DEATHTRAP:
Popular playwright Sidney Bruhl (played by Michael Caine) has been having a long line of Broadway flops. Once thought of as the greatest playwright he is now laughed at for the horrible plays he has put on. After the debut of his latest flop, Sidney returns to his Long Island home where he can sulk in peace with is wife Myra (played by Dyan Cannon). While trying to cope with his newest failure, Sidney works out a plan that should put him back on top. Telling his wife about a manuscript that was sent to him from a former student by the name of Clifford Anderson (played by Christopher Reeve) that might be the best play he's read. With "Deathtrap" Sidney knows he can become loved again but he must kill Clifford first.

NOW THAT'S A TWIST:
I've watched a lot of movies in during my years on this planet, some are what they seem, some give a few surprises, and then there are ones like Deathtrap that completely threw me for a loop and then back again for one more throw. Anyone that's used that phrase, "What a twist" will be shown what a real twist is if they watch this movie. Going into this movie I was expecting to be watching a movie about a once famous playwright who in desperation works out a plot to kill a up and coming writer who has the makings of being just as good. Which this plot point is in the movie but then there is the twist of what is really going on between the old playwright and the new one. Yet if you think that is the only twist in the movie you would be wrong because another one pops up that I was not expecting. But just when I thought the movie was about to be over, another twist happens that has Deathtrap ending in a foreseen and unforeseen way.

What I liked about this movie, aside from the superb acting of Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve, is how there are the twists in the plot. Every time I thought the movie had reached its peak where all that was left was wrapping it up another element was introduced that made the movie go in another direction. I've said before that a movie has kept me on my toes with where the plot was going but Deathtrap is one movie that kept me guessing at what was really going on and when it was revealed I still got it wrong. For a movie that came out in 1982 it was all-new to me and because of that I really enjoyed the movie. Though like I said, with the superb acting of Michael Caine as the main character Sidney this movie would have had a hard time being bad. Throw in a young Christopher Reeve who had the character of Clifford worked out like he was really him. These two actors make the movie good, even though the plot is good and has those twists in it, Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve make Deathtrap worth watching.

The parts that I didn’t like about the movie though were the length of it. With a run time of 116 minutes the movie is pretty long for a drama/suspense movie. Having no chase scenes, no shootouts, or explosions, Deathtrap relies on its main actors to drive the story. Which they do but considering that 97% of the movie takes place in the home of Sidney and leaving the rest to be at Broadway, it takes a lot to keep the plot interesting enough to make the viewer want to continue watching the same location. Deathtrap does this to some extent but there is still a little too much time being used in this movie that could have been cut off allowing it to be a shorter movie. I think if around 30 minutes were to be cut off this movie it would have been a better movie. Instead it drags at times towards the middle leaving me wonder why that was even in the movie to begin with. Still, aside from it being too long the movie is one of the more enjoyable movies I've seen lately.

DEATH ON BLU RAY:
Being that this movie came out 20 years ago I figure it would look horrible on Blu Ray. I was wrong, it didn't horrible, it's not breathtaking, but it still has a sharp picture quality to it. I didn't notice much grain in the dark areas, which there are a whole lot of, and though the colors are a little flat they look better than most movies from the 80's. However, this Blu Ray has one really positive aspect to it that impressed me the most and helps the movie out more than most, the sound. Now I've given some bad reviews because of poor audio quality but Deathtrap has some really good audio. Because this movie is centered on dialog being able to hear it was the most important factor but by improving the audio where I was able to hear the creaks of the floorboard as they walked and when they was at the typewriter I heard the clicks of the keys without it being too loud or too soft, this audio is really good for a 20 year old movie.