Review of Devil in the Flesh

Been down this variable path (with 'Poison Ivy' and 'The Crush') plenty of times before and the pulpy straight-to-video effort 'Devil in the Flesh' lacks its own vision to set itself from this over-cooked femme fatal genre. The shiny red apple for the teacher was only the beginning for what was about to come. Think of the Police's song "Don't stand so close to me", but with this story the affection isn't shared. Its school girl after teacher, but teacher has his eyes only on his girlfriend. He seems oblivious to the advancements, or just shakes them off. It's disposable entertainment that's largely saved by an intoxicatedly cunning vixen performance by the voluptuous Rose McGowen. You can't go wrong with McGowen. She's delectable… even in an unstable frame of mind! Actually she's too good for such second-rate material. Starring opposite of her is a solidly likable Alex McArthur as the object of her obsession; Mr. Rinaldi the English teacher. He presents a believable performance that doesn't really aggravate or get you criticizing his actions. However I can't say the same about some unthinkable plot developments. Unconvincing is an understatement. It's simply plotted, but its brief format doesn't feel structured and unevenly tries to balance too much (quite quickly) by the end. The back of my video case insists "… delivers non-stop thrills." I don't think so. The direction is automatically sourced and suspense is poor with only the confrontations with an excellent Peg Shirley as the religiously heavy-handed grandmother and McGowen's Debbie as the only real sparks. Underneath the surface is a coldness and a nasty side, but it never takes a risk on it. The music score is better, as it's expressively understated, but rich to the lurking sensual flair and ominous charges waiting to open up. It paints it well enough in the moodily haunting opening credits. A so-so thriller.