Derailed (2005)
Directed by Mikael Håfström
When two married business executives having an affair are blackmailed by a violent criminal, they are forced to turn the tables on him to save their families.
6 connections found
View:
6 connections, in both directions
What critics compared Derailed to
Derailed is one more example of actors coming to the rescue, here Clive Owen as a married businessman whose sole straying from the path (not even consumed) spirals into Fatal Attraction grounds.
For paradigms of the latter, see Barbara Stanwyck in "Double Indemnity" and Glenn Close in "Fatal Attraction."
Based on a book by James Siegel, “Derailed” starts off a bit like Hitchcock’s “Strangers on a Train,” but then moves forward to borrow from more modern thrillers like “Fatal Attraction” and “Cape Fear.”
Written for the screen by Stuart Beattie ("Collateral") from a book by James Siegel, "Derailed" most closely resembles moralistic American films of the 1980s and 1990s, most notably "Fatal Attraction," that chastised characters for their cushy Yuppie lifestyles as much as for their sexual indiscretions.
But before you can say ”Fatal Attraction,” their tryst in a flophouse hotel goes horribly awry when a violent thief and sadist of French derivation (Vincent Cassel) - naturellement - beats Charles mercilessly and attacks Lucinda.
Based on a book by James Siegel, “Derailed” starts off a bit like Hitchcock’s “Strangers on a Train,” but then moves forward to borrow from more modern thrillers like “Fatal Attraction” and “Cape Fear.”
The Rite was directed by Mikael Håfström, best known for helming the adaptation of the Stephen King story 1408, and the Clive Owen / Jennifer Aniston mystery thriller, Derailed.
Still, director Mikael Håfström (“Derailed,” “1408”) puts a glossy spin on some very tired material.
As directed by Mikael Håfström (whose 2005 Jennifer Aniston melodrama “Derailed’’ was a lot more fun), the film takes its sweet time getting going.
As directed by Mikael Håfström ("1408," "Derailed"), the film appears to have had its own exorcism, with critical ideas and images suggested which are never followed through on.
Director Mikael Håfström has given us a number of uneven horror/psychological thrillers in the past: "Evil," "Derailed," and "1408."
Directed by Mikael Håfström (1408, Derailed) and inspired by Matt Baglio's nonfiction book, in which the author describes the training of a modern-day Catholic exorcist, The Rite has a certain classy gravity in its early stages.
In contrast, Cassel ( Derailed ) doesn’t have a restrained bone in his body in Promises , and it works.
Advertisement
In other words, Hafstrom brings no particular signature to the film—but if you compare it to his last film, the egregiously silly Derailed (2005), that may not be such a bad thing.
Considering, director Mikael Håfström (Derailed, also based on a book that was better than the movie) does a decent job of wringing out all he can of the PG-13 priced frights.
The director this time around is, perhaps predictably, non-native speaker Mikael Håfström, the dildo responsible for Derailed --proving that if there's one thing that's universal, it's the capacity to make schlocky garbage that's occasionally also reprehensible.
It's based on a Stephen King short story called "1408" and directed by Mikael Håfström ("Derailed"); the Swede turns it into another old-fashioned King scary tale that only made me scream in agony on how hokey it was.
Screenwriters Matt Greenberg ("Reign of Fire") and the "Ed Wood" and upcoming "Cell" team of Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski may not have come up with a classic, but director Mikael Håfström ("Evil," "Derailed") milks it for all its worth - "1408" has some genuine creeps.
This is Håfström's second English language motion picture, and it's a considerable step up from his previous effort, the unsatisfactory Clive Owen/Jennifer Aniston thriller, Derailed.
Finally, in April 2005 (and just before Sharon Stone’s lawsuit over breach of contract made it to trial), David Morrissey (“Derailed”) was hired opposite Stone, and, at long last, the film could be made.