AllMovie

Body Heat and Blood Simple generally get cited as the films most responsible for kick starting the noir revival of the '80s and '90s, a view that overlooks the interesting, if ultimately unsatisfying, Union City. Adapted from a story by Cornell Woolrich, it can be seen either as an unheralded precursor of the neo-noir movement or an attempt to revive noir that failed to take root. Either way, director Mark Reichart, in his only film, plants a unique stamp on the genre, combining old noir devices with the sort of new wave-influenced hyperstylization generally associated with music videos. (By happy coincidence, early video fixtures Deborah Harry and Pat Benatar both make appearances.) All of this eventually overwhelms the film itself, but for a while the mounting paranoia of protagonist Dennis Lipscomb nicely plays off Reichert's deliberate pace and flashy visuals, the latter no doubt partially courtesy of cinematographer Edward Lachman.