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Backfire

R 1987 1h 33m Mystery & Thriller List
Reviews 31% Audience Score 100+ Ratings
Mara McAndrew's (Karen Allen) marriage is falling apart. Her husband, Donnie (Jeff Fahey), a Vietnam veteran, suffers troubling flashbacks about the war, leaving him unresponsive to her needs. Mara wants out, but she also wants Donnie's money. When Mara meets a mysterious stranger, Reed (Keith Carradine), at a local bar, she believes she has found the right person to help her out of her predicament. But Mara worries that Donnie's sister, Jill (Dinah Manoff), is on to her. Read More Read Less

Audience Reviews

View All (4) audience reviews
Audience Member Some people take their marriage vows seriously, others not so much. Here we have the story of a woman married to a wealthy Vietnam veteran who is struggling with post traumatic stress. Instead of helping him, she works to build his paranoia until he goes over the edge into a catatonic state. Despite a somewhat slow start, I enjoyed this one once the tables were turned on her by an old war buddy of her husband's posing as a drifter. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member Neo noir effort has wife plotting the demise of her suffering Viertnam veteran husband with a few twists along the way. Rather simple plot that is well-paced and reveals things slowly along the way. Worth a look. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Audience Member Gloria says: Excellent script, fantastic acting, interesting plot and there are more twists in this movie than there is on the dance floor. Backfire was an unpredictable movie and it kept me interested from the beginning to the very end. It is still a very good movie even till this day. I highly recommend it. Michael says: This 1980''s B-movie actually surprised me. From Jeff Fahey to Keith Carridine to Karen Allen, the acting was superb. I did end up falling asleep before the film ended, so I guess I cannot give it a proper review, but from I saw, I definitely liked it. And I agree on the 7 rating because I fought really hard to stay awake. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member Bland and predictable. Keith Carradine is one creepy bastard with an untrustable face Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Backfire

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis Mara McAndrew's (Karen Allen) marriage is falling apart. Her husband, Donnie (Jeff Fahey), a Vietnam veteran, suffers troubling flashbacks about the war, leaving him unresponsive to her needs. Mara wants out, but she also wants Donnie's money. When Mara meets a mysterious stranger, Reed (Keith Carradine), at a local bar, she believes she has found the right person to help her out of her predicament. But Mara worries that Donnie's sister, Jill (Dinah Manoff), is on to her.
Director
Gilbert Cates
Producer
Danton Rissner
Screenwriter
Larry Brand, Rebecca Reynolds
Production Co
ITC Entertainment Group
Rating
R
Genre
Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Runtime
1h 33m
Sound Mix
Surround