Ron Hardcastle
I was startled that this film has been ripped so mercilessly apart here, because I've always found it quite engaging. Years after it was released another filmmaker liked it enough to put huge chunks of it in "Swim Fan," which doesn't hold a candle to this original. I found Molly Ringwald quite chilling and felt that Patrick McGaw, playing a true innocent, broke my heart. Indeed, I think that McGaw almost singlehandedly SAVES this movie, because at least SOME of us care about him and the mess he ends up in after having hot (but oh so foolish) sex in Ringwald's car with her. Alas, she's a master manipulator and knows precisely which buttons to press to get what she wants, and later when McGaw's character suddenly gets a spine and begins to fight back, it becomes a race to see if he and his sweet girlfriend will survive Ringwald's lethal lunacy. I jumped at the chance to replace my VHS copy of this with the DVD and have never regretted it.
BloodTheTelepathicDog
A very likable cast helps elevate this clichéd script.Patrick McGaw(the unlucky dude off of Dream With the Fishes) portrays a college baseball stud who scouts drool over. He has everything, athletic skill, determination to succeed and a loving girlfriend(portrayed by the cute Sarah Lassez), but loses it all when he has a fling with demented stalker Molly Ringwald.After the deed is done, McGaw just wants to go back to his normal life and leave that night as a one night stand. But Molly badgers him constantly, and loses focus on the diamond which turns scouts off and feels the urge to tell Sarah Lassez that he cheated on her.All men should watch this film, as it does justice to the troubles men can face when they have an encounter with an unstable woman. McGaw gets accused of rape, and the cops bring him in based on Molly's word alone. Hey, this really happens, and many men get burned because of this.This film is very exciting, and even if you feel the characters are moralless scum seeking to fulfill their carnal desires, you'll still want to know what the end holds for these characters.Molly wasn't shy in this film, as she goes topless in a boat love scene. Who knew she was packing such perfection under those sweaters?
moonspinner55
Real-life teen sensation Molly Ringwald's fall from cinematic grace was swifter and more disastrous than Sky Lab, due in part to B-flicks like this one. It's a "Fatal Attraction" retread which casts the now-sexed up Ringwald as a jilted woman who stalks her man down, with John Vernon in a ridiculous supporting role as a detective who gets involved (he snoops around like Hercule Poirot). Actually, the film begins OK, but gets increasingly more preposterous as things progress. Unreleased dud went straight to tape, with the little hoopla it received being Ringwald's scant nudity. Another Hollywood fairy-tale in reverse. * from ****
Lee Speth
While MALICIOUS is of the tribe of FATAL ATTRACTION, I think other commentators here have overlooked its obvious progenitor. The scenario of the final section -- the psycho becomes the girlfriend's roommate under an assumed name -- is a direct lift from PLAY "MISTY" FOR ME. In this version, though, there are two huge improbabilities: A). Melissa is a notorious fugitive of wealthy background who did in her own dad -- it is incredible that Laura has never seen her picture; and B.) when our hero learns Melissa is in Laura's apartment, instead of calling the police immediately, he goes hurling across San Francisco on a motorcycle, unarmed, in the rain. I hope I never need him to rescue me.
AD
