Evil Obsession (1996, directed by Richard W. Munchkin)


11 models have been murdered in Los Angeles and Margo (Kimberly Stevens) fears that she could be next.  She’s been receiving threatening notes and feels as if someone is watching her and her boyfriend, Bill (Michael Phenicie).  She hires a private detective (Mark Derwin) to protect her but it might be too late because Homer (Corey Feldman), the man who has been sending her the notes, has already enrolled in the same acting class of Margo.  After Bill turns up dead, Homer is assigned to be Margo’s new scene partner.  Is Homer moving in for the kill or is someone else responsible for the murders?

This mix of erotic thriller and horror was one of those movies that used to show up on a late night Cinemax in the 90s, where it could be watched by teenagers who kept one eye on the screen and one eye looking out for their parents.  Corey Feldman starred in a lot of these films and in this one, he gives a twitchy and occasionally funny performance as the nerdy Homer.  Homer is the most obvious stalker imaginable and it’s hard to believe that Margo, who is so concerned about being stalked that she’s hired a private detective, would not look at Homer and immediately realize that he was the culprit.  Feldman overacts but he at least provides the film with the energy that is missing from the performances of Kimberly Stevens and Mark Derwin.  Even better is the performance of Brion James as the autocratic and pretentious acting teacher.  Watching him, I got the feeling that James probably could have based his performance on any number of Hollywood acting coaches.