Body Illusion

Cash Markman strikes again with one of his worst scripts, at least based on my viewing less than a tenth of his voluminous (1,000 plus) output. I'll keep my reaction brief to avoid "spoilers" for this spoiled rotten opus.

Just as Brian De Palma got away with parodying Hitchcock to build a lucrative and ridiculously overrated career of his own, Cash imitates Brian here with a story reminiscent of DP's "Body Double" phase. My problem in sticking with the video to the bitter end is Markman's insistence on presenting scene after scene where his characters' behavior and reactions do not have any credibility or believability, merely presented to get from Scene A to Scene B and finally to a terrible final reel monolog by Herschel Savage to explain all the idiotic plot twists and devices to the hapless viewer.

Gimmick, one that Markman frequently uses in his videos, is to fall back on the act of filmmaking (or in his case video-making) itself, as Savage is cast as a porno filmmaker who gives our humble narrator (and lead protagonist) Randy Spears a break acting in one of his films. Randy narrates "Body Illusion", and his status as voice-over helper is lifted from Billy Wilder's classic ploy in "Sunset Boulevard".

In the "one damn thing after another" mode of an untalented director, Cash has Savage unrealistically (he's presented as a egotistical meanie of a director) befriend Spears and hire him to house-sit at his mansion for a week. Conveniently there is a telescope there with which to view the exhibitionist neighbor (beauteous Star E. Knight, contract star for Jill Kelly Productions).

After watching Knight, Spears begins stalking her (yet another hard to swallow plot twist in the working-backwards script) and she unbelievably seduces him rather than telling him to get lost when she catches him on her tail.

Nonsensical twists and turns lead to a pat, fake and downbeat ending, explained away by Savage but amounting to an ultra-groaner finish. Instead of a thriller showcasing such luscious talent as Knight, Aria, Tyler Faith, Euro import Wanda Curtis and no-namer Amythiest Stone, Markman delivers an audience insult.