.com for Murder (2001)

Award-winning actress Nastassja Kinski stars in this superbly crafted psychological thriller as Sondra Brummel, a headstrong woman lost in the perilous world of the Internet with only her sister, Misty (Nicolette Sheridan), as an ally against a cyber killer. Rock legend Roger Daltrey co-stars as Sandra's suave boyfriend, while '80s pop icon Huey Lewis appears as an FBI cyber-crime squad agent. Featuring stunning digital visuals and sound, this nail-biting Hitchcockian suspenser from director Niko Mastroakis will make you think twice the next time you sign on.

.crap for movie

Where to start with this bad movie?

As if the plot matters (it doesn't), the movie is about a woman and her sister who use hubbie's computer to access chat rooms, etc, and witness online killings, and inevitably, see the killer in a sort of "Eyes of Laura Mars" style.

The two lead males are played by non-actor musicians Roger Daltrey and Huey Lewis.
Lead females are played by former actresses Natassia Kinsky and Nicolette Sheridan.
The killer is played by a still-unknown actor.

Major problems:

1. Talking computers ("electronic chronometer activated").
2. People talking to computers as they type.
3. Never making a typo even when typing at an awkward angle and not looking at the keys (while talking to someone else).
4. Easy access to talking encrypted computer by using a microphone that you have to be an inch away from to use. And the computer selects only some of the words you say, as needed.
5. Really bad acting.
6. Un-sexy eroticism.
7. Over-technologized thoughout.

It might seem tempting to "save" 5 bucks, but you're wasting the other five dollars.
June 12, 2005

Ctrl+Alt+Delete

.com for Murder is anything but spooky and suspenseful. The movie centers with a killer who selects his victims from a chat room and records the killings. Natassja Kinski and Nicolette Sheridan characters are sisters who end up his next stalking as they view a murder he commits.
Whenever a movie lets you know who the killer is then the script has to be really top notch to keep you on the edge of your seat and snag the viewers attention...this script is not one of those.
There is no character development thus you really have no idea why Albert (Jeffery Dean) is running around killing women or why he sees visions of blood everywhere. You have no idea why Natassja Kinski's husband Ben built a hi-tech computerized safe house that allows hackers to so easily access it. You truely have no idea why two talented woman like Nicolette Sheridan and especially Natassja Kinski agreed to play such brainless stereotypical victims, that it really is a let down for strong women (Lifetime televison would have a FIT)! Huey Lewis plays the FBI agent but really he looks so uncomfortable playing that part you think he just ate something unsavory.
The only two high points in the whole film was the beautiful house, truely awesome in its design and style, and Jeffery Dean who plays his part fairly well considering the limited script he is given. After watching this techno-diaster, you'll just want to re-boot and forget the whole thing every happened. March 24, 2005

.COM FOR DUMMIES

First off, what a house! Roger Daltrey plays an architect named Ben who has extremely computerized his house. Whether it was a set or a real house, it's awesome. Whenever you see the name Nico Mastorakis, you know what you're going to get: sometimes implausible plots; sex; damsels in distress; derivative and exploitative. The good thing, however, is that most of the time Mastorakis does it so well, you can forgive him.
Such is the case for .com for Murder. Nico spends little time on characterizations---we don't know much about Nicollette Sheridan, who plays Nastassa Kinski's sister; we never really understand why Jeffery Dean is killing, and what motivates his psychosis. But in actuality, it's not all that important in a movie like this. You're going to root for the heroines; you're going to hate the villain; you're going to say once again how ineffective law enforcement and the FBI are. And you're going to expect the Michael Myers-like return from the dead. And if you're like me, you'll still love it.
This is stylishly done, tense and much better than I had expected. Sheridan (Knots Landing) still maintains that California girl beauty and Kinski is still a stunning woman, and a capable heroine. Lewis and Daltry merely fill their roles, but they aren't awful.
A tense, tidy, and spooky little movie, makes you think twice about signing on!!! July 19, 2004

.com for lame

The writer obviously loathes computers and doesn't understand them, which is unfortunate since technology figures so prominently in the plotline.

Overall the psychotic killer (Jeffrey Dean) does a good job, but the thread trying to make the film somehow literate by having a Faust fixated killer just seems to try too hard. The ending is a terrible letdown, where it doesn't rely at all on the intelligence of the protagonist and seem inconsistent. Even though some of the killers "intelligent" moves were predictable and telegraphed, like the address and mistaken identity (trying not to be specific enough to spoil here), in general the murderer seems formidable.

Comparing this to "Hackers" is offensive, being that's one of the few films about computers that seem to have a clue. At least they didn't shoot out a monitor and act like that takes a computer out of commission. So encryption is when monsters come out on the screen? Come on.

Huey Lewis played the FBI agent like a cardboard cutout. If you can turn off your brain, it's not so bad. December 13, 2003

A worth seeing cyber age thriller.

This psychological thriller is something like "Rear Window of the cyber age". Nastassja Kinski is the beautiful Sondra Brummel who got stuck in a wheel chair due to some ski accident while her boyfriend Ben (rock singer Roger Daltrey) goes out of town. Misty Brummel (Nicolette Sheridan of "Knots Landing") comes over to help Sondra recover, and the two sisters spend some time together on the web, using Ben's password to sneak in some private chatroom. The Internet chitchats seem to be enjoyable until Sondra and Misty accidentally watch some suspicious guy threaten to rape and kill a girl (Kim Valentine). Not only they fail to convince an FBI agent (pop star Huey Lewis) into thwarting a virtual crime, they even put themselves in serious danger, because the psychotic killer (Jeffrey Dean) happens to be a vicious hacker who wastes no time tracking them down to their own residence...

Obviously scriptwriter and director Nico Mastorakis has done everything to make this movie an entertaining high-tech thriller. The website stripping scenes with porn star Julie Strain and "body double" Shelley Michelle are just appetizers to a lot of exciting and mysterious features that we can expect from (and should be watchful about) the Internet, and the digital visual effects and sounds do help make them more believable. As always, Nastassja Kinski gives a solid performance, while Nicolette Sheridan and the rest of the cast do their best as well (even Melinda Clarke is pretty cool in her minor role as FBI agent Williams). Although the DVD doesn't have any special features or commentaries, etc..., its widescreen and Dolby sound suffice to make ".com for Murder" a not-so-perfect but worth seeing movie. If you think such high-tech thrillers as "Hackers" or "StrangeLand" are good, you may like this one because it's somehow better. March 25, 2003

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