Body Chemistry 3: Point of Seduction Reviews

Third entry in Roger Corman's erotic-thriller franchise serves a fresh twist on a tiresome formula. Comely psychologist Claire Archer (Shari Shattuck), author of Sex and Violence and Vice Versa, manipulates men into self-destructive relationships, then arranges their deaths when they try to break free. Dr. Archer thus draws the attention of Alan Clay (Andrew Stevens), a Hollywood producer "who specializes in women-as-victim thrillers." Aspiring screenwriter Freddie Summers (Chick Vennera) tries to sell Alan a script for a true-crime telepic based on the brave headshrinker who barely survived her tormented bedmates of the last two BODY CHEMISTRY pictures. Alan and Claire meet, most appropriately, on a dark and stormy night, and make love feverishly at the first opportunity, even though Alan is already married to prime-time soap opera queen Beth Chaney (Morgan Fairchild). Claire hounds Alan at work and at home for perilous sex, as Beth is always literally just around the corner. Beth desperately wants to portray Dr. Archer in the incipient TV potboiler and urges her husband to close the deal. Frozen out of the production, resentful Freddie finds evidence that Claire is really a FATAL ATTRACTION-style serial killer and tries to warn Alan. Dr. Archer shoots them both, and everyone believes her lies about Alan perishing heroically in order to save the psychologist from a disgruntled writer. Widowed Beth gets to star in Claire's version of the truth. Lisa Pescia played the triumphant villainess in earlier BODY CHEMISTRY outings, and her matured, haughty sensuality is sorely missed; Shari Shattuck comes across as an ingenue who looks luscious with clothes off but is hardly worth dying for, and Stevens (who has played this same fall-guy role innumerable times) can't fill in the blanks. If the Corman regulars behind BODY CHEMISTRY sequels aren't too cognizant of human psychology in the real world, they certainly know their sleaze filmmaking and score points by setting this on the trashy side of Tinseltown. Cynical digs at "Dynasty," TV docudramas, and backstabbing studio politics maintain some interest, in spite of the absolutely forgone conclusion that Dr. Archer will get off scot-free, dooming dumb studs in further sequels.(Violence, nudity, sexual situations, adult situations, substance abuse, profanity.)