Deadly Intentions

I viewed this movie almost 8 years ago and it is still fresh in my mind. Biehn was captivating in the role of Dr. C. Raymor. The unsettling look in his eyes, the facial expressions, and the body language, carried this movie to a level of believability that is very rare to find. Of course Leachman was spectacular as the manipulative and overbearing mother. (Her mothering skills are right up there with Nurse Rachetts'.) What started out as a sweet and quirky romance, between two young lovers (Biehn and Smith-Osborne) quickly deteriorated. There are a couple of instances of animal cruelty, however the parts are left to the viewers' imagination and not shown. I would definitely recommend this as a must see if you like dark suspense.

I liked it. I thought it was good for a drama and sorta scary.

Deadly Intentions, based on the book by William Randolph Stevens, tells the story of Katherine, a young woman who lives with her parents, loves children, and dreams of one day being a fully-fledged teacher.

Charles Raynor is young medical student with a promising future as a doctor; he falls in love with Katherine one evening on his birthday at the family home and the two eventually get married, much to the disapproval of his mother, Charlotte.

Pretty soon into the marriage, Katherine begins to notice changes in Charles' behavior and demeanor, particularly toward her after learning she is pregnant with his child. When she informs him of this, he expresses disappointment, as if he isn't ready to be a father.

Charles enjoys being mean to Katherine, regularly pushing her buttons, in order to get a reaction. She is frustrated with some of his childish antics, but Charles just laughs at her.

He is a narcissist, sadist, psychopath, master manipulator, and a little on the nutty side. He is also a something of a "mama's boy" since his mother always seems to play a major part in his life.

When Katherine does eventually leave Charles for good, he hatches various plans to find her and kill her for it, hence the title, "Deadly Intentions". She has to stay a step ahead of him to prevent a possible bad outcome for both her and her son.

I have only ever seen this ONCE on TV. Michael Biehn is brilliant as Dr. Charles Raynor, Madolyn Smith Osborne is also great as his tormented wife Katherine, and Cloris Leachman as Charles' influential/busybody mother. The story makes a point that some people aren't who they appear to be; you can't always rely on first impressions.

This 2-part teleplay (which goes for almost 3 hours) is worth a look if you haven't seen it.

I remember watching this movie on television while I was in University. I was providing some overnight home care for an elderly relative who went to bed early. After he was asleep, I placed a chair in the middle of the living room to watch TV and this movie came in. For the next two evenings, I sat perfectly still in the chair, not a muscle moved, white-knuckled, as I watched this story unfold. It was terrifying in its realism yet I could not pull myself away, desperately wanted this poor young wife to free herself from the grasp of her sickly possessive husband. I never forgot this movie and still bring it up once in a while in conversations about movies that had the biggest impact on my life.

If I watched it now, it may not have the same effect, but 30 years ago, it certainly left its mark!

I bought this video for £2 second hand because the cover looked like a horror film. What I got was a thriller but very well put together and well acted. What's more, I found it in many ways to be as scary as any horror film because unlike Zombies and monsters etc, this could happen and it is based on true events. Watch this to see perhaps the worst husband you could ever meet. I especially liked the "gut you like a fish" speech. The most chilling part is the ending but I wont give that away. I am yet to find the sequel but I would love to see it.