Staunch Test FAIL.
Allison Jones (Bridget Fonda), a “single, white female”, places a newspaper ad to find a roommate after her fiancé cheated on her breaking off their engagement. She ends up with Hedra Carlson (Jennifer Jason Leigh) a shy, innocent girl who is not what she seems to be.
Barbet Schroeder’s Single White Female is a psychological thriller movie about a clearly mentally ill woman who is obsessed with finding the perfect friend, or more like the perfect sister. Hedra lies and kills in order to keep Allison close to her.
Most of the threat here is psychological and creepy. There isn’t a lot of overt violence except for the big fight at the end when Hedra threatens Allison and starts being violent with her in order to make sure she is not leaving her. Allison, on the other hand, has to fight for survival. There’s also a gratuitous scene in which Allison’s pervert boss tries to have sex with her but Allison kicks him leaving him aching and in pain alone in his office.
This one is a very good slasher/thriller that is still admired and sparked many not so good copies . It’s also a #StaunchTestFail I’m afraid.
Simona Columbano
