Up Against Amanda

Up Against Amanda is your typical "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" movie. Amanda (Justine Priestley) was an abused child by her sexually deviant step-father. Eventually, she ended up institutionalized, where she ended up being abused by a sexually deviant doctor. The doctor, named Dr. Arnold (John Alan Richards), arranged to have Amanda released in exchange for a few "favors", which would continue forever. Amanda is forced to get the evil doctor out of the way in order to have an ordinary life. She falls for her neighbor, Richard (David DeWitt), who is having problems due to his wife touring on the road with no end in site.

Amanda continues to work on seducing Richard, knowing he is having problems and preys on his weaknesses. After getting him drunk, she turns it up a notch in the hot tub and finally gets Richard to give in, which was not a good move on his part. He finds that this was not a normal one-night-stand, as Amanda was willing to exploit it and him to get what she wanted, which was to take him away from his wife, Laurie (Karen Grosso).

Justine Priestley reminds me of Jaime Pressley in a way. She was beautiful, stunning at times, but her acting was a little off when she had to do the crazy bit. She had a hint of humor during her first few murders but lacked something overall. She was not all that bad, just not great. I would not hesitate to watch something she stars in again.

David DeWitt played Richard Pierce all right, but he seemed like a bit of a wimp. I did not buy the fact that he was this semi-macho guy and he runs like a girl from Amanda, especially without really knowing what she was truly capable of.

This movie was pretty much in the middle of the road. Definitely something for a rainy day or when you are bored out of your mind. Don't expect anything new and hopefully, you will not figure out where the movie is going to end up after the first 5 minutes or so. 5/10

I saw this movie when it first came out. It was an official selection for the Temecula Valley International Film Festival and I voted for it for best picture.

Justine Priestley is hot as the psychotic, but complex Amanda. This is not your ordinary psycho movie. Lots of interesting and original slants on the genre. Sort of a "Fatal Attraction" for the younger set with some great blues music mixed in as the object of Amanda's affection is married to an up and coming blues singer who has less time for her husband as her career takes off.

This really is quite a tacky movie but it can be forgiven its foibles thanks to a few redeeming features. Justine Priestley is beautiful so all the boys will love seeing her strut around in next to nothing. And hey girls, need hairstyle ideas for your prom? Look no further. The hairstylist on this movie had a field day; Amanda sports an elaborate new hair-do in practically every scene. Amanda is also quite an ingenious little thing. She gives MacGyver a run for his money with a bit of break & enter followed by the installation of fibre optics in a roof. She has gadgets galore (scanner, model dressed like her attached to a light timer, TV hooked up to David's house watching his every move) and a great line she shoots at Buzz when he complains about second-hand smoke: "It's not the smoke that kills you, it's the smoker". Ah Buzz, second-hand smoke is the LEAST of your worries! This was never gonna be an Oscar winner. It's a cheap little "thriller" with a few (unintentional) laughs and Justine is fantastic as the evil bitch posing as the All-American girl-next-door. What guy could say "No" to this babe? David certainly couldn't and ... well, you can guess the rest. 2/5 stars (for effort).

As one other IMDB reviewer has remarked, this movie starts a bit slow, but gets considerably better as it goes along. Yes, it is released by Roger Corman, and yes, it goes over some of the same thematic ground as much higher budget predecessors such as FATAL ATTRACTION and POISON IVY. However, the juxtapositioning of the wife's career as a rising blues singer against the husband's gathering loneliness and his almost Freudian need for filling the emotional and physical "void" or "hole" while she's away along with the clever use of minimal effects and settings is nicely done. Utilizing a very small number of locations and characters, and also using water in almost every scene both as a cleansing and drowning metaphorical symbol throughout, this movie, though clearly suffering from a minuscule budget, reminds me in many ways of the more fully realized and more recent scenario, namely the French film "SWIMMING POOL" which it seems to me at least may have borrowed liberally some useful ideas from "UP AGAINST AMANDA." With a smaller tool set, UP AGAINST AMANDA maintains its suspense with a rudimentary, fatalistic view of surrendering to ones occasional lustful temptations, but accomplishes this as well or better as other films in this genre. The twist of the stepfather abuse of Amanda in the past (again, very Freudian) is also very unique in this genre and interesting. I agree with other viewers about the unexpected and sympathetic reaction for Amanda's plight this aspect of the story elicits. The cast is excellent I think.

Edge of your seat...hold on ! Smart, sexy and compelling. Fabulous performance from Justine Priestley as Amanda. Prepare to be hypnotized by her. Sex oozes from her like molten lava. She grips you immediately...very tightly, and never let's go until the finish. She is so likeable and drop dead gorgeous ....you'll never take your eyes off her throughout. What a babe!!! You'll want her in every scene and then some. She twists you hard, leaving you feeling good about her evil exploits. Sweet, sinister and boldly intoxicating. Absolutely positively leaves you wanting more and more !Watch it twice!!