10 Shameless Alfred Hitchcock Rip-Offs

3. Rear Window (1998)

rearwindow After Christopher Reeve's tragic paralyzation in 1995 his work rate understandably fell. The Superman star's last lead role came in the form of 1998 TV movie remake, Rear Window. Reeve stars as a Jason Kemp, a quadriplegic architect who begins spying on his neighbours to pass the time. Sticking closely to the plot of Hitchcock's original, Kemp believes he witnesses a murder and tried to convince his friend Claudia (Daryl Hannah) of this. Rear Window is a rather shoddy, haphazard take on the Hitchcock tale - losing the sweaty atmosphere and tension of the director's original, in favour of capturing the cheap "high tech" gadgetry of Kemp's apartment. The one redeeming feature is Reeve's performance, which serves as a bittersweet reminder of the handsome Adonis he used to be. For TV movie standards, it is a watchable Sunday afternoon thriller - but unfortunately pales in comparison to Hitchcock's original. However, this would be far from the worst version of Rear Window.
Contributor
Contributor

Student. Generally obsessed with all things film, television and pop music. Worshiper of John Waters, Stock-Aitken-Waterman, and awful Madonna films. You can find me on Twitter at @AndrewSMcArthur.