Dead of Winter (1987), R

Mary Steenburgen in Dead of Winter. (Photo: MGM)

Starring: Mary Steenburgen, Roddy McDowall, Jan Rubes

Despite its relative failure at the box office, this is a worthwhile thriller from the director of Bonnie and Clyde. Mary Steenburgen stars as an actress, Katie McGovern, lured to the upstate New York cabin of crazy Dr. Joseph Lewis (Jan Rubes), a diabolical crippled shrink playing a blackmail game with the ruthless sister of a recently murdered woman, who happened to be a dead ringer for Katie. Lewis and his creepy assistant (Roddy McDowall) keep Katie captive, videotaping her and cutting off her finger to further their sordid plot, while she tries desperately to get away. As the title implies, Arthur Penn gets a lot of atmosphere out of the remote cabin and a raging blizzard, and the cast is terrific. It all falls apart eventually, but is quite gripping until the required histrionics in the silly final reel. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide