Body of Influence is little more than a typical entry of softcore dreck that was made in the early 1990s, but as is often the case with B-movies, even those with few to no redeeming merits, there are some fascinating and possibly unintentional subtexts.

As with all softcore films, the only intention is to show eye candy, to show naked people (usually women) in simulated sex scenes. But, with this movie in particular, the incessant focus on sexuality only exacerbates the production’s inherently corrupt values.

The film stars Nick Cassavettes as a psychiatrist who, lucky him, has beautiful, sexually frustrated women for clients. The sessions involve a potent amount of transference, including one session involving a woman who tells him that, yes, her breasts are real, and who demonstrates by taking her top off and straddling his leg. Wow, I sure picked the wrong career!

The shrink videotapes his sessions and reviews them later. When his female assistant walks into the room to see him watching the video of the woman taking her top off, she’s astonished how he “can keep his cool,” adding that he’s the most sanest person she knows. Oh, yea?

In walks Laura, played by Shannon Whirry. Apparently, her problem is that she has sexually unsettling nightmares. The “dreams” include having sex with a variety of men, including one incident which involves rape. She says when she wakes up from these nightmares, she’s wearing clothes that she would never wear. I totally predicted the line where she said she was dressed like a whore. Aren’t I good?

To make a long story short, Laura, who allegedly has multiple personalities, forces herself into the psychiatrist's life, and seduces him. She doesn’t merely get him to have sex with her, but she apparently has such a power that the shrink starts breaking ethical boundaries with other patients. Of course, one could ask how ethical this guy really was when he let patients take their clothes off and straddle his leg - he probably really wanted to be a complete sleaze-bucket all along. He just got some encouragement.

At the same time, a serial killer is on the loose, having already dispatched five victims in murders with sexual overtones. The shrink’s cop buddy (Richard Roundtree - how the mighty have fallen) has assigned him to be the forensic psychiatrist or some such thing. No points for suggesting there’s a connection between these two plots.

The movie’s number one purpose for being is to present sexual situations, and to show Shannon Whirry naked. Whirry is fantastic as a nude figure, but she cannot act a lick. Somehow it’s difficult to be convinced of a character’s madness when the actress speaks in a nasal monotone.

It is the subtext of the film that’s more wretched. This film and others like it are labeled as erotic films, but some of these old “erotic” thriller knockoffs carry with them a streak of misogyny and sadism that would be horrifying if the accompanying film wasn’t so poorly done.

One of the more disturbing moments is when Laura gives the shrink a key and an address to her apartment. Later, he gets a call to go to the apartment, and after waiting for a time, a strange woman (Monique Parent) comes in and wonders what he’s doing in her apartment! Conveniently, she has a pair of handcuffs to restrain him and a gun pointed at him while she’s about to call the police. Just then, Laura comes in with a gun of her own. She tells the woman to drop the gun, and then have sex with the still-handcuffed psychiatrist while she watches.

The scene would have had more menace if it there was some actual acting involved. But it just lies there like a doormat. But the whole point of scenes like this in a movie such as this is that they are supposed to be “sexy.” And really, doesn’t that just make it more disturbing?

But the best part is saved for last, when - hey, I might as well blow the ending because *nobody* who reads this is going to watch the film - our hero murders the femme fatale. He does so once he figures out her connection to the murders. The movie ends when the cop comes to his house, and he confesses to the crime.

But guess what the cop’s reaction is. It goes something like this: hey, remember when you helped me beat that rap when I once killed a perp? Well, I never properly thanked you. And, by the way, there’s something about drinking a lot of Scotch which makes me forget everything I do and everything I hear the next morning. So bottoms up! Fade to black.

So there you go. People are expendable. And women - especially sexually alluring women who are of course either crazy, repressed, or psychopathic killers - are especially so. They’re just crazy scum out to ruin men’s lives! It’s all their fault, damn it! The cynicism of this movie - as trivial and randomly written as it is - is glaringly apparent.

This film also contains the wreakage of Hollywood quasi-celebrity. Body of Influence was made during a time when the cast was more likely to be populated by washed-up actors (or relatives of actors - Patrick Swayse’s brother Don also turns up in this picture) as by individuals who never graduate beyond softcore status. This is probably the only time you can see someone like Richard Roundtree appear in the same picture as Monique Parent, who has a cameo here, but soon became incredibly prolific in sexy softcore films (and who I admit have a soft spot for in the handful of these things that I’ve seen - i.e. Playtime).

The “star” of this movie is none other than the son of the legendary John Cassavettes, primarily famous for his independent (back when the word actually meant something) films such as Woman Under the Influence, Opening Night, Faces and Shadows, great films all. Nick has himself become a director, directing The Notebook, John Q and some others, but his film career began by slumming in these types of films.

Now, John himself paid the bills for his pictures by appearing as an actor in many films. But it tells you how much Hollywood has changed that when John was acting, he was appearing in such films as The Dirty Dozen and Rosemary’s Baby (and even winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar), while Nick appeared in movies with titles like Sins of Desire and Sins of the Night. I wonder, did the director even realize a guy with legendary DNA was starring in his movie?

And lets speak of the director for a moment. Gregory Dark has had an even more checkered career, having directed genuine hardcore pornographic films with such attractive titles as Between the Cheeks (1, 2 and 3!), Black Throat, and New Wave Hookers. (Considering that a couple of these titles starred Traci Lords, you could probably add ‘unwitting child pornographer’ to his resume)

But Dark actually went legit, directing erotic features which were actually suitable for cable TV, before moving on to Brittany Spears music videos and the World Wrestling Entertainment production See No Evil.

Dark directs like a typical self-hating pornographer here, in that all of the sex that is supposed to be alluring is also sleazy and painful. There’s no healthy eroticism whatsoever, no matter how hot Shannon Whirry is.

Of course I knew this would be crap going in. After all, I’ve watched enough quality pictures that sometimes it’s good to watch a junk movie just so I can condescend to it (and watch the eye candy). I feel I have to say this before those equally condescending comments questioning my intellectual capacity start flooding the comments section. People, I will not be scarred for life, okay?

Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: VHS