Bad Influence (1990)

This really is a nice slow burner, with plot elements reminding me of 'Fight club', 'The usual suspects' and 'American psycho', while it mostly looked like the latter (even if that one was mostly filmed in Canada, no less). David Koepp has written some interesting stuff over the years, and this one is pretty good. Not all of it is always credible, but if you're willing to go along for the sensational, nihilistic ride that it essentially is, you may just have a ball.James Spader and Rob Lowe play their parts with enough conviction, but let's not forget about Christian "I guess we can close the file on that one(!)" Clemens and the beautiful Lisa Zane. The story is perhaps a little far-fetched, but it fits right in with a lot of those over the top thrillers that were there aplenty in those dear '90s. 'Neo-noir', I read somewhere, and that it is in a way, and with lots of nice twists and turns and psychological baggage to keep you on the edge of your seat.8 out of 10.

Michael Boll (James Spader) is a young stock broker executive being pushed around by rival Patterson. He's getting married to driven Ruth Fielding (Marcia Cross) but he's uncertain about it. Alex (Rob Lowe) rescues him from a beating at the bar. His brother Pismo is still struggling to overcome his drug dealing conviction. He runs into Alex again and falls into his murky world. Alex teaches him confidence as the psychopath Alex draws him deeper and deeper. He hooks up with Claire (Lisa Zane) and Alex splits him up from Ruth.Rob Lowe is an OK psychopath. Spader is probably even better. Also he has a larger range to play in this movie. Lowe smiles his way through this. He's a beautiful man. It takes a little too long before Alex's psycho ways get crazy dangerous. I wish they get to the dead body sooner because the movie gets better. However there are a few too many cheesy things going on.

***SPOILER*** Being pushed around all his adult life yuppie financial analyst Michael or Mick Boll's, James Spader, abusive life made a sudden turnaround when he accidentally ran into his "Knight in Shining Armor" the mysterious Alex, Rob Lowe.Just trying to be a nice guy Michael paid for a drink that Karen,Susan Lee Hofman,didn't have the cash for. In pops Karen's jealous boyfriend Willie, Jack Kaake, who in finding out that Michael acted like a gentleman to his now estranged girlfriend tried to plant, by slamming it, his face into the counter! If it wasn't for Alex coming to Michael's rescue, with a broken beer glass, the movie "Bad Infulance" would have been over almost as soon as it began.Taking the wimpy Michael under his wing Alex gets him involved, after getting Michael stone cold drunk, in a number of armed robberies that he later uses to blackmail him with. Alex also has Michael's rival, for senior financial analyst, at his firm Patterson, Tommy Maggio, beaten to a pulp in order for Michael to get the coveted job. Not that Patterson was an innocent party in his screwing Michael by erasing all the hard work, on his personal computer, that he did to get the job.It's later that Alex really gets to work on Michael in not only getting him in bed with hooker Claire, Lisa Zane, but video taping the sleazy and sordid event. Alex uses the incriminating video to destroy Michael's wedding plans to rich well beard and sweet Ruth Fielding, Marcia Cross, whom he was engaged to marry! Later in order to keep Michael in line Alex kills Claire, with Michael's favorite golf club,in his apartment leaving him as the police's prime suspect in her murder!As it turns out Alex's plan to have Michael under his control backfired in Michael becoming almost as smart and manipulative as he is. In fact Alex in trying to make Michael into his personal slave created a Frankenstein monster instead. A monster who in the end with the help of his even more scared and wimpy older brother Pismo, Christian Clemeron, would put the arrogant and sure of himself Alex in his place! By having him take a long walk off the end of a short pier on the Pacific Ocean!You never get to know what Alex's fascination with Michael really was. Alex like the "Lone Ranger" just shows up at the bar and takes control of Michael's life as if, Michael's confrontation with Willie, was planned far in advance! Alex getting Michael involved in his murderous antics also didn't make much sense in that Michael can, like Alex did to Michael, implicate him in them as well!The only explication I can see in Alex's actions is that he just wanted to corrupt, like the Devil, a harmless and innocent person. And as it turned out it was that person, Michael, who used Alex's underhanded tactics in his own self preservation by having them boomerang on him!

Some people have got that influential touch that can bring any one out of their comfort zone. There are risk takers and those you play it safe. It's matter of personal choice. The clinically dark yuppie thriller 'Bad Influence' takes on a psychological power play between an enigmatically bold drifter (a tremendously venomous Rob Lowe) and a pinned-down marketing analyst (suitably acted by James Spader). Watch how the relationship grows and slowly treads dangerous ground, as the dream of being confident and striving to overcome one's fears is manipulated into a tormented nightmare of aggression and punishment for simple, ungraspable fulfilment for one's own gain. It's a game on someone's life and Lowe's icy portrayal of the controlling puppeteer works effectively. Sure the fundamental storyline isn't anything new (an old formula ala noir going contemporary) and some plot avenues seem a little too glossed over and hard to fathom, but Curtis Hanson's daringly sharp and tight direction cements intense empowerment and morbid curiosity in certain visual suspense. Using an almost voyeuristic approach he draws upon unearthing the violence, drug habit and sleaze trying to hide behind a materialistic obsessive society. Fascinatingly slick and stylish, and the cruise-like pace moves along well enough. The soundtrack has that steamy, on edge kick that doesn't show its age. Also for one in this time period, it's strangely underplayed and kept in the background. The support cast play trumps to Lowe and Spader, but Lisa Zane titillates in her all too short of a role. Fashionably entertaining psycho-thriller.