This 1993 potboiler has been shown recently on Amazon prime. The film is a standard thriller with a standout performance from veteran film actor Rod Steiger.
The versatile Steiger plays a psychopathic obstetrician and the neighbor of a couple about to become proud parents. But Steiger's Dr. Hatch becomes obsessed with the wife, seeking induce a miscarriage. His troubled past involved the childhood trauma of losing his mother after she died delivering his younger sibling. He killed the baby in retaliation. Now the woman next door bears a striking resemblance to the mother of Dr. Hatch. He will stop at nothing to ensure that she does not deliver that baby.
The film inadvertently includes comic scenes, due to the stupidity of the characters not recognizing the delusional qualities of Dr. Hatch. A fellow doctor is stupid. The police are stupid. Above all, the husband is stupid, not recognizing the signs in the strange behavior of the neighbor.
Steiger gives a nuanced performance, especially when he turns on the charm to deceive those around him. Despite the artificiality of this contrived melodrama, Steiger leaves a memorable impression as the deranged boy next door.
The versatile Steiger plays a psychopathic obstetrician and the neighbor of a couple about to become proud parents. But Steiger's Dr. Hatch becomes obsessed with the wife, seeking induce a miscarriage. His troubled past involved the childhood trauma of losing his mother after she died delivering his younger sibling. He killed the baby in retaliation. Now the woman next door bears a striking resemblance to the mother of Dr. Hatch. He will stop at nothing to ensure that she does not deliver that baby.
The film inadvertently includes comic scenes, due to the stupidity of the characters not recognizing the delusional qualities of Dr. Hatch. A fellow doctor is stupid. The police are stupid. Above all, the husband is stupid, not recognizing the signs in the strange behavior of the neighbor.
Steiger gives a nuanced performance, especially when he turns on the charm to deceive those around him. Despite the artificiality of this contrived melodrama, Steiger leaves a memorable impression as the deranged boy next door.