Director/Writer: Alan Spencer
Producer: Marc S. Fischer & Louis G. Friedman
Starring
Ayre Gross as Matthew Welsh
Claudia Christian as Hexina
Gloria Connor as Adrienne Shelly
R Lee Emery as Detective Fergusun
Robin Curtis as Rebecca
Directed by Alan Spencer with creative flair, this inspired comedy presented Claudia Christian with one of her most outrageous roles, that of the sexy, psychotic super model, Hexina.
Claudia Christian has often commented that her favourite kind of acting is in broad comedy. So it is no surprise that the character of Hexina in the film HEXED is her favourite role to date, as comedies don't get much broader than this one.
This is a very unusual and different film, made in a style quite apart from the norm. It starts off at an average pace, but quickly builds up into one of the most manic and berserk films ever made. The pictures climax is so outrageous in its audacity that it has to be seen to be believed.
What truly elevates this film above all others is the energy and intensity that Claudia brings to it. From the moment that she first appears, Claudia dominates the film. The strength and charisma that she constantly exuded enabled her to easily steal every scene.
The film centres around a young hotel clerk, Matthew, played by Arye Gross. Working in such a mind numbingly drab environment as the Holiday Palace Hotel for nearly 12 years begins to take its toll on him, and he constantly enters a fantasy world. Leading a Walter Mitty style existence, he lies to both himself and those around him, claiming his life is far more interesting than it actually is.
But fantasy and reality brutally collide when Hexina, Europe's top fashion model, decides to stay at the Holiday Palace Hotel.
Matthew has boasted that Hexina is an old flame. He even doctors some crude photographs in an attempt to convince his colleges that he dated her.
When Hexina arrives at the hotel attempting to maintain a level of secrecy, Matthew manages to con his way into what he believes will be a date with her by pretending to be someone else. He discovers that she is meeting a man whom she has never seen before called Henry Pratt, and decides to pass himself off as Pratt.
Matthew borrows one of the hotel guests suites and a red Corvette from the car park to impress Hexina. But be careful what you wish for, as Matthew soon discovers that Hexina is dangerously psychotic, and has a dark secret that she will kill to hide.
He first gets an inkling of her true nature when she asks him to stop the car by a street mime. She calls him over, offering him money, but when he gets close enough she punches him, knocking him out cold and then laughs with a manic glee at her action.
They decide to go back to Matthews's apartment where they enjoy wild sex. But then Hexina attempts to kill him with a knife while he sleeps. Fearing for his life Matthew reveals his deception, and an angry Hexina storms out of the room to find the real Henry Pratt.
Pratt is in possession of photographs of Hexina before her cosmetic surgery, when she was a fat, ugly nobody called Helen Spears. He also has evidence that she is a wanted fugitive, suspected of murder.
Hexina kills Pratt and takes the photographs. Matthew soon finds himself entrapped in Hexina's deadly web of deceit as she tries to frame him for the crimes that she has committed. Finding himself a wanted man on the run from the police, Matthews only ally is Gloria, a young girl from his workplace who has a crush on him.
HEXED is one of the most deranged and over the top comedies I have ever seen. The script, which openly spoofs such sexual thrillers as BASIC INSTINCT and FATAL ATTRACTION, is riddled with outrageous one liners and bizarre situations. But it is Claudia's performance that pushes the humour and comedy of this film to new heights of excellence.
Claudia is given many superb one liners, and knows exactly how to play for the most comic impact. In one scene Hexina approaches Matthew and says, "We're going to have so much fun. There are so many sex games we can play! Do you have mayonnaise and a rake?" When confronted with damning evidence by Matthews's boss, Hexina retorts "Actually, it's very simple. I mean the whole thing is so very silly. The answer is... I'M F*CKING BONKERS!"
It is obvious that Claudia had a lot of fun playing Hexina, and most of her fans will get a kick out of seeing her in this film as it's totally different to anything else that she's done. In each one of her scenes Claudia changes the emotional state of her character with ease, creating a truly frightening persona that always surprises the viewer. She is sexy, funny, frightening and exciting with equal measure.
The only other member of the cast who comes close to giving as outrageous a performance is R. Lee Ermey as Detective Fergusun, the man assigned to investigate the murder of Henry Pratt. Usually typecast as an all-American military type in films such as FULL METAL JACKET and ON DEADLY GROUND, R. Lee Fergusun gives a rare comedy performance as a police sergeant who doesn't have a clue. His theories on the murder case are as wild as they are funny, and he proves to be as much fun to watch as Claudia.
Robin Curtis, best known as Savik in the STAR TREK films, and who has also guest starred in BABYLON 5, has a small role in it as a girl who falls for one of Matthews lies.
When HEXED was first released it flopped at the box office. Columbia Tri-Star, who were distributing it, didn't have a clue how to market such a unique film, and so their reaction was to bury it.
However, in recent years it has started to attract quite a cult following. Regular screenings on COMEDY CENTRAL in America have led to this film finally finding an audience intelligent enough to appreciate it.
In Britain HEXED wasn't even given a theatrical release. Instead it was dumped straight onto video under a new title, ALL SHOOK UP!
Out of all her films, HEXED ranks alongside NEVER ON TUESDAY and MANIAC COP 2 as a must see for all of Claudia's fans.
Photos of Claudia in HEXED can be found in the Photo Gallery
