Black Widow (after the spider) was a film that fit perfectly into the suspense/crime/thriller genre, released in 1987 and starring Theresa Russell (appearances on Law and Order and American Heiress) as the Spider and Debra Winger (An Officer and a Gentleman, Leap of Faith) as the federal agent from the Justice Department who is on her tail. The cast also included other notable actors such as Dennis Hopper and Terry O'Quinn. The original film was 102 minutes long but was edited to 97 minutes for the DVD, which is a no frills affair but with the amount of plot going on in this story, a few re-runs might be needed to understand everything and spot things that were easily missed before. The classification is 15 but for parents it might be more suitable for 16 if not 18, especially since it's usually shown long after the watershed.

Theresa Russell, as character 'Catherine Peterson' (the Spider) is a serial killer, who finds four successive husbands on her travels to marry, kill, inherit from and run. She has a real methodical and role-playing approach where like a stalker, she finds out everything about her intended husband so that she can maximise her chances of a successful kill. Yet this is sharply contrasted in her killing method, which is poisoning, poisoning is a clever and difficult tool but to use it every time goes against the character's intelligence, even if she does want to be a trade mark killer. That's one of the darkly fascinating aspects of her character though, the viewer and it seems the writer never really knows what she's thinking, feeling and why she's doing what she does, she's is a very complex character that seems to want to play a game with a competent chaser and seems tired of what she's doing but needs to carry on, but not out of monetary need.

After Alex has fought with her superiors to get permission to follow the suspected Black Widow, and pose undercover, that is when the real battle begins. Previously she had been an observer but now she becomes Catherine's friend, perhaps only friend (which is a key factor in their relationship because Catherine seems to push her away to save her whilst keeping up he facade), and borrows her clothes, hair stylist and even falls for intended husband no: 4. Both characters seem to be battling each other and themselves. Potential husband no: 4 is playboy and hotel tycoon Paul Nytten (actor Sam Frey) and he knows that Catherine is using him to get to Alex, and plays along because that is his game too, but doesn't suspect that Catherine is also intending to kill him. It is when both Paul and Catherine are using Alex that she appears most vulnerable especially as she appears to have non-predatorial feelings for him. But then she is using Paul to get to Catherine and in a roundabout way to keep Paul from Catherine. It was like Paul was used by the storyteller to show a shared quality between the two main characters (possessiveness) and as Paul aptly says "everybody uses each other". Afterwards, she tries to warn him about Catherine but he rejects her and thinks that her words are out of spite and rejection; he knows that Catherine has no financial need to kill him

The Sub-Plot - A Psychological Drama

Perhaps Catherine was lonely at the top. In stories you sometimes see long term rivals - or cop/criminal - who've been playing chase with each other for so long that they learn to respect each other and to an extent dedicate a lot of time and effort to each other. I think Catherine and Alex definitely had their own bond because in that commitment to each other and competition they actually and ironically got a kind of devotion that they hadn't got from romantic relationships. Alex had an idol... of sorts and Catherine had a fan... of sorts (e.g. someone who was interested in her for her).