Hot Target

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.

HOT TARGET is a UK/New Zealand co-production masquerading as an American thriller, although the British accents in the cast and the surroundings will make the viewer soon realise we're not in Kansas anymore, so to speak. This one's a forgotten addition to the short run of revamped film noirs that were popular in the 1980s following on from the success of the POSTMAN RINGS TWICE remake and BODY HEAT.

This was put out by Crown International Pictures, so is chock full of nudity and sex scenes used to pad out the running time, as you'd expect from the studio. The characters are thinly-drawn and rather unlikeable, even though there are familiar faces in the cast list, notably the lead Simone Griffeth who was in the B-movie favourite DEATH RACE 2000. The whole of the production has a tired and overly familiar feel to it and the many and involved thriller elements don't really hold your attention, despite all the twists. It's just too cheap for that.

Hot Target is one of those utterly generic and vague titles that could be applied to a plethora of films, most likely a late 80's effort starring Steven Segal or Jean-Claude Van Damme. So it doesn't really give you much of a clue of what to expect in advance of watching it. When you press play and are then presented with the familiar logo of Crown International Pictures, it would only be fair to say that most will be anticipating a cheap action movie that will be too low budget to even afford Chuck Norris, far less Segal or Van Damme. So, it turns out to be something of a surprise to discover that this one turns out to be a Kiwi erotic thriller. There aren't too many New Zealand set films out there and it's certainly atypical territory for a Crown International release.

Its story focuses on a woman who is unhappily married to a rich businessman. She starts an affair with a stranger she meets by chance one day in a public park. It soon turns out that this stranger has engineered this encounter and has nefarious plans in mind. This film seems to have garnered mostly negative criticism if the reviews here are anything to go by. But I have to say that I found this to be one of the better Crown International 80's efforts. I think the unusual Kiwi setting certainly added a nice unexpected dimension, while the acting and plot line were overall pretty decent. It's no hidden classic of course but it's a good deal better than anything called Hot Target has any right to be.

As has been noted, this is part of a Crown International series, almost all of which contain the same scenes of nudity and lovemaking, all surrounded by ho hum plots. Those were the USA offerings. "Hot Target" is a New Zealand offering starring absolutely stunning Simone Griffeth, an American lass now, with her husband, selling expensive real estate in South Carolina. And, she is a damn good actress. Those love scenes could, and should have been, more abbreviated and it would have appealed to a more general audience - well - not the Pixar enthusiasts. Anyway, all the palaver about the plot is a lot of horseradish. It was easy to understand, the story tight and taut. The acting by all involved was first class. Steve Marachuk, the only other American in the cast, was excellent as the cad. All involved turned in excellent performances. Anyway, ignore the naysayers and, if you can get hold of this, grab it. I guarantee it will keep you involved for at least 92 of its 93 minutes.

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.