Fatal Charm (1990) Academy Entertainment/Suspense-Thriller RT: 90 minutes Rated R (sexuality, nudity, violence, language) Director: Fritz Kiersch (as “Alan Smithee”) Screenplay: Nicholas Niciphor Music: James Donnellan Cinematography: Steve Grass Release date: February 22, 1992 (US, cable TV) Cast: Christopher Atkins, Amanda Peterson, Mary Frann, James Remar, Peggy Lipton, Andrew Robinson, Lar Park Lincoln, Robert Walker Jr., Shelley Smith, Andrew Lowery, Barbara McNair, Jane Kean, Ned Bellamy, Ken Foree, Kevin Brophy, Trent Dolan, Dennis Stewart, Peter Wise, Brent Fraser, Colleen Dion, Lee Anthony, J. Trevor Edmond, Bobby Fite, Patrick Thomas, Christopher Anthony Young, Maria Bradley, Ellyn Stern, Carol Higgins Clark. Box Office: N/A
Rating: ** ½
When Fatal Attraction and Fatal Beauty came out about a month apart in fall 1987, I decided to run through the rest of the alphabet and come up with titles for additional Fatal movies. The first title I came up with was Fatal Charm. It seemed like a natural. Ted Bundy had it, didn’t he? Now is it possible somebody was reading my mind as I sat in biology class (in community college) doing this instead of paying attention to the teacher? It must be because somebody came up with Fatal Charm a few years later. It’s not exactly what I had in mind, but it’s close enough.
Fatal Charm was a troubled production from the get-go. The original director Peter Medak (The Changeling) was replaced by Fritz Kiersch (Children of the Corn) who would ultimately disown the film as evidenced by “Alan Smithee” being credited as director. It was filmed in 1989 and set for a theatrical release in 1990. It never happened, at least not here in the US. Apparently, it came out on video overseas before making its American debut on Showtime in Feb. ’92. It hit US video stores in ’93. To be honest, Fatal Charm has the look and feel of a straight-to-cable film. It’s not very cinematic.
The late Amanda Peterson, who charmed the hell out of audiences in the teen rom-com Can’t Buy Me Love just a few years earlier, stars as Valerie, a high school student whose home life is far from idyllic. Her divorced mother Susan (Frann, Newhart) is seeing Louis (Remar, 48 Hrs.), a first-rate creep with a tendency to make drunken passes at her when Mom isn’t looking. That’s on top of him being a married man on the verge of divorcing his wife. That’s what they all say.
Valerie develops a crush on a celebrity. That’s normal, you say? Wait until you hear this. The celebrity in question is Adam Brenner (Atkins, A Night in Heaven), a charming and handsome guy who happens to be on trial for multiple counts of rape and murder. There’s no way he could possibly be guilty, Valerie says (“Why would anybody that gorgeous need to rape someone?”). She starts writing to him and often skips school to attend his trial. She has violent sexual fantasies about him. Knowing that nobody will understand, she keeps her pen pal a secret from everybody including her best friend Sandy (Lincoln, Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood) who tries to fix her up with a nice boy (Lowery, My Boyfriend’s Back).
To nobody’s surprise, Adam is found guilty on all counts despite his continuous claims of innocence. He tries to put it on his conveniently MIA roommate, but that defense goes out the window when his dead body washes up on the beach. He’s sent to San Quentin to await execution. Meanwhile, Louis reads one of Adam’s letters to Valerie and immediately tells Susan who has a total s*** fit. She tries everything in her power to break Adam’s sway over her innocent teenage daughter. She even takes her to see the local sheriff (Robinson, Dirty Harry) who tries to scare her straight by showing her gruesome photos of Adam’s handiwork. It doesn’t work.
Meanwhile on Death Row, Adam is an instant hit with his new neighbors. Black gang leader Willy (Foree, Dawn of the Dead) wants to kill and castrate him (“I’m gonna cut your dick off and shove it down your throat!”). A slimeball named Adolph (Romero, House IV) wants to make Adam his bitch. Needless to say, the newbie is scared out of his mind. Luck comes his way after he’s stabbed during a big skirmish in the weight room. While awaiting transfer in a temporary holding facility, he manages to escape with a little help from the two guys who engineered the breakout. From there, it’s off to meet Valerie face to face for the first (and last) time, but not before he jacks a van and kills the rightful owner in the middle of a bj from his gf.
In a move more at home in a dopey rom-com, Valerie sends Adam a picture of Sandy instead of herself. Maybe she was self-conscious about her looks? Or maybe she had some reservations about the convicted killer? Who knows? In any event, it doesn’t lead to a set of hilarious misunderstandings. Instead, Adam creeps Sandy out when he approaches her at a diner thinking she’s Valerie. She manages to get away from him that time. I can’t say what happens after he follows her to some nighttime event at the high school. Her fate is left unknown.
Fatal Charm isn’t too bad. It’s decent for a film one might take home on 2-for1 night at the local Mom & Pop video shop. Peterson, who died at 43 of an accidental overdose in 2015, deserved more of a career than she got. Nothing much happened for her after Can’t Buy Me Love. Her only other major film credit was co-starring with Kirk Cameron in the 1989 teen drama Listen to Me about a college debate team. She puts her whole self into the role of an already troubled teen blinded by love and obsession. The story arc concerning her and Louis goes underdeveloped. It’s reduced to one scene where Sharon slaps the girl and accuses her of lying when she tells her about the abuse. Even worse, Sharon later asks him to keep an eye on her when she has to work late. Hello, Mother of the Year!
The most interesting thing about Fatal Charm is the cast. There are some awesome B-movie actors in it! In addition to the ones already mentioned, it also has Peggy Lipton (The Mod Squad) as the prosecutor, Robert Walker Jr. (Beware! The Blob) as the defense attorney, Barbara McNair (Change of Habit) as Valerie’s English teacher, Kevin Brophy (Hell Night) as a deputy, Bobby Fite (Silver Spoons) as a classmate and Dennis Stewart (Grease 1 & 2) as one of the lockup escapees. Also, actress Shelley Smith (National Lampoon’s Class Reunion) and Carol Higgins Clark (daughter of author Mary Higgins Clark) show up as reporters.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about Christopher Atkins’ bad acting. The guy is all looks and no talent. He was easily outacted by Brooke Shields in his film debut The Blue Lagoon (1980). He was a little better in one of my guilty pleasures, the 1982 comedy-musical The Pirate Movie. A Night in Heaven (1983), a bad movie classic, is his crowning achievement. The former teen heartthrob overacts terribly in Fatal Charm. His performance consists mostly of bug eyes and intense camera stares. If his character wasn’t so vile, I’d swear he’s the movie’s comic relief.
The screenplay by Nicholas Niciphor (Deathsport) is scattershot and unfocused. It introduces multiple story threads only to leave a few of them dangling when the end credits come up. It would have been nice to know the fates of certain characters like the best friend. Kiersch, whose resume also includes Tuff Turf (1985), Winners Take All (1987), Gor (1987), Under the Boardwalk (1988), Into the Sun (1991) and The Stranger (1995), imbues Fatal Charm with a reasonable amount of suspense. Sadly, it’s a rather formulaic and predictable thriller that basically peters out at the end. It’s not a satisfactory conclusion. We need more closure than it gives us.
I had fun watching Fatal Charm even though it’s not that great a movie. It’s fine for what it is, a straight-to-cable thriller made to be enjoyed by teens. Now that I’ve watched and reviewed this Fatality, it’s on to D. Is there a movie called Fatal Desire?
