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4.1 KiB
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Doe-eyed high school student Kathleen Beller is found beaten and<br /><br />raped in the opening scenes of this made for TV movie. The film<br /><br />then flashbacks to the few days before the rape, as Beller is<br /><br />harassed by a stranger.<br /><br />Beller and Scott Colomby and her best friend Robin Mattson and<br /><br />Dennis Quaid are double dating early on. Beller's anxious parents,<br /><br />laid back Tony Bill and shrill Blythe Danner, wait at home wringing<br /><br />hands and so on. Right away, the 1970's makes its dated<br /><br />entrance, as the young couples discuss the romance and love in<br /><br />"Three Days of the Condor."<br /><br />Beller, an amateur photographer, begins getting threatening notes<br /><br />stuffed in her locker at school. The film makers wisely give us a<br /><br />whole slew of suspects: Beller's new boyfriend, Mattson's<br /><br />boyfriend, Beller's dad, Beller's ex-boyfriend, and what about that<br /><br />overly friendly photography class teacher who wants Beller to be a<br /><br />little more sexy in her self-portraits? I knew who the rapist was<br /><br />because the Worldvision Video company video box has a picture of<br /><br />the attack on the back cover, destroying any suspense in that<br /><br />regard.<br /><br />Without giving away who the attacker is, Beller begins getting<br /><br />harassing phone calls, and is eventually raped. The movie then<br /><br />heads south as she makes like Nancy Drew and secretly sets up<br /><br />a time lapse camera to catch the guy stalking another student.<br /><br />Finally, the film makers tack on a hokey ending narration from<br /><br />Beller about the lack of understanding for the victims of rape in that<br /><br />day and age.<br /><br />The suspense here is very real, without going over the top into<br /><br />scary movie stuff. Beller is very good, and watch for her and<br /><br />Mattson's scene in an abandoned theater- both do great jobs. The<br /><br />film is full of familiar faces, including Ellen Travolta in a small role,<br /><br />and everyone is professional.<br /><br />This was made in 1978, and it shows. I am sure no one had any<br /><br />idea that this would be reviewed in 2001 by an overcritical horror<br /><br />movie lover who needs to get to bed and be up early in the<br /><br />morning, but some of the attitudes here are embarassing. The<br /><br />teacher who tells Beller to be sexy is never made to explain what<br /><br />exactly he had in mind. Nowadays, if any high school teacher said<br /><br />that, then THAT would have been a made for TV movie on its own.<br /><br />After Beller is raped, the rapist is still a part of her life, as warrants<br /><br />are issued, blah, blah, blah. There may not be a case because<br /><br />Beller is not a virgin, and cannot prove she was raped by whom<br /><br />she said. Many of these problems have been addressed with<br /><br />modern technology and policing efforts, but this film obviously<br /><br />knew it would have a chance to add to the reform debate. Rape is<br /><br />an act of violence that has not gone away, but efforts today to catch<br /><br />the attackers are miles ahead of twenty four years ago. The<br /><br />problem is the anti-rape angle feels tacked on, like an<br /><br />afterthought. Before that, we have a tight little suspenser that has<br /><br />real honest to God characterization. After the rape, everything<br /><br />changes, filmwise, and not for the better.<br /><br />I remember Beller from the '70's and '80's (and who could forget<br /><br />her revealing role in "The Betsy"), but she has not done anything in<br /><br />almost ten years. This is a shame, since she was very good way<br /><br />back then.<br /><br />I will recommend "Are You in the House Alone?!" based on the<br /><br />acting alone, with a reluctant nod to at least the first two-thirds of<br /><br />the film. If you want to relive 1970's made for TV high school life,<br /><br />this is your cup of Tab.<br /><br />This is unrated but contains physical violence, some sexual<br /><br />violence, and some adult situations. |