed to celluloid. Meanwhile, the detective is searching for a tall, sexy brunette (Julie Strain) who’s been implicated in the slayings.
There’s also some softcore sex thrown in for good measure, And why not? It beats seeing some of the greasy animals in the hardcore flicks going for “the money shot”–but not by much.
The acting and directing are a little rough, and the script isn’t exactly the kind of stuff that makes Tarantino question his abilities. But any film featuring super bombshell Julie Strain always deserves a look. Blessed with the kind of onscreen animal magnetism that Tura Satana made famous in the mid-’60s–Strain effortlessly steals every scene she’s in. Sure she doesn’t have to try very hard, but when you’re built like her, why should you have to? A gal has to pay the rent, after all.
“Lethal Seduction” isn’t about to make you forget “Reservoir Dogs” or “Pulp Fiction”, but it has its moments. In addition, the VHS version of this flick has a bonus interview with big, bad Julie Strain that’s a must-see for fans of this top-heavy giant.
