Chase_Witherspoon
Thin on cogent storyline, thick on gratuitous nudity (which is either a plus or a take depending on your moral barometer), "Hot Target" tells us the story of an attractive American woman (Griffeth) in an unhappy marriage of convenience to wealthy Pom (Marshall) with whom she has a young daughter, living in New Zealand. Her regular dog walks at the park attract the attention of an American stranger (Marachuk) who proceeds to seduce Griffeth into a torrid affair that ultimately leads to murder and financial gain.It's a tired formula given a soft-porn treatment, Griffeth's ample full frontal nudity guarantees the R-rating and is sure to set pulses racing. Marachuk gets in on the act a few times in less detail, but seems to benefit from the situation nicely. It's good to be an actor. Marachuk might be familiar from "Piranha II", while Griffeth has an exploitation film career as long as her legs. Strangely, Marachuk doesn't seem to have any more credits to his name after this film? Marshall is dependable but not nearly as objectionable as he should be to evoke Griffeth's infidelity, and if you blink, you'll miss fellow ex-pat Pom Terence Cooper in a bit part.The film meanders aimlessly from one opportunistic bump 'n grind to the next - in the woodlands beside a cricket match, at a 'borrowed' apartment, on the billiard table - but does pick-up for the final thirty minutes. Then, just as the plot thickens and things get interesting, the film decides to end prematurely, leaving a gaping plot hole and wasted potential in its wake. When a half-dozen climaxes doesn't result in a satisfying ending, clearly, you're doing it wrong.
Woodyanders
Wealthy and lovely, but bored and dissatisfied American Christine Webber (nicely played by gorgeous blonde knockout Simone Griffith of "Death Race 2000" fame) feels trapped in a stale and unhappy marriage to cold, ruthless New Zealand businessman Clive Webber (an effectively callous and obnoxious portrayal by Bryan Marshall). Christine receives some much-needed excitement in her life when she meets and gets seduced by suave professional thief Greg Stanford (a fine and charismatic performance by the hunky Steve Marachuk), who plans on breaking into Webber's house so he can steal all their valuables. Writer/director Dennis C. Lewiston relates the compelling story at a steady pace, doesn't skimp on either the tasty female nudity and steamy soft-core sex (the luscious Griffith looks absolutely delectable in her birthday suit and sweats quite fetchingly during her lusty love scenes), and delivers a few nifty twists in the film's last third after Greg's plans go disastrously awry. Griffith and Marachuk display a strong and engaging chemistry as the attractive and appealing leads, with sound support from Marshall (who makes for a perfectly hateful jerk), Peter McCauley as the determined, no-nonsense Detective Inspector Nolan, John I. Watson as Clive's loyal bodyguard Benjamin, and Renee Johansen as Christine's adorable daughter Sandy. Both Alec Mills' crisp cinematography and Gil Melle's supremely funky'n'jazzy score are up to snuff. An enjoyable movie.
lazarillo
This movie recently appeared as part of a collection of 8 movies retailing for about $4 (used). So while it's not good, the real question perhaps is, is it worth 50 cents? Well, I'd say Simone "Death Race 2000" Griffeth's generous nude scenes are definitely worth 49 cents. But it's that extra penny that's the real sticking point.In the movie's favor, it was pretty early entry into the "erotic thriller" genre, a genre which has only gotten worse and worse with each passing year, and it was obviously inspired by "Body Heat", perhaps the ONLY classic erotic thriller. Interestingly, the gender roles are completely reversed here--it's Simone Griffeth's character, an American woman married to an obnoxious British industrialist, who is the naive prey, while the man, a handsome American thief and con artist, is the seductive predator (a homme fatale?). The overall plot though occupies that gray area between uniquely bizarre and completely non-sensical. It's also interesting that it is set in Britain, and aside from the two leads, features an entirely British cast. After all, the Brits are not exactly known for erotic thrillers (or for anything erotic, for that matter). Of course, that doesn't make the movie good or bad, but it is interesting.But is any of this really worth that extra penny? I don't know--flip a coin.
ah_mann
Billed as a thriller in the spirit of "Body Heat", this film was only available on video in North America -- not surprising, since it is very thin on plot and very heavy on heavy breathing. Loaded with gratuitous nudity, Hot Target will appeal to anyone who is looking for titillation. The American cat-burglar, like the rest of the film's characters, is laughable; there is actually a little bit of entertainment value in the stunningly horrid dialogue. You need only look at the filmography of the cast members to see what a fabulous piece of work can do to a life in film - like, say, end it.Basically, it's 100 minutes of horizontal jogging under the flimsiest pretenses - great, if you like that sort of thing. If you were looking for a thriller "in the spirit of 'Body Heat,'" then I suggest you see Body Heat.Direct-to-video. Kills careers - dead.
AD
