The Last Seduction (1994)
86%RT Audience Score: 76%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
9 wins & 10 nominations total
Like Body Heat, The Last Seduction updates film noir techniques for a modern era, imbuing this erotic film with ’90s snark
The Last Seduction is a movie that will leave you on the edge of your seat, wondering what will happen next. Linda Fiorentino’s performance as the femme fatale is nothing short of amazing, and the dark humor throughout the film will have you laughing out loud. It’s like Body Heat, but with even more seduction and manipulation. If you’re a fan of film noir, you won’t want to miss this stylish classic.
Production Company(ies)
Warner Bros., Chenault Productions,
Distributor
October Films
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Irvington, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for strong sexuality and language, and for violence
Year of Release
1994
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Ultra Stereo
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 50m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 26, 1994 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 19, 2002
Genre(s)
Mystery & thriller
Keyword(s)
starring Linda Fiorentino, Bill Pullman, Peter Berg, J.T Walsh, Bill Nunn, Herb Mitchell, directed by John Dahl, written by Steve Barancik, produced by Jonathan Shestack, Mystery & Thriller, R rating, box office gross $1.8M, reviewed by Joshua Katzman, Lisa Schwarzbaum, Desson Thomson, Rita Kempley, Jonathan Rosenbaum, David Stratton, Imran Khan, Lesley Thornton, Robert Levin, Urban Cinefile Critics, Ben Reynolds, Jeffrey M Anderson, femme fatale, neo-noir, cocaine, insurance scam, small town, Chicago, deadly, villainous, snarky, modern, erotic, social commentary, hairpin turns, blue moods, dark humor, Ultra-Stereo, Surround, Stereo
Worldwide gross: $5,842,603
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $11,820,318
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,908
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,289,021
US/Canada gross: $5,842,603
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $11,820,318
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,565
US/Canada opening weekend: $45,058
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $91,158
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,968
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $2,500,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $5,057,813
Production budget ranking: 1,877
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $2,723,633
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $4,038,872
ROI to date (est.): 52%
ROI ranking: 1,137
Peter Berg – Mike Swale
Bill Pullman – Clay Gregory
J.T. Walsh – Frank Griffith
Bill Nunn – Harlan
Herb Mitchell – Bob Trotter
Director(s)
John Dahl
Writer(s)
Steve Barancik
Producer(s)
Jonathan Shestack
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
9 wins & 10 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (52) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (49) | Rotten (3)
While The Last Seduction isn’t anywhere near the complex and disturbing masterpiece that Chinatown is, it does contain more social commentary than has generally been ascribed to it.
June 6, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
Joshua Katzman
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
September 7, 2011 | Rating: B+
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
The movie is a spirited attempt at modern film noir, and huge parts of it are enjoyable.
February 12, 2008
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
What Sharon Stone did for the ice pick, Linda Fiorentino does for the ice princess.
February 12, 2008
Rita Kempley
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
It’s an entertaining and caustically humorous thriller if you like that sort of thing.
February 12, 2008
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
[A] well-paced, cleverly written and quite diabolical thriller.
February 12, 2008
David Stratton
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Linda Fiorentino pulls out all the stops and delivers a tour-de-force performance in John Dahl’s gripping neo-noir, The Last Seduction, a film full of blue moods, dark humour, and hairpin turns.
October 11, 2019 | Rating: 8/10
Imran Khan
PopMatters
Linda Fiorentino…gives a wisecracking, ball-breaking, riveting performance in John Dahl’s The Last Seduction.
January 18, 2019
Lesley Thornton
Independent on Sunday
May 2, 2009 | Rating: 2/5
Robert Levin
Critic’s Notebook
Not since Kathleen Turner set her sights on William Hurt in Body Heat, has seduction and manipulation been showcased better than in this raunchy page turner
May 12, 2008
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Fiorentino lights up this stylish noir classic and breaths new, menacing life into the femme fatale role. Barbara Stanwyck would be proud.
February 12, 2008
Ben Reynolds
Film4
Linda Fiorentino turns in a sharp performance as perhaps the screen’s nastiest femme fatale, ever.
June 30, 2007 | Rating: 3.5/4
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid…
Plot
Bridget Gregory has a lot going for her: she’s beautiful, intelligent, and married to a doctor. But, as her husband Clay discovers, all of this is not enough. After persuading him to sell medicinal cocaine to some drug-dealers, she takes off with the money, almost a million dollars, and goes undercover in a mid-American small town. Because Clay must pay off a loan shark who will otherwise damage him severely, he keeps sending detectives after her, trying to retrieve the money. When Bridget meets Mike Swale, a naive local who is blinded by her beauty and directness, she devises an elaborate, almost diabolical scheme to get rid of Clay once and for all.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Rita Kempley of the Washington Post says, “What Sharon Stone did for the ice pick, Linda Fiorentino does for the ice princess.”
John-Dahl.jpg
