Deathtrap (1982)

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Shazaaaam
I'm usually a fan of adapted stage thrillers like Sleuth or Wait Until Dark, but this just felt hokey and contrived. Dyan Cannon, in a thankless part, is particularly annoying and hard to watch. 8 years 6 months ago
Siskoid
Sidney Lumet's Deathtrap is a fairly amusing murder thriller initially about an over-the-hill playwright (Michael Caine) inviting his protégé (Christopher Reeve) to the house so he can kill him and steal his brilliant new play, and before long you realize it has a foot firmly planted in the con man genre. And while at first, the twists are kind of pleasant and well set up, this is eventually to the film's detriment as the "twist" becomes what you expect and there's little surprise behind it. When there IS a surprise, you're likely to say "enough already!". And perhaps part of the problem is that none of the characters are likeable. We like Caine and Reeve because they themselves are likeable screen presences, but we can't muster sympathy for either of them, nor are the female characters much better. Dyan Cannon as the playwright's wife is the character with the most moral depth, but she's a screaming ninny for most of her screen time and that's rather annoying. Deathtrap is a fun enough, plotty thing, but it lacks the heart to be any more than that. 4 years 11 months ago
estiedelruth
A somewhat complex plot line that made it hard for me to appreciate this film. 10 years 11 months ago