PopHorror Let's Get Scared
I’m a fan of all thing thillers including the over-the-top, sleazy and cheesy, Lifetime ones. Despite some of the things I had heard, the erotic thriller, Deadly Illusions definitely sparked my interest with its trailer and steamy stills. The film was written and directed by Anna Elizabeth James (Emma’s Chance) and stars Kristin Davis, Greer Grammer, Dermot Mulroney, and Shanola Hampton.
Synopsis for Deadly Illusions
A bestselling female novelist Mary Morrison (Kristin Davis), suffering from writer’s block, hires an innocent yet beautiful caregiver Grace (Greer Grammer) to watch over her children as she dangerously indulges into the fantasies of her new best seller. Everything changes when Mary becomes spellbound by Grace who soon becomes her muse. As their relationship blossoms, the line between the life she’s writing and the one she’s living becomes blurred.
Much like I expected, Deadly Illusions was completely over the top and dripping with sleaze and extra cheese, and I was all about it. Well, mostly. It’s pretty cringe-worthy at some points and much of the storyline is the typical “don’t hire the extremely hot, young nanny or very bad things will happen.” However, there’s a bit more to it than that. Now hear me out, there are twists and they work. You never know if she’s going mad or if any of this is really happening until the very end and even the overall ending was different than some of the other run-of-the-mill sexy-time thrillers. So, I have to give it some points for that.
The performances were so-so, flat, and not very believable. I just couldn’t picture Kristin Davis getting it on with a girl at all (maybe it’s because of her longtime, prudish character as Charlotte in Sex and the City) and it just felt too forced and awkward. But then again, maybe in some aspects, it was supposed to feel that way. Regardless of the acting, I would have watched this film either way because of Dermot Mulroney. He always makes things a little better!
I know this film will not be everyone’s cup of tea and viewers definitely need to go into it knowing that it’s way over the top and cringeworthy at times, but I think some will get a kick out of it. I’ve read the 50 Shades of Grey books and I think fans of those may enjoy this. Dark Star Pictures released Deadly Illusions on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, Fandango Now, YouTube, Dish Network, and through local cable providers on June 1.
