The Seduction

Director– David Schmoeller

Starring – Morgan Fairchild, Michael Sarrazin, Vince Edwards

Country of Origin- U.S.
 

Distributor - Scream Factory

Number of discs –  1

Reviewed by - David Steigman

Date- 06/27/2019

Written and directed by David Schmoeller, The Seduction is a romantic thriller about a news reporter Jamie Douglas (Morgan Fairchild in her first film) who is being stalked by Derek (Andrew Stevens) after she rejects his advances.  No matter how often she says “no” and rejects his every advance, he becomes even more delusional, stalking her and becomes a serious threat to her everyday life, even watching her when she is being intimate with her lover Brandon (Michael Sarrazin). Derek just doesn’t get the hint, continues to torment Jamie leading to a violent confrontation. I can only imagine how this situation would be handled in today’s society!

Despite a few plot holes, The Seduction is an entertaining thriller Andrew Stevens plays a great, if annoying as hell psychopath in Derek. No matter how much Jamie tells Derek to keep away, and even when her boyfriend beats him up, he just keeps on stalking it. For some viewers, the film may be a frustrating experience with Derek’s constant stalking and endless schemes to get close to Jamie. Derek is highly irritating, which can also be a sign that when an actor’s performance gets under your skin or gets you to emote, the actor succeeded in his or her role. Or it can serve to have you roll your eyes to the back of your head and just tune out.   

The Seduction debuts on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout Factory and it’s a lush package. Beginning with the video quality, the image boasts a lot of bright, vibrant colors. Blues, such as Morgan Fairchild’s blouse and Andrew Stevens blazer are especially rich.  The clarity and details of the characters and scenery look terrific. Daylight or interiors that are well lit are quite clear. Skin tones look accurate with details during the close-up shots.

The English DTS-HD master audio 2.0 track is also strong, with the dialog, action sounds and the opening song by Dionne Warwick sounding rick and robust. I did not detect any drop-outs, hissing or any serious audio issues. Shout Factory has also included optional English subtitles for this release as well.

There’s a ton of extras for this release, combining ported over extras from the Anchor Bay DVD release with some brand new Shout Factory supplements.

The audio commentary with Producer Irwin Yablans, Bruce Cohn Curtis, and writer/director David Schmoeller has been ported over, so commentary fanatics can take a sigh of relief.

Also from the DVD are the three ‘vintage’ featurettes Remembering The Seduction featuring interviews with Bruce Cohn Curtis, Irwin Yablans, David Schmoeller, actress Colleen Camp, actor Kevin Brophy, and associate producer Tom Curtis, Remembering The Locations and Production with Bruce Cohn Curtis And Location Manager Charles Newirth and also Remembering The Seduction and The Law also with Bruce Cohn Curtis. All of these interviews are still relevant and it’s great to have them on the Blu-ray, making it an easy decision to discard the DVD.

Shout Factory as tends to be the case with many of their releases has added new featurettes to make this an even better package. Beauty And Strength An Interview with actress Morgan Fairchild. This is a solid interview where the actress discusses her career, beginning as a model to the theater and then in films. She goes on to talk about her relationships with the actors in The Seduction, Andrew Stevens and Michael Sarrazin.

The Seducer is a candid interview with actor Andrew Stevens where he discusses his role as Derek and believe it not, his desire to not even take the part as he didn’t want to be the bad guy as it was out of his comfort zone.

Flashbacks is an Interview with producer Bruce Cohn Curtis where he talks about his previous film Hell Night and his memories of The Seduction

The original theatrical trailer, a TV Spot, and a still gallery round out the extras package.

The Seduction while not a classic has been given the royal treatment courtesy of Shout Factory. This is a satisfactory, recommended release!