I first watched the Bruce Willis vehicle “Color of Night” in the 90s and thought it had one of the greatest twists I’d ever seen. And part of its genius was, like the twist in the movie “Orphan”, that the surprise was staring me in the face the whole time.

I recently rewatched “Color of Night”. How did it fare upon review?

Well, it’s a weird little movie. I’m not sure I could call it good, but it certainly commands attention.

In the film, Willis’s character, a therapist named Bill, watches a patient leap to her death. After observing her blood-leaking body, he loses the ability to see the color red. For respite, he goes to visit his best friend and fellow therapist in Los Angles. That friend is murdered, and Bill suspects that the killer is one of the five members of a therapy group his friend been running. Bill steps up to guide the group and suss out the killer.

Amidst all that, he meets an attractive young woman and has wild sex with her. (These scenes border on soft-core porn.)

That’s about all I can say without revealing spoilers.

I was struck by the similarities the movie had with my favorite film, Hitchcock’s “Vertigo.” For one, both feature characters who suffer a psychological ailment after someone falls from a great height. (In “Vertigo,” Jimmy Stewart’s character watches a man fall to his death and develops a fear of heights.) 

But I also now see that the twist in “Color of Night” is drawn from a famous 70s slasher that will remain unnamed. There’s also an Argento influence.

What I hated upon this rewatch was the maudlin, melodramatic, and just plain too loud soundtrack.

The film dragged a bit, but it was my second viewing.

There’s a plethora of great supporting actors: Lance Henriksen, Lesley Ann Warren, Brad Dourif, Rubén Blades.

It’s flawed, but I would say it’s essential viewing for any fan of giallo style thrillers.