Film Review: Bad Influence (1990)

Many of the Hollywood “high concept” thrillers in early 1990s featured a villain in the form of seemingly ordinary person that manages to wreak havoc in protagonist’s life through manipulation. Curtis Hanson was specialist for such films and also one of the more willing to build on the concept’s Hitchcockian roots. The first such film was 1990 thriller Bad Influence.

The protagonist, played by James Spader, is Michael Boll, mid-level executive in Los Angeles marketing firm who appears to have successful career that allows him to have luxurious home, but who is nevertheless unhappy both professionally and in private life. At work, his efforts to win promotion are sabotaged by his ruthless office rival Patterson (played by Tony Maggio), while he also feels anxious about upcoming marriage to his rich and domineering fiancee Ruth Fielding (played by Marcia Cross). One day, while he drinks at a bar, he gets in unpleasant situation from which he is rescued by mysterious stranger (played by Rob Lowe). Later he finds the man, who calls himself Alex, and two quickly become friends. Alex, who likes to invent various identities, brings Michael to wild parties and underground clubs, advises him to stand up for himself and even help him bring to bed beautiful woman named Claire (played by Lisa Zane). Michael is happy at first, but later becomes uncomfortable when Alex involves him in impromptu armed robberies and beatings. When he tries to sever the relationship, his new friend doesn’t react very kindly and first steals his things and then sets him up for various crimes, including murder. Michael is desperate and the only person who can rely on is Pismo (played by Christian Clemenson), his older brother with drug-related troubles in his past.

Script was written by David Koepp, who would soon become one of the most successful Hollywood screenwriters of the 1990s. It is inspired by Hitchcock’s classic Stranger on the Train, with its main concept – strange pact between weak protagonist and sociopathic antagonist – successfully brought to milieu of 1980s and early 1990s yuppies and their ultra-materialistic and decadent lifestyles. Director Curtis Hanson handles the film confidently, helped by Robert Elswith cinematography that insist of black and white colours, carefully mixing 1980s aesthetics with “noirish” atmosphere with some mild erotica being brought for a good measure. Bad Influence is nevertheless an uneven film. It is more effective in the first half, when we watch transformation of the protagonist, very well played by James Spader in uncharacteristically “normie” role, from pathetic weakling into confident player. Spader and the film isn’t that strong when Alex reveals himself to be sadistic sociopath and Michael suddenly becomes scared for his career, freedom and life and initially succumbs to his tormentor’s manipulation. In what is probably the most brilliant move, protagonist manages to turn tables on Alex only with the help of the older brother who seems even more pathetic than himself. The brother is brilliantly played by Christian Clemenson, who would years later pair up with Spader in TV series Boston Legal.

Both actors are supposed to be overshadowed by Rob Lowe, one of the biggest young stars of 1980s. In what ultimately turned to be a happy accident, production of the film was rocked by the scandal that almost ended Lowe’s career – discovery of a sex tape involving Lowe and two women, one of them minor. Hanson decided to keep Lowe in the film, hoping for bad publicity to help him, but it also allowed Lowe to embrace his newly found “bad boy” image. This even included some very obvious references to the scandal – many scenes revolved around video recordings and one of them even had Lowe’s character involved in threesome. Lowe, who met his future wife Sheryl Berkoff on the set, did a good, but not exactly memorable job and his villain isn’t in the same league with those played by Ray Liotta or Rebbeca De Mornay in similar films. Bad Influence also suffers from underused and not particularly remarkable music score by Trevor Jones that failed to add to the atmosphere. The ending, in which psychological thriller gets replaced by quick action, is somewhat underwhelming, but also quite realistic for this sort of films. Bad Influence is nevertheless provides very good entertainment and can be recommended to the fans of the genre.

RATING: 7/10 (+++)

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