Casey Chong with a curated selection of forgotten 80s mystery movies for you to investigate…
By the 1980s, Hollywood had seen a significant shift in its pop culture and filmmaking style, moving away from the auteur-driven era that defined the previous decade. The commercial success of mid-1970s hits, including Jaws and Star Wars, ushered in the era of mainstream-friendly, high-concept blockbusters, but that didn’t mean the rest of the genres were side-lined. Far from it, actually.
Take the mystery genre, for example, and while notable examples like Blow Out, Witness, Angel Heart and even Who Framed Roger Rabbit dominated the decade, the 80s saw a number of entertaining mystery movies that went under-the-radar due to various factors, be it a lack of marketing, or simply being overshadowed by more popular and commercially driven fare. Here are the seven underrated mystery movies of the ‘80s worth checking out…
The Caller (1987)
This independently produced mystery thriller features a deceptively simple story: A woman (Madolyn Smith), whose character’s name is simply credited as “The Girl”, finds a grey-haired male stranger (Malcolm McDowell’s “The Caller”) showing up at her remote cabin deep inside the woods. His reason? He claims his car has broken down and needs to use her phone for an emergency. The Girl allows him to do so, and what begins as an act of kindness for helping a stranger turns into an unexpected battle of wits.
Directed by Arthur Allan Seidelman, who made his debut in Schwarzenegger’s first acting role in Hercules in New York, the story is essentially a minimalist two-hander, with the location mostly taking place within the confines of the cabin in the woods. The gradual way of seeing the two characters questioning and suspecting each other is meticulously designed to keep you guessing about their motivations.
The Caller eschews straightforward tension in favor of a deliberate, slow-burn build-up while emphasizing the dialogue and acting. For the latter, both Smith and McDowell did a good job playing off each other here. And then, there’s the twist in the climactic third act, which will probably catch you off guard once the story reveals the whole setup. Some may find it too far-fetched, while others might applaud the movie’s bold decision to take a big swing.
Deathtrap (1982)
Based on Ira Levin’s 1978 play of the same name, Sidney Lumet brought his expertise in generating tension and conflict within a confined setting with Deathtrap. The setting in question takes place predominantly in the house of Sidney Bruhl (Michael Caine), a once-acclaimed playwright who has recently suffered an embarrassing flop. But he has the opportunity to turn things around after receiving a yet-to-be-produced manuscript from his student, Clifford Anderson (Christopher Reeve).
The manuscript is the key for the struggling Bruhl to stage a comeback, but he wants to take all the credit. And that means, plotting a move with his wife Myra (Dyan Cannon, who tends to overact a lot) to get Anderson coming to their home for a discussion and kill him. Deathtrap is heavy on dialogue, while the movie’s nearly two-hour length exposes its erratic pace every now and then. But kudos still go to Lumet for keeping the story intriguing with an added levity, thanks to the movie’s playful blend of mystery and dark comedy. It also helps that Caine and Reeve bring their A-game here, while the movie cleverly builds up with twists and turns to make you wonder what the endgame is.
D.O.A. (1988)
A few years before Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel experienced their own DOA in Super Mario Bros., the directing duo made a movie ironically titled D.O.A. The title itself is a contemporary remake of Rudolph Maté’s 1950 film noir of the same name, where the main protagonist arrives at the police station to report his own murder. The 1988 version sees Dennis Quaid playing the role of Dexter Cornell, a college professor who used to be a successful writer. After a fun night out with one of his students, Sydney (Meg Ryan), he soon learns that his hangover turns out to be something serious altogether after getting himself checked at a clinic. Apparently, he has been poisoned with only less than 48 hours to live, forcing him to find out who wants him dead.
D.O.A. benefits from Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan’s onscreen chemistry, while Morton and Jankel’s flair for a stylish neo-noir touch skilfully blends the movie’s whodunit angle within its race-against-time narrative. The directing duo also deserves credit for their dynamic, Hitchcockian-style camerawork and the sparing use of moody black and white that bookends the opening and closing scenes.
