Fatal Instinct actually isn’t a half-bad spoof movie, probably along the lines of Top Secret. The jokes, while indeed stupid, are still laugh-out-loud funny and the performances from the core cast, especially Armand Assante, are played mostly straight that it makes the humor work. It’s also refreshing that the movie still holds up today unlike so many of the other spoof films…
Fatal Instinct
(1993)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Comedy
Olive Films | PG13 – 90 min. – $29.95 | September 22, 2015
** Click Here to Purchase Fatal Instinct on Blu-ray from Amazon.com **
PLOT SUMMARY
Sultry and seductive Lola Cain (SEAN YOUNG) is having an affair with Ned Ravine (ARMAND ASSANTE), a married policeman and lawyer who often represents those he’s arrested. But their affair comes to an abrupt end when Ned realizes how much he loves his wife Lana (KATE NELLIGAN). As fate would have it, Lana is carrying on an affair with her mechanic, Frank Kelbo (CHRISTOPHER MCDONALD) with whom she’s plotting to kill Ned for the insurance money, a policy that comes with a triple indemnity rider.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 1.5/5
All features from the DVD have been ported over:
Audio Commentary with Director Carl Reiner and Writer David O’Malley. Both men breakdown the film from the script, casting and gags/riffs.
Deleted Scenes (22:53; HD) – There are a few scenes left on the cutting room floor most likely because they added nothing to the comedy; optional commentary with Reiner and O’Malley also available.
Original Theatrical Trailer (1:54; HD)
VIDEO – 3.75/5
Olive Films releases Fatal Instinct onto Blu-ray presented in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and given a pleasing 1080p high-definition transfer. I was pleasantly surprised with the picture quality. No, it’s not great or perfect but detail levels are sharp enough while colors appear to be well balanced throughout; there were, however, some scratches and dust marks, though nothing overabundant but also not unnoticeable either.
AUDIO – 3.75/5
The movie comes with a standard but effective enough DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track which is fine considering this is a comedy with little action. The most depth, centrally located, comes from the film-noir-inspired soundtrack and score while dialogue generally sounds crisp and clear. As with the picture, it’s nothing noteworthy or fantastic but perfectly serviceable for a 20+ year old catalog title.
OVERALL – 3.5/5
Overall, Fatal Instinct actually isn’t a half-bad spoof movie, probably along the lines of Top Secret. The jokes, while indeed stupid, are still laugh-out-loud funny and the performances from the core cast, especially Armand Assante, are played mostly straight that it makes the humor work. It’s also refreshing that the movie still holds up today unlike so many of the other spoof films… As for the Blu-ray from Olive Films, the video/audio transfers are fine and it’s nice the features from the DVD were ported over.
Published: 09/23/2015
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.