You might decide to press Stop after five minutes of Deadly Little Secrets. See, at that point, you will have endured an outrageously blatant ripoff of the opening credits of David Fincher's Seven. And I would encourage you to heed that desire to stop this film before it goes any further, because this is truly a derivative and forgettable piece of filmmaking.

Deadly Little Secrets is a needlessly complex little straight-to-video thriller, the kind of film that wants to be an intricately clever puzzle box but manages to be only a muddled, overreaching mess. It stars Dina Meyer (Starship Troopers) as Stephanie, a seemingly yuppie business type happily involved with Cole (Dylan Walsh), handsome but bland ex-cop. Turns out, both characters are harboring secrets, and when Stephanie's supposed sister, Kyra (Michelle Hicks), shows up, the sparks start to fly. And naturally, the "sisters" start kissing each other.

Mmmm, lesbian sisters.

But no, they're not really sisters, and we become aware that there's something sinister going on, involving the insidious syringe-wielding Dr. Gordon Childs (Craig Sheffer). For some reason, this guy is killing athletes. And by now, you're just laughing and feeling ashamed.

The film might have rescued itself from crappiness had it been more liberal with its nudity. (Come on, let's be honest about the audience for this type of film.) There are many, many opportunities for nudity in this movie, and practically none pay off. It's all a huge tease.

The disc offers a non-anamorphic presentation. If you can get past that, it actually looks pretty good. I stretched the image to fit my 65" screen and was pleased with the level of detail and the effectiveness of the colors. Of course, the lack of widescreen enhancement introduces a certain softness and a flat, grainy look, but I've seen quite a few enhanced presentations that look worse than this. The colors are especially nice, showcasing a saturated, primary-color palette. I did notice mild edge halos on occasion.

The Dolby Digital 2.0 track is surprisingly full, offering a good low end in its score and in its effects. Dialog is clear and deep. The techno songs, in particular, pack a wallop.

You get the film's Trailer.

If you're interested in the seemingly already-waning career of Dina Meyer, an actress who is above this nonsense, give this a rental.