Blu-ray Review – Perfect Strangers

Attempting to pull off a monster movie with 1982's "Q: The Winged Serpent," writer/director Larry Cohen clearly didn't want to mount another horror event with a large cast, returning to the basics of low-budget filmmaking with 1984's "Perfect Strangers" (titled "Blind Alley" on the disc). Instead of skyscrapers and creatures, Cohen's follow-up deals with apartments and New York City street tours, imagining a scrappy tale of murder and attraction that occasionally switches over to thriller mode. Cohen's after something more human with the endeavor, and his interest in characterization is laudable, aiming to subvert expectations and dig into troubled people. It's the lack of cash that ultimately holds the picture back, with the scrappy, urban look of the feature diminishing any potential intimacy, keeping the effort cold to the touch. The blunt edges of Cohen's screenwriting also don't help the cause, but for those willing to work a little harder to find meaningfulness here, "Perfect Strangers" has some mildly interesting ideas on love and self-preservation. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com