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Body
Chemistry II: The Voice of a Stranger
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The cover of Body Chemistry II: The Voice of a Stranger boldly declares it to be the "Uncut Version – even hotter than the original!" – which is a little puzzling since, as far as I am aware, no cut, lukewarm version was previously released in Australia. Be that as it may, this Roger Corman production is a diverting sequel to the first Body Chemistry (1990), in which a fanatical psychologist (Lisa Pescia) probed the role of pain in sexual pleasure. Now Pescia has, logically enough, moved onto a career on talkback radio as a sex counsellor who signs off each night not with "that's life" but "love the hurt". The intriguing aspect of the Body Chemistry films is that, in comparison to big-budget thrillers like Fatal Attraction (1987), there is no pretence at psychological depth or social comment. Every scene is an elemental amalgam of sex, violence and madness – centred here especially on a disturbed gentleman (Gregory Harrison) whose psychosis is, as Pescia patiently explains, a result of "severe parental discipline, forced body contact sports, repressed homosexuality: the oldest story in the book". Fans of trash culture will be particularly interested to hear that the notorious American talk show host Morton Downey, Jr. – who routinely bullied and sometime whacked the guests on his program – has a major role in the film as a sleazy radio station owner. © Adrian Martin December 1993 |
