Deathtrap

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Deathtrap

PG

Released Mar 19, 1982

1h 55m

Mystery & Thriller

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Popcornmeter

75%

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20 Reviews

70%

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5,000+ Ratings

When once-successful playwright Sidney Bruhl (Michael Caine) sees his latest Broadway effort bomb on its opening night, he tumbles into despair -- until he receives a package from his former student Clifford Anderson (Christopher Reeve). Inside is an unproduced script that's better than anything Sidney has written in years. At the urging of his wife, Myra (Dyan Cannon), Sidney undertakes a plan to lure Clifford to his country home, murder him and then announce the script as his own work.

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Bob Thomas

Associated Press

Deathtrap, like many intricate stage thrillers, reveals its artifice on the screen but remains crackling good fun.

Oct 22, 2018

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Gary Arnold

Washington Post

Deathtrap seems an unusually skillful and satisfying example of devious entertainment. It offers as much double-crossing amusement as one can reasonably expect from a theatrical murder mystery.

Apr 28, 2018

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Bruce McCabe

Boston Globe

The film is marvelous claptrap, a skillfully wrought -- indeed, over-wrought -- piece of preposterous escapist entertainment.

Apr 28, 2018

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

An entertaining, sharply directed, and vibrantly acted stage-to-screen adaptation, which both embraces the play’s origins yet also feels cinematic.

Rated: 3.5/4

May 17, 2025

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...a solid adaptation that succeeds mostly as a showcase for the spellbinding work of its two leads.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 8, 2023

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Michael Bronski

Gay Community News (Boston)

Deathtrap is clever but largely unoriginal.

Sep 15, 2022

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Audience Member

Dyan Canon is always as funny as she is beautiful. Michael Caine also delivers his role with such subtle ease. But it was especially entertaining to watch Christopher Reeves play a psychopath so well. He was truly a gifted actor. The plotline offers a lot of well timed and engaging twists and turns, except for the very end. It almost feels like they had so much fun making the movie that they forgot about the time and suddenly realized they had to wrap it up quickly and ended up with a whimper. Still, as a whole, it's worth watching.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/04/25

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CodyZamboni Z

Movie is very clever, Very amusing. Very twisty, And very meta, Well acted, Only demerits are the stagy setting, and the annoying neighbor with ESP.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/13/25

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Landon J

I unfortunately had the twist spoiled for me before watching. Despite that I still enjoyed it. I think the ending though was a little fumbled. Ending particularly demonstrates the negative aspects of adaptations of this nature. Overall excels in creating tension, great subtleties in acting, and narrative subversion.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/07/25

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Cindy B

I am watching this film again after many years and wanted to review because I'd forgotten how much fun it is. This is a play that knows exactly what it is and winks at the audience the whole time. The reviews that pan the film for boring sets, long shots, and overacting are missing the point. Meta, self-referential, and sly. Dyan Cannon's anxiety disorder schtick always cracks me up, and the interplay of two very different psychopaths always makes for an interesting plot.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/29/24

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Audience Member

This movie is most definitely a must watch. Although it is slow for the first half, it makes up for it in the second. Plot twists that made me stand up and take a lap around my room in shock, amazing acting- specially with Reeve, a great thinker, and a beautiful setting makes this movie stand out from your typical mystery movie!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

12/15/24

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M B

Watched for a 2nd time decades later, I found Michael Caine's constant yelling annoying- some rare over-acting on his part. But Christopher Reeve was absolutely brilliant. It's worth watching.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/28/24

Full Review

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Sidney Lumet

Director

Michael Caine

Sidney Bruhl

Christopher Reeve

Clifford Anderson

Dyan Cannon

Myra Bruhl

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Synopsis

When once-successful playwright Sidney Bruhl (Michael Caine) sees his latest Broadway effort bomb on its opening night, he tumbles into despair -- until he receives a package from his former student Clifford Anderson (Christopher Reeve). Inside is an unproduced script that's better than anything Sidney has written in years. At the urging of his wife, Myra (Dyan Cannon), Sidney undertakes a plan to lure Clifford to his country home, murder him and then announce the script as his own work.

Director: Sidney Lumet
Producer: Burtt Harris
Screenwriter: Ira Levin, Jay Presson Allen
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Production Co: Warner Bros.
Rating: PG
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 19, 1982, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2009
Runtime: 1h 55m

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