I cannot resist Sharon Stone. She has made quite a few mediocre films, but this is not one of them and despite critical panning it was a success with the public. To look upon it as a tawdry erotic thriller is to underestimate its impact. It does draw upon elements of other films such as ' A Kiss before Dying ' and ' Rear Window ' but that makes it all the more stronger for it. Films do feed from each other, and some fail and others succeed. I think ' Sliver ' is still underrated and is both exciting to watch and often very moving. I do not want spoilers, but Stone who gives a powerhouse performance, moves into a New York high rise building which has seen too many deaths, and is nicknamed ' Horror House ' in newspapers, and very successfully by her presence in the house, she succeeds in unmasking the killer. She also has a relationship with William Baldwin at his most seductive best as the young man who owns the building and has dark secrets of his own. He is brilliant in the role and their scenes together and their joint eroticism was perhaps unique in the 1990's. The film explores the perversity of filming others in the sexual act, and also child abuse and was in many ways far ahead of its time. I loved it when it came out and the test of time is that I love it still. For those who have not seen it I urge them to watch it and to see things that were prescient then, but are now an intrinsic part of our current lives. A fully justified 10.

If the sight of Sharon Stone and William Baldwin gyrating their way through a series of long and drawn-out sex scenes is appealing, then I'd recommend SLIVER, one in a wave of erotic thrillers that populated the mid-1990s in the wake of BASIC INSTINCT. For movie fans in general, though, SLIVER is a bit of a non-starter.

The film's biggest flaw is an overly familiar script, which has an interesting premise involving voyeurism but does little with it (other than inviting the viewer to participate, a theme which has been done to death these days anyway). Sharon Stone moves into a high-tech apartment block where people are being murdered, and we're supposed to care about what happens next.

There are flashes of interest and inspiration throughout, usually involving the supporting cast. Watching Tom Berenger chewing dialogue is always a delight, and ROME's Polly Walker shows up too, although sadly not for very long. The talents of CCH Pounder and Martin Landau also end up wasted in favour of dull, slightly wooden turns from Stone (who displays none of the charm and allure she essayed in BASIC INSTINCT) and a sweaty, unpleasant Baldwin.

The thriller aspects are unevenly handled, and Aussie director Philip Noyce (who directed DEAD CALM, one of my favourite thrillers) drops the ball more than once, failing to elicit suspense from scenarios which should be tense and atmospheric. SLIVER isn't all bad; the most undemanding of movie fans might even enjoy it, but I'm afraid I've been here way too many times to see anything even remotely interesting.

There is quite the social commetary here, packed in an erotic thriller. Basic Instinct and this made Sharon Stone a if not the sex symbol of the 90s. And here her character is different than the one from Basic Instinct, which is a nice touch overall (no pun intended).

But the movie and the story want too much, while not or rather going the whole way. The mystery is there, the themes and the critique is there, but I'm certain that many will hate the ending .... the build up is nice though