''Mr. Wrong'' is a 1985 New Zealand horror film, directed by

Gaylene Preston Dame Gaylene Mary Preston (born 1 June 1947) is a New Zealand filmmaker with a particular interest in documentary films. Early life and family Born in Greymouth on 1 June 1947, Preston was educated at Colenso High School (now William Colenso Co ...

. The film was based on an

Elizabeth Jane Howard Elizabeth Jane Howard, Lady Amis (26 March 1923 – 2 January 2014), was an English novelist, author of 12 novels including the best-selling series ''The'' ''Cazalet Chronicles''. Early life Howard's parents were timber-merchant Major David L ...

short story. It was released in the US as ''Dark of the Night''.

Synopsis

Meg buys a

Jaguar car Jaguar (, ) is the luxury vehicle brand of Jaguar Land Rover, a British multinational corporation, multinational automaker, car manufacturer with its headquarters in Whitley, Coventry, England. Jaguar Cars was the company that was responsibl ...

, unaware that the previous owner was murdered and the vehicle is haunted. She soon finds herself stalked by the killer.

Cast

Production

It was the first film made by Preston-Laing Productions (Gaylene Preston and Robin Laing).

Reception

The film received positive reviews from New Zealand critics, with ''

The Press ''The Press'' is a daily newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand owned by media business Stuff Ltd. First published in 1861, the newspaper is the largest circulating daily in the South Island and publishes Monday to Saturday. One comm ...

'' calling it "an assured, gripping thriller". Overseas reviews were more mixed; the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' described it as "a mild effort" that "isn't quite sure whether it wants to be a chiller or a comedy." The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' said the film "may be vulnerable to the charge of silliness from time to time, but it leaves us wanting to see Preston's next film." Film historians have compared ''Mr. Wrong'' to

Melanie Rodriga Melanie Rodriga (née Read; born 30 September 1954) is a New Zealand- Australian film maker, lecturer, and author. Early life Born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Rodriga was the third child of Daphne Mary (Billie) and Albert Thomas (Bertram) Read ...

's '' Trial Run'' (1984), an earlier New Zealand thriller with feminist themes.

Awards

* 1986 National Mutual GOFTA Awards (New Zealand) Best Female Performance in a Leading Role - Film: Heather Bolton Nominated for Best Film Score: Jonathan Crayford * 1986

Créteil International Women's Film Festival The Créteil International Women's Film Festival (in French Festival international de films de femmes de Créteil) is an annual event in Créteil, France, founded by Jackie Buet in 1978 to showcase the directing talents of female filmmakers who, ...

(France) Most Popular Film.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mr Wrong 1985 films 1980s New Zealand films 1980s English-language films Films set in New Zealand Films shot in New Zealand New Zealand horror films