A low-level criminal sets up shop in a rural Texas town during a heat wave in Dennis Hopper’s 1990 erotic thriller/neo-noir The Hot Spot, now on 4k from Radiance Films.
First, by sheer coincidence, there is a film that was just released called Hot Spot (no “The”). There is no connection. That seems to be a post-apocalyptic action flick with noir overtones. The Hot Spot, our 1990 film today, is a sunbaked neo-noir from Dennis Hopper.
The Hot Spot, based upon the novel Hell Hath No Fury by screenwriter Charles Williams, is a low-key, simmering neo-noir with an erotic overlay of a grifter (with other criminal enterprises) setting himself up as a used car dealer in a seedy Texas town. There, Harry Madox, played by Don Johnson, starts cajoling and criming up the place, scheming up some robberies and some seductions of Virginia Madsen and Jennifer Connelly, and hitting the ire of the men like Charles Martin Smith, Jerry Hardin, and William Sadler.
It’s rather good, not great. I love a good noir, the way people treat one another and move around. There’s a great draw in the looming of crime, how it goes down, and the fallout. How the pieces move, how people scheme and use one another. That’s the big push of The Hot Spot, mixed with some romantic thriller aspects as Madox and the women seduce one another. It’s meant to be a bit steamy between Don Johnson and the women, and the interplay between everyone. There’s a fine B-movie quality coming through, the second film that would play after the better Billy Wilder one. Simpler, steamier, sexier.
Trouble is, The Hot Spot never feels like there’s any danger, any real bite. As much as Madox might find himself in the crosshairs of the cops, his boss, angry men, the femme fatale, or any combination of that, it never feels like he’s on edge. Perhaps I’ve been spoiled too much recently by watching 80s noirs Body Heat (from Criterion) and Cutter’s Way (also from Radiance). Those felt like danger brewing, knowing their leads were heading down paths where death might be coming. William Hurt in Body Heat knows fully he’s being played but goes along because he can’t help himself. Don Johnson’s Madox is always ahead, and I put much on Johnson. He never plays anything but cool. There’s no desperation; he’s done this before and will do it again. Any snag is temporary. He knows, and the audience knows it. I’m reminded a little of Tough Guys Don’t Dance. Now, that movie is an atrocious (and hilarious for the wrong reasons) wanna be noir from a writer-director who knows better, but there are vibes of a stumble away from landing in that category.
Even with Johnson’s too-school-for-coolness, Hopper gets together a solid cast. Virginia Madsen plays the femme fatale well, and Connelly plays the more innocent ingenue to foil. I love Bill Sadler in anything. David Lynch mainstay and Hopper’s Blue Velvet co-star Jack Nance gets a couple of scenes. The other men, Jerry Hardin, Charles Martin Smith, Barry Corbin, and Leon Rippy fit noir archetypes easily. All character actors you’ve seen elsewhere; they give the film the B-movie squalor well.
You may have noticed that the cast list is without Dennis Hopper. Sorry for those wanting to see ol Frank Booth on screen; Hopper is behind the camera the whole film. No Hitchcock cameo. Hopper is known most for his wild and terrifying acting, but let’s not forget he was a director with a great track record, including Colors and Easy Rider.
Final note: yes, this is the movie where Jennifer Connelly is topless. Don’t tell younger me, but right now, It’s weird and off-putting, honestly. Maybe because I just saw her in Labrynth rewatch a few weeks ago and she looks just about the same (she’s 19 here), but felt skeevy.
The Package
Radiance puts The Hot Spot on two discs, one 4k UHD (world premiere) & Blu-ray. The film is on both discs. Both discs have the same art: the title on a brown background. They are both placed, overlapping, on the right side of the clear short case. The booklet fits on the other side. The sleeve is double-sided. One with the Radiance standard wordless film image designed by Time Tomorrow, with a removable OBI strip containing the pertinent information on one side and the original poster art on the other. Spine #13.
-As the spine number indicates, Radiance previously released The Hot Spot, back in 2023. The set is the same plus the 4k disc. That was Region B only, so essentially it’s new to the US.
The Presentation
Radiance presented the 4k restored from the original camera negative. The Dolby Vision is approved by cinematographer Ueli Steiger. Damned good transfer, leading the sexy, sweaty, sleeze. It’s not a dynamically colored film, but detailed in the setting and aura, and Hopper’s vision shines within. Audio is English stereo with English subtitles.
The Features
All features are on the Blu-ray; 4K UHD only has the film.
Dennis Hopper (1991)
Short but packed; Hopper was always a million miles a minute, and he gets into the creation, music, getting clean, and his thoughts on the movie (5m)
Virginia Madsen (2021 for Kino Lorber)
Madsen gives an honest assessment of the issues of filming it and working with Hopper. (7m)
William Sadler (2021, Kino Lorber)
Sadler is one of those guys who can tell stories for hours (I saw an hour of that at Crypticon Seattle a few years ago; he’s a fun guy). Here are just a few minutes as he shares a few stories about working with Hopper. MORE PLEASE! (6m)
Nick Dawson (2023)
The editor of the book Dennis Hopper: Interviews gets into Hopper’s mindset, where he was in the world at this point (being clean and working through that) and his approach to directing this film. (20m)
Duane Swiercynski (2023)
Writer and crime fiction expert Charles Williams, the first attempts at adaptation, and finally this film. I’m not aware of Williams’s work, but I’m glad to add another author to my giant To Read List. I love ot see how something is molded from book to screen, and this gets it to a great degree, and I’m all in. (22m)
Trailer
Booklet
A 28-page stapled booklet is included. It has the regular stuff plus extras. Excess, Sex, and Reality Checks by Elena Lazic (2023) gives an appreciation to the film’s sexual plottings and how Hopper shoots it. The Hot Spot Finds Its Level (2023) by Leslie Byron Pitt examines the history of the erotic thriller and how The Hot Spot fits into it. Star Complex (1990, originally in Film Comment) by RJ Smith is a fun interview with Dennis Hopper.
Final Thoughts
Dennis Hopper’s 1990 neo-noir The Hot Spot, now on 4k & Blu-ray from Radiance, is a solid little film. It serves its purpose, though Johnson’s slimy performance undermines the drama. But its sultry, steamy, and sexy enough to keep moving and I love a “new” neo-noir to take in.