Never Talk to Strangers

An adequate psychological thriller on a topical theme - Repressed Memory Syndrome - but with little special quality, few frills or thrills, and a relaxed, almost languid exposition. DeMornay is a New York criminal psychologist, traumatised in childhood by the death of her mother, and currently engaged on the examination of a serial killer (Stanton) to determine whether or not he has Multiple Personality Disorder. Despite a desire to avoid romantic attachment, she's seduced into a passionate affair with mysterious stranger Tony Ramires (Banderas), a sensitive charmer with a darker side. She has a darker side, too, or at least a risk-taking sexual appetite, staying with her Puerto Rican amour despite his suspicious lies and his tampering with her personal property. When a series of threats come her way, she becomes more certain of his guilt, though viewers might plump for the grudge-taking serial killer, her creepy father or even a seemingly innocent 'friend' suffering from unrequited passion. Peter Hall's vocabulary of suspense rarely goes beyond the shock increase in volume or the quick edit, and the belated rendering of threatening atmosphere betokens a more subtle analytical approach which never arrives.