Stranger by Night Reviews

STRANGER BY NIGHT, a boozy, low-budget variation on BASIC INSTINCT, is no more plausible or memorable than its model; at best, it's a shade sexier than the norm for straight-to-video erotic thrillers. Bobby Corcoran (Steven Bauer), a cop with problems, has so far managed to slip by on a carefully administered regimen of self-medication and Kentucky bourbon. To work off excess tension, he avails himself of the favors of his police psychiatrist, Anne Richmond (Jennifer Rubin). When he and his partner Troy Rooney (William Katt), a ladies' man with a working knowledge of the local street trade, are assigned to investigate the dismemberment of several local working girls, suspicion falls on repeat offender Henry (Gary Lee Davis). But a routine foot chase winds up with Henry pitched off the top of a downtown high-rise, and the killings continue. Corcoran becomes a suspect on the strength of his legendary temper and his confessions to Richmond that he's a blackout drunk. Tortured by his own fears that he could be responsible, Corcoran considers turning himself over to internal affairs, especially after a bartender he's flirted with joins the list of victims, and he finds a human ear in his car. With the police on his trail, Corcoran hides out in the apartment of randy neighbor Lisa (Michelle Greene). Finally, with Richmond's help, he's able to prove that Rooney is actually the perp. Scarcely ever believable, this by-the-numbers thriller at least has plenty of good old-fashioned sex to fall back on. Jennifer Rubin deserves MVP honors in this respect, and Bauer's self-destructive penance, played out in an alcoholic fog, creates a serviceable atmosphere for the sordid goings-on. But it is William Katt, rarely seen since his golden-boy days of CARRIE, who really goes the distance here, acting his heart out for no good reason except professional integrity. (Violence, nudity, sexual situations, adult situations, substance abuse, profanity.)