Deadlock (1991)

"I swear, if that collar doesn't kill you, I will! -Tracy Riggs to Frank Warren. Although recent events have reminded us that she was once Mrs. Tom Cruise, Mimi Rogers has a number of good films and performances to her name, perhaps her most well-known being Someone to Watch Over Me (1987) and The Rapture (1991). Right up there with those two films is this science fiction film, also known as Wedlock, which orginally aired on HBO. The movie begins with diamond thief Frank Warren (Rutger Hauer) who, after pulling off his latest heist, is set up by his partners-in-crime, his fiance Noelle (Joan Chen) and his friend Sam (James Remar), who turn him in to the police. However, they are unable to find where Frank has stashed the diamonds. Frank is sent to Camp Holliday, where each prisoner is forced to wear a collar with an explosive which connected to another, unknown inmate. If they are separated by more than 100 yards, both explosives go off. Frank later learns that he is connected to fellow inmate Tracy Riggs (Rogers) when they escape with their collars intact. By this point, the film becomes an enjoyable sci-fi version of the great Alfred Hitchcock film The 39 Steps (1935), with Hauer and Rogers sharing great chemistry as Frank and Tracy must find a way to deal with each other as they are being pursued by Noelle, Sam and Warden Holliday (Stephen Tobolowsky). In addition to having great starring roles for two underrated actors, the film was directed by the equally underrated Lewis Teague, who made the memorable creature features Alligator (1980) and Cujo (1983).