On D List of Movie Reviews
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Deathtrap (1982)
Rate:
4
Viewed:
2/05, 5/25
5/25:
There's a great deal of back and forth in how I feel about Deathtrap.
When Michael Caine is doing so well with occasional moments of terrific acting, here comes the stiff Christopher
Reeve to tear down the momentum. It's awkward to see them kiss in one scene (both drank so much in order to go
through it). Out of the blue, Irene Worth shows up as Helga Ten Dorp with her ESP bullshit. Lost in the mix
is the semi-terrible acting performance by Dyan Cannon who's also treated poorly by Michael Caine's character.
Many viewers have mentioned Sleuth for comparison. I can see how that
is, but both films aren't on the same level. For starters, Anthony Shaffer's screenplay is high quality while
Deathtrap is too talky. Then, there's the unbeatable pairing of Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine.
It's easy to see a lot of give and take between them whereas Michael Caine does a lot of the giving
in Deathtrap. Worst of all, the story makes little sense, and I was constantly unsure whether or not
the deaths of several characters were for real. The lightning effect is patently overdone.
All in all, Deathtrap is an uneven play-turned-film picture.