Queers At The Drive-In: Deathtrap (1982)

Hi all,

Gay film week continues... with a film that probably shouldn't be called a gay movie. By doing so, I've given away a major aspect of the plot. Sorry about that. On the plus side, there'll be a new weekly post tomorrow as well as a review of a film that I've been wanting to see for a very long time featuring some familiar youtubers... See you then!

 Deathtrap

1982, US, Directed by Sidney Lumet

Deathtrap is a very clever and amusing film, made so because of its complicated plotting and shocking twists. Which also makes it almost impossible to review. Even my inclusion of it here, on this queer film week is akin to a major spoiler (in fact, newspapers at the time which reported the reaction to the kiss were one of the main reasons why the film didn’t do very well, because they’ve just given away a key plot twist). All I can say is that this movie is constantly changing, fiendishly clever, quite funny with an awesome cast (although, I always find it hard to watch Michael Caine movies. I always see him as Scrooge from The Muppet Christmas Carol. It also features Christopher Reeve who was quite attractive in the day, something I’d never thought about before). However, it’s also very, very tense with a shocking and exciting conclusion (with flickering lights, giving everyone’s movements a sense of animation which I love). I really enjoyed Deathtrap, the only disappointments being that sometimes it felt stagey (as it’s mainly confined to one room) and the ending is very sudden (not something that happens in the original stage play according to Wiki. Sorry, this review was a bit all over the place, but I can’t really go into specifics. Much of the fun of this movie is trying to work out just where it will go next.

 

Sex/Nudity: 1 (the kiss)

Glamorousness: 3 (not a particularly strong portrayal of gay life, but that’s not really the point. I loved that the sexuality of the characters took a backseat and was never strongly featured)

Stereotypes: 3 (gay people are portrayed as murderers but that just feels like a natural part of the story as opposed to a panicked reaction to homosexuality. In fact, it hardly bows to any stereotypes because of the nature of the story.

Best Scene: Guess the phone number

Overall Verdict: 7

Bye for now!

Thanks,

James