Search - Deceived on DVD

Good & creepy

Victoria A. Grossack | Switzerland | 12/07/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is of the creepy genre variety, with lots of tension. One of the things I liked about it is that Adrienne is NOT weak or bubble-headed; that she begins to doubt when she should; that she is angry when she should be angry. She does her detective work; she fights for herself at the end and saves herself at the end (although I don't see how she could have, in her position, shut the elevator cage behind her). And the film really does make you wonder: how many around us are leading double lives? Is the person next to you honest or not?"

Dramatic turn for Goldie Hawn in Hitchcock inspired thriller

Simon Davis | 10/24/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Having started her highly successful career as the bubbly blonde with the big smile and specialising in comedies Goldie Hawn took a dramatic turn when she tackled the leading role in the chilling thriller "Deceived". Inspired by the type of films normally associated with Alfred Hitchcock, this film is a terrific vechicle for Goldie's dramatic talents and really shows her great diversity as an actress which is often quite underestimated.Not a huge success upon its release "Deceived" nevertheless is a taut and attention grabbing little thriller that succeeds throughout its entire length in keeping you on the edge of your seat and really keeps you guessing right up to its terrifying conclusion. Indeed the film's finale is so full on, exciting and indeed scary, that it can be a quite exhausting experience watching it. However for lovers of a good thriller this well made film is I think an undiscovered gem that will really hold your attention and will stay in your mind.Goldie Hawn plays Adrienne Saunders a highly succesful career woman who has a great job, beautiful apartment, and a lovely daughter and who thinks her life is complete when she meets by chance a handsome and successful stranger Jack Saunders (played by terrific actor John Heard in a chilling performance) when a blind date doesn't show. She falls instantly in love and they marry and their life together appears to be a perfect one until strange revelations and occurences start happening that make Adrienne suspicious and begin to question who she has actually married. Through the course of the story Adrienne finds that her husband is living under an assumed name and that when he is supposedly killed in a car accident it is revealed that he is actually alive and has another family that she knows nothing about. As the true story of her husbands real identity begins to reveal itself Adrienne begins to fear for her life as Jack is also revealed as a murderer of both some hitchhikers to cover his tracks,and one of his collegues in the Egyptian section of the Metropolitan Museum where he has stolen an extremely valuable Ancient Egyptian piece of jewellery, hidden it in Adrienne's apartment and is now intent upon trying to get it back. The scenes of Jack first stalking and then pursuing his wife as she begins to find out the truth of his real identity are quite harrowing with alot of Hitchcockian elements inserted to add to the tension and shock value. Goldie Hawn is excellent in portraying firstly a disbelieving woman who goes through all the trauma of realising that she has been totally deceived about the life she was leading and the man she thought she was married too. John Heard is right on and very scary in the role of Jack who has led a double life for years and is not what he first appears to be. His acting in the exciting finale is excellent and he projects the right elements of menace and madness which is ideal for the role. He works very well with Goldie and the conclusion of the film is a real shocker, containing I believe one of the best finales of any thriller of recent years. I wont reveal here what it is for the benefit of those who haven't seen this film yet but it is truly frightening and well staged."Deceived" is not one of Goldie Hawn's best known films and being one of her rare excursions into the dramatic thriller genre for which she is not commonly associated , was largely passed over during the time of its theatrical release. It however is a wonderfully surprising film with lots of twists and turns in the plot, interesting characters, and a terrific finale. I strongly recommend the little known "Deceived" to you not only for its great acting by Goldie Hawn, but also as an exciting thriller guaranteed to keep your interest."

Nail Biter

Lee Armstrong | Winterville, NC United States | 09/02/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"While some might call the plot twists of this 1991 thriller improbable, for me the tension and build to the film created a momentum that carried us to the incredibly scary climax. Doing less than 30 million in box office, this was not a big hit; but it is a film that holds up remarkably well 12 years after release. Goldie Hawn does an excellent job as Adrienne Saunders, a woman who seems to have it all with a beautiful child and happy marriage. Her husband Jack seems like the All-American father. Then when a colleague of her husband's gets murdered, clue upon clue seems to fly up in her face until Adrienne has to confront her husband. Then he mysteriously dies in a car accident. Director Damian Harris who seems to thrive on thrillers such as last year's "Mercy," does an amazing job of having event build upon event. The supporting cast of characters do a great job from Jack Saunders' sister to Paul Sullivan's mother. While this may not be a perfect film, it is a thriller that packs a wallop. Goldie Hawn delivers an understated and believable performance as the terrorized and deceived wife. This is a film worth discovering or revisiting a little over a decade after its release. Enjoy!"

A real gem of a thriller in the Hitchcock style!

Kevin Stanton | Pittsburgh | 09/18/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Goldie turns in a fantastic act! The story is believable! The acting, filming, music.... all equate to one hell of a thriller!

John Heard plays the psycho role very well! An original character here, not typical of other similar films.

The story starts slowly, but picks up speed nicely. Tension mounts and lies begin to be uncovered. The creepiest, skin-crawling scene I have ever seen, is when Goldie is sleeping and someone is trying to make love to her! When she wakes up, the look on her face is truly frightening!

Here is a story line like no other! Must see!"