Sometimes memories can kill.

Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Director: Bennett Davlin
Role: Stephanie Jacobs
Cast: Billy Zane, Dennis Hopper, Ann-Margret, Terry Chen
Release Date: U.S., March 23 2007 (theatrical; limited)
MPAA Motion Picture Rating: R

• Overview
• Memorable Stephanie Quotations
• Said of Memory
• Memory Movie Trivia
• Critical Reception
• Memory Online

More Memory images of Tricia in our Memory Photo Gallery

Dr. Taylor Biggs (Zane) is haunted by a past that’s not his own. A hallucinatory drug gives him the power to see visions of vicious crimes, visions made all that more disturbing when he discovers that the murderous memories may belong to the father he never knew (Hopper). Deirdre Blades co-stars as Biggs’s mother, whose own failing memory makes her powerless to help him unravel his family history.

* * * *

Tricia Helfer portrays Stephanie Jacobs, a mysterious and conflicted painter with whom Biggs becomes romantically involved. The two are bizarrely tied to one another by one of Stephanie’s paintings, which bears a startling resemblance to one of Biggs’ visions.

“… What you should’ve discovered here is that we’re not really drawing this scene at all, but merely trying to capture the light it’s giving off. The object is always an illusion. Okay? We’ll continue this next week.”

“You sound more confused than I am.”

“So, you like the painting with the man in the coat.”
[Briggs: "What makes you say that?"]
“It’s my only painting on the market right now.”
[Briggs: "Right. Um... What m... What made you create it?"]
“Oh, I don’t know, I came home one day and it sort of… painted itself.”

[Briggs: "Oh, God, you'd be perfect if you drank beer and played poker, too."]
[places two beers on the table] “I only play high stakes.”
[Briggs: "I've got no problem with that."]

“Oh God, this stuff is real, isn’t it?”

“Look, Taylor, this is irrelevant. If this stuff happened over 30 years ago, isn’t it too late to help them now?”

“This is really messed up. Don’t you think this is a little too far?”

[Briggs: "My earliest memory is burning my finger on a sparkler on the 4th of July. What's yours?"]
“Getting a tube shoved down my throat in a hospital when I was sick.”

“Hey, look at this.”
[types in 'Kafziel' on Google]
[reading] “Kafziel appears in a shining blast of light.”
[Briggs: "You've gotta be kidding me."]
[still reading] “He was the angel of death over little children. He was cast out of Heaven. He took no interest in boys, but dedicated himself to preserving the innocence of little girls… This is really scaring me.”

“I may not have these memories in my head, but I’m part of this now.”
[Briggs: "No. That's the problem. I don't know where this is going, I'm..."]
“… That’s it?”
[Briggs: "Yeah."]
“You’re being ridiculous! Why are you acting like this?”
[Briggs: "Coz I don't think you should be here right now, I don't think you should be with me right now. I think you should go. Right now."]
“Mhmm.”
[Briggs and Stephanie look at each other for a moment]
[Briggs: "GET OUT!"]
“FINE!”

Select quotations regarding the film from Tricia Helfer and her co-workers: Coming soon/not available.

Trivia coming soon/not available.

Memory received only a limited U.S. release in March 2007, and therefore there are not a lot of reviews on it. The few available reviews on the film, however, have been largely negative, citing the film as too silly, predictable and theatrical for a genuinely serious thriller.

• Rating > Internet Movie Database: 5.0/10 (750 user votes counted)
• Rating > MetaCritic: No rating (professional)
• Rating > Rotten Tomatoes: 8% positive reviews, “Rotten” (professional)

Extracts from professional reviews:

After the first and most spectacular of these flashbacks (an earthquake occurs while Briggs is brushing his teeth, followed by a torrent of water bursting through the bathroom door), Davlin shows the good sense to resist the traditional gimmicks associated with onscreen hallucinations. Instead, each successive blackout uncovers a fresh shard of a stylish and unsettling mystery, a tactic reminiscent of 2006′s The Return. [...] Over-the-top finale would be right at home in a Brian De Palma movie, but still manages to surprise. Thrills aren’t so much experienced as indicated, although a more suspenseful score might have transformed Memory into a genuinely frightening affair.”
- Peter Debruge, Variety

“As those are the film’s only significant characters, it’s not monumentally tough to figure out who the child-snatching fiend is, though deciphering Memory‘s countless story inconsistencies is a far more arduous—and ultimately futile—task. People are killed to cover up secrets that aren’t really important while others unaccountably fail to remember crucial life experiences, both baffling developments that, like everything else about this dreary slog of a thriller, aren’t even clumsy enough to be inadvertently amusing. Meanwhile, the director states in the film’s press notes that ‘all the science you will see in this motion picture is cutting edge,’ a statement that holds true if you simply replace the word ‘science’ with ‘silliness.’”
- Nick Schager, Slant Magazine

“Writer-director Bennett Davlin’s adaptation of his own novel is stylish and twisty, but not clever enough to support its more outrageous plot machinations. [...] Genre buffs will figure out the mystery pretty quickly, in part because there are so few suspects from whom to choose — to Davlin’s credit, he plays fair. And while the high-profile cast will make the film stand out from the run of direct-to-DVD thrillers, there’s nothing else about it that justifies a theatrical release; in fact, it’s the kind of slight thriller that plays better on late-night TV or home video, where its small virtues are a pleasant surprise rather than a letdown.”
- Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide

Awards & Nominations

Memory has not received any awards or nominations.

Personal Thoughts

Sandra: I don’t really have much of an opinion on Memory, to be honest. It’s not a good film, but it’s not particularly bad either. It’s just an okay story with good actors delivering solid performances, but not especially memorable on any level (if you’ll excuse the pun). Though it is a little sad to watch the late great Dennis Hopper in one of his last ever roles…

By contrast to the film, Tricia Helfer’s Stephanie is actually rather interesting. Not because she would be in any way unusual or would have anything interesting to say (she doesn’t), it’s just a great performance from Tricia ,that’s all. As Stephanie, Tricia is likeable, warm and somehow very “real” — it’s a character you could see existing in real life as well (well, if it weren’t for the story, anyway). And it’s not exactly very often we get to see Tricia with dark hair, either. I don’t know if I would go as far as recommending the film, but would definitely recommend her performance!

Below are some Memory-related links that may be of interest to you.

• Memory official site
• Memory TFL-approved fanlisting
• Memory TFL-approved Stephanie character fanlisting
• Memory on IMDb.com
• Memory on RottenTomatoes.com
• Memory on Wikipedia.org

• Bennett Davlin on IMDb.com
• Bennett Davlin on Wikipedia.org