Masquerade (1988)
Deception takes a labyrinthine turn in Masquerade, which follows a young yacht captain, Tim Whalen (Rob Lowe), who has an affair with his boss’s wife (Kim Cattrall) and later falls for young heiress Olivia Lawrence (Meg Tilly). The ensuing romance is just one of the elaborate ploys, as director Bob Swaim navigates Dick Wolf’s sneaky screenplay (yes, the same Wolf who would later create the long-running Law & Order series) through juicy twists and turns. The morally ambiguous kind, where nobody is who they seem to be, complete with hidden agendas and malicious intents.
Then-1980s Hollywood bad-boy Rob Lowe is perfectly typecast as a manipulative opportunist looking for a big score, using his charisma and sweet-talking demeanor to get what he wants. He contrasts well with Meg Tilly’s underlying naivety and angelic innocence, while she brings an empathetic quality to her role. Their chemistry is the heart and soul of the movie, and so is Swaim’s flair for blending intrigue, romance and eroticism to mostly thrilling results.
Jack’s Back (1988)
A year before Rowdy Herrington and James Spader hit their respective breakthroughs in Road House and Sex, Lies, and Videotape, the two team up in this little-seen thriller about Jack the Ripper. But instead of the elusive serial killer that terrorized Victorian-era London, Herrington, who also wrote the screenplay, transports the setting to contemporary Los Angeles. The killer turns out to be a copycat who mirrors the same modus operandi to coincide with Jack the Ripper’s 100th anniversary.
At the heart of the movie is John Wesford (James Spader), a dedicated young doctor who ends up dead of an apparent suicide. His twin brother, Rick (also Spader), shows up to investigate the murder of John, who claims he has a vision of how he dies. Spader impresses with his dual-role performances, while Herrington has a good eye for turning the Los Angeles cityscape into an ominous, urban nightmare. The story may have stretched credibility in some parts, but it’s hard to deny the intriguing tonal shift between a whodunit mystery, neo-noir thriller and slasher horror, all wrapped up in a single movie.
The Bedroom Window (1987)
Curtis Hanson was only directing his fourth feature when he made The Bedroom Window, bringing a solid sense of Hitchcockian-style visuals and narrative complexity in a neo-noir angle. The initial setup even boasts a Rear Window-like storytelling, but here, he subverts the expectations by making the protagonist (Steve Guttenberg’s Terry Lambert), who doesn’t see the sexual assault with his own eyes, the only eyewitness. The assault takes place outside his apartment, where Sylvia (Isabelle Huppert) is the one who actually witnesses what happens from the bedroom window. The problem here is that Sylvia happens to be Terry’s boss’s wife, and the two are having an affair. Exposing herself as a witness will make things difficult.
This, in turn, makes the story interesting, particularly from Terry’s perspective, to a length he’s willing to go to convince everybody about witnessing the assault. Casting Steve Guttenberg, who is primarily known for his Police Academy movies, seems like a risky move. But the strategy works, as he manages to pull off a dramatic lead without looking like he’s being miscast in a role, while contrasting well with Isabelle Huppert’s sexy and calculating turn as Sylvia.
Eyewitness a.k.a. The Janitor (1981)
Journeyman filmmaker Peter Yates shows his versatility in exploring different genres with varying degrees of success, one of which includes Eyewitness. The movie blends suspense, mystery, thriller and romance in a low-key, neo-noir package, where a janitor named Daryll Deever (William Hurt) discovers the body of a rich Vietnamese man strangled to death in the office.
Yates, who directed Steve Tesich’s screenplay, doesn’t rush things to approach his movie in a strictly investigative procedural-style manner. Instead, he takes his time developing the romance between Hurt’s Daryll and Sigourney Weaver’s Toni, a TV news reporter, where the former has been admiring. This may come across as a turn-off for anyone looking for a straightforward murder mystery, especially given the title of the movie. But it somehow does work in Yates’ favor, thanks to the effortlessly charming chemistry between Hurt and Weaver. He still knows when to push the button upon raising the stakes, particularly during the tense second half.
Do you have any underrated 80s movie recommendations? Be sure to let us know on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
Casey Chong
