FAIR GAME (1988) - Vidmark Entertainment VHS

DESCRIPTION

FAIR GAME (1988) - Effective little Italian thriller about a vengeful husband who plots the perfect murder of his wife, who left him because of his possessiveness. The husband in question is Gene (Gregg Henry), a rich computer game designer, who drives out to the middle of the desert to buy a deadly black mamba, one of the most poisonous snakes in the world, from snake handler Frank (Bill Moseley). Gene has done his homework and knows that the mamba is deadliest during the one month a year when it mates. The mamba must bite continually during this time to release the overabundance of poison it produces when in heat (Frank puts a rabbit in the mamba's cage to show how aggressive the snake is. It's not pretty.). We also learn at this time that Gene is quite the electronics genius, as he rigged his car so that Frank cannot get out so he can test out the snake's effectiveness on humans. Frank is bitten and dies in less than a minute, which pleases Gene. He then goes to the loft of Eva (Trudy Styler), his estranged artist wife, and secretly tags her with mamba hormone and sets the snake loose. He breaks off the key in the only door, cuts off her phone to the outside (only he can call her) and waits outside in his car, where he can track the snake and his wife electronically. Eva is at first unaware that anything is wrong and goes about her business as usual, taking a bath and practicing yoga, while the mamba stalks her (cue distorted snake POV shots). While Eva is making a video diary, the mamba strikes and misses. She doesn't even notice until she plays back the tape and spots the snake. Now aware of the mamba, Eva also realizes that both her door and phone are out of order. Not able to escape, Eva must fight for survival while Gene calls her on the phone every few minutes to see if she's still alive. Eva proves to be quite the fighter, even as Gene cuts the electricity, forcing her to fight in darkness. Eva gets wise to Gene's deadly game and devises a way to get Gene into the loft, where she turns the tables on him and gives him a taste of the mamba's venom. This tight little thriller, directed and co-scripted by Mario Orfini (CYBER EDEN - 1992), is basically a two character stage play, as most of the action takes place in Eva's loft or Gene's car. Gene has sixty minutes for the mamba to kill Eva (that how long the hormone is effective) and the rest of the film plays out in real time, making it urgent and suspenseful. Trudy Styler, better known as the activist wife of rocker Sting, walks around most of the time in a tee shirt and panties (there's also brief nudity during the bath scene), until she discovers that the snake is present. Then, she covers-up herself completely from head to toe and builds an impromptu fortress around her to stop the snake. Styler keeps things moving at a brisk pace by talking to herself, working her way out of tough situations by using common sense and keeping a cool head. Gregg Henry (SLITHER - 2006) doesn't have much to do but act slimy (the snake's got nothing on him), look menacing and scowl when things don't go his way, but that's OK because the real suspense here comes with Eva's interaction with the snake and the inventive twist ending. Those looking for blood and gore will be sorely disappointed here, as this film gets it's thrills the old fashioned way: With tense situations and a reliance on mood over violence. Good show. Originally titled MAMBA. Giorgio Moroder wrote the effective music score and was also an Associate Producer. VENOM (1981) is another excellent film dealing with an on-the-loose black mamba. A Vidmark Entertainment Release. Rated R.

The Vidmark Entertainment cardboard slipcase is in good condition and complete, with plenty of edge wear and scuff marks (photo above is scan of actual item). The VHS tape contains no rental stickers and plays perfectly.

Listing Format:	Auction
Current price :	$5.00
Quantity:	1
# of bids:	0
Closes:	5 Days, 9 Hours +
Location:	Woodland Park, NJ
Started:	6/15/2013 5:11:53 AM
Ends:	6/25/2013 5:11:53 AM
Seller:	fadelman (247) View seller's other items
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