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.

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.

Though overlooked at the time of it's release, "Never Talk to Strangers" is a well-crafted thriller centering on the human dilemma of whether or not to trust others. Rebecca De Mornay stars as Dr Sarah Taylor, a psychologist in an unnamed city who has a difficult personal life. She meets the charming Tony Ramirez (Antonio Banderas) in a supermarket and- despite her many fears- is soon drawn into a passionate relationship with him. Soon after meeting Tony, Sarah acquires a stalker who sends her dead flowers and dismembers her pet cat. The audience is provided with a decent list of possible suspects including Tony, Sarah's missing ex-boyfriend Benny, or possibly her slightly sleazy upstairs neighbor (a surprisingly good Dennis Miller). Other possibilities include her alcoholic father, and associates of serial killer Max Cheski (the wonderful Harry Dean Stanton) on whom she is performing a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation.

As the plot unfolds, it appears as if De Mornay's character has nowhere to hide and nobody she can really trust. Various characters appear more or less likely to be guilty of terrorizing her. The film also very deftly portrays Sarah's need for a relationship with Tony even though she is terrified that he is hiding something from her. The acting is top notch and the plot is full of satisfying twists and turns. If you are in the mood for a strong, solid thriller then this ought to be a top choice.