Never Talk to Strangers

This Thriller was received poorly on it's release, this is unfortunate as I found much to like here.

Firstly I liked the main musical score running throughout the film and the Director was quite clearly going for a Hitchcockian feel, which only partially succeeds though.

The chemistry between the leads is excellent and the scenes containing both DeMornay and Banderas are the strongest and most watchable. I have to say I did not think Harry Dean Stanton put too much effort into his part as he was not all that convincing and Dennis Miller was just plain irritating. Len Cariou was okay as DeMornay's father, but really the two leads are the main focus and the main reason to watch this. The love scenes although a bit lengthy were stylishly made and did not detract from the film, the ending although a bit of a stretch was at least surprising and acted fairly convincingly (although I am no shrink).

So although being far from a classic I certainly thought it was far from being the worst thriller. I would rate it above the Meg Ryan effort "In The Cut" & Ashley Judd's "Twisted" along with Sandra Bullock's "Murder by Numbers" to name a few.

My rating 6.6 out of 10

I like mystery / crime movies where you try to figure out what is going on. In Never Talk To Strangers you have constant questions about who could be the stalker of Rebecca De Mornay. There is a constant tension between her and Antonio Banderas, sexual and mysterious, and it's a delight to watch. I thought both actors gave us a perfect performance in this movie. I read that some people thought the ending was so obvious. Well I can categorically tell you they are lying. Not in a million years you see the end coming. I would never have guessed and unless you saw the movie before or you read spoilers you will never guess either. And that's what makes Never Talk To Strangers special. If you like that kind of movies, with twists and turns, then this one is definitely worth a watch.

Brian De Palma has often come in for some flak over the years, his penchant for sticking tight to Alfred Hitchcock thriller formula has been the source of much consternation in certain quarters. Yet when you view something like Peter Hall's Never Talk to Strangers it rams home just how welcome it is to have Hitch like thrillers at least done well!

Rebecca De Mornay is a troubled shrink who whilst dealing with the mind games of a serial killing loony (Harry Dean Stanton), meets sexually charged Latino guy (Antonio Banderas) and indulges in passions unbound. Then she starts to get very unwelcome presents in the post...

The erotic thriller has been well trodden, and will continue to be so for sure, so it feels a little churlish to decry Hall's movie for coming off as a weak willed imitator of previous purveyors of the sub-genre, but this blend of Silence of the Lambs meets Sea of Love - cum - Dressed to Kill - cum Fatal Attraction etc etc just comes across as a cheat. And that's because it is!

The makers know this and try to hide their ridiculous folly behind eroticism as the two lovely looking headlining stars get sweaty and wet, indulging in sexual play that's as powerful as the surroundings (Banderas lives in a loft apartment resplendent with metal cage and wrought iron doors). But, or should that be butt? The mystery element is weak, the suspense equally so, while the back story of De Mornay's father (a key character) is hopelessly under developed.

Then there is H.D. Stanton, stealing every scene is he is in, quid pro quo indeed, yet he's hardly in the film, which ultimately proves to be a tragedy as the plot hurtles towards its implausible and risible revelations. Red herrings come and go as quickly as Becca and Tony's underwear (the continuity editor should have been sacked along with the writers because of one scene BTW), and even though Pino Donaggio scores the music with customary swirling qualities, this just comes off as a piggyback tactic...

This is a poor thriller in spite of two very committed and visually attractive perfs from the leads - and of course Stanton's knowingly sleazy turn. Seek this out only if you think Body of Evidence is in the upper echelons of erotic thrillers. 5/10

This thriller is a bit rough-edged, but a lot of people like that sort of thing. Rebecca DeMornay was the at the top of her game around this time (early to mid '90s).

GOOD NEWS - Overall, an interesting and involving story, especially in the second half. The movie is capped by a surprise ending I defy anyone to guess correctly. There are a few steamy scenes, too.

BAD NEWS - No likable characters, too much profanity; a few minor holes in the story; an obvious feminist bias and DeMornay's foul mouth and morals are pretty rotten for a psychologist, the character she plays. The guys - Dennis Miller and Antonio Bandaras - play pretty sleazy characters, too.

OVERALL - Interesting movie but too sleazy a feel to it.

Hi there from 2021. Boy, it's the first time I disagree with the IMDb rates so much! It actually pushed me to create a channel and comment.

I remember I put this movie on in the middle of my Banderas binge-watch, not expecting much, and - because of the rates - waiting for it to go bad any second. But to my delight, it didn't!

The plot got me involved. Sarah seemed to be surrounded with truly vicious men, so I started to suspect each one of being the bad guy. But I still didn't see the final twist coming.

While pondering on the suspects, I also enjoyed the way a sexual tension between Sarah and Tony was pictured. They click with each other! Especially it's seen while compared to "Original sin" (another erotic thriller with Antonio). Even though I find Angelina Jolie astonishingly beautiful, in that movie I didn't feel any chemistry between her and Antonio at all, but here I saw a genuine passion between him and Rebecca De Mornay.

I also really liked some power moves from Sarah - they were not that common for 90s, so they added spice to the picture.

To sum up - I recommend to watch this movie, if you are in the mood for light mysteries, blood-boiling sex scenes and esthetic of 90s. It's interesting, relaxing and pleasent for your eyes.

I don't recommend it, if you are into super-scary stuff or expect to tempt your intelligence with highly difficult riddles.