This psychological thriller, puts a spin on it's story, compared to other thrillers around this time. Here's a new wave original, the first film I actually saw to start off 91, and I must say, I was not the least bit disappointed. Actually shown at the cinema, in it's M version, it's R version which I saw, made me glad to wait, till it hit VHS, which was primarily the reason I hired it. Wimpy yuppie Spader avoids a close shave with this big rough dude, in a bar, after discreetly trying to crack onto the girlfriend, although Spader, wasn't aware he was around. Not backing down, at the sound of a beer bottle cracking, in steps new dude, psychopathic, manipulative and charming Alex (Rob Lowe in his best role yet). He forms a friendship with Spader showing him how to live, but he doesn't know where this is leading. Michael (Spader) soon realizes Alex's fun can get out of control, costing him some embarrassment, a marriage, where he inexplicably gets involved in a robbery while intoxicated, where the final show has him been set up by Alex, for a murder, all of it Alex's spared amusement, until Spader, with help from his geeky drug addicted brother, who I liked, must outwit him and if necessary kill him. Lowe does help him though, overthrow a rival worker, who's been involved in some funny business at work, where later he's beaten up by Lowe. Now this rival buries his head, when he sees Spader in the hallway of their workplace. Violence is occasional but BI is a well steered machine, intelligently written with some smart dialogue, and Lowe's chillingly cool performance is worth the rental fee. Koepp went onto to wrote the 2002 hit, Panic Room. Marcia Cross, way before her Desperate Housewife days, is really cute as Spader's disgraced girlfriend.