Daphne Zuniga Movies

Actress Daphne Zuniga achieved nationwide fame through her weekly appearances on Fox's Melrose Place in 1994; despite her comparative unfamiliarity, she was certainly no overnight success. The daughter of a Guatemalan-born philosophy professor, Zuniga attended U.C.L.A. while her dad was teaching at California State. Stardom beckoned when she was cast as John Cusack's recalcitrant traveling companion in The Sure Thing (1985). For reasons that defy explanation, this engaging performance did not immediately elevate her to the top ranks, and Zuniga would have to mark time in unmemorable films like Last Rites (1988) and Prey of the Chameleon (1991) before Melrose Place secured her popularity. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
1975  
 
This traditional fairy tale, as told by Pyotr Yershov in his 1834 book, was first animated in 1947 in Russian by director Ivan Ivanov-Vano, and was remade by the same director in 1976. Ivanov-Vano was a distinguished artist and animator who was 76 at the time this film was released. It tells of the adventures that befall a wily, honest peasant boy who, after capturing a flying horse, is given three horses and a set of instructions by the flying steed. The first two horses are beautiful and are his to sell or give away, and the last, a tiny pony, he must keep. Following these instructions, and others he receives from the little pony, the boy becomes a prince and marries a beautiful princess after bringing about the death of an evil old Tsar. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Rob LoweHector Elizondo, (more)
1982  
R  
Add The Dorm That Dripped Blood to QueueAdd The Dorm That Dripped Blood to top of Queue
This derivative slasher clone is at least clever enough to lift its basic premise from one of the earliest slasher films on record, Black Christmas, setting the mayhem during a nearly-abandoned dormitory just prior to Christmas break. The few students who remain to clean up the grounds are quickly set upon by a faceless killer with everything from a drill to a pressure cooker, thus preventing the audience from having to endure the standard slasher character stereotypes (virginal heroine, class clown, reclusive weirdo, etc.) any longer than necessary. Painfully obvious red herrings abound, and the silly "twist" ending will probably leave viewers wondering if they missed the set-up. Look for Daphne Zuniga (making a less-than-memorable film debut) as a quickly-dispatched victim. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Laurie LapinskiStephen Sachs, (more)
1983  
 
This fact-based youth-oriented drama chronicles the courage and determination of a teenage girl who stands tall in the face of sexist traditionalism and fights for her right to play on the varsity football team. Not only does she succeed, she also manages to become the homecoming queen. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Helen HuntDon Murray, (more)
1984  
R  
The appealing Daphne Zuniga makes her inauspicious debut in this dreary slasher film as a pampered freshman sorority pledge haunted by memory lapses and bizarre, violent dreams involving her parents (Clu Gulager and Vera Miles). Despite some progress in dream-research, her condition becomes dangerously unstable during a Hell Week initiation stunt -- held after hours in her father's shopping mall -- further abetted by the discovery that a psychopathic killer has escaped from the local asylum. It's no surprise to learn where said killer turns up next, nor is it much of a challenge determining the killer's identity (a clue: Zuniga's nightmares are actually repressed memories). The cast is summarily whittled down, courtesy of several sharp implements looted from various sporting goods and gardening departments, leaving the filmmakers to tie the loose ends together for the ridiculously contrived climax. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Vera MilesClu Gulager, (more)
1985  
 
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The ads for The Stone Pillow tended to suggest that this TV movie was Lucille Ball's dramatic debut--completely ignoring the fact that Ball had started out as a "straight" actress in the 1930s who only occasionally played comedy until I Love Lucy came along. Whatever the case, the Ball we see in Stone Pillow is a cranky bag lady, fiercely independent and violently resistant to do-gooders who try to alter her homeless status. Daphne Zuniga plays an idealistic social worker who tries to get Ball off the streets. It is only after watching several of her fellow indigents die where they sleep that Ball agrees to give up her "stone pillow." Though meant to be intensely dramatic, The Stone Pillow looks more like an elongated I Love Lucy sketch in which Ball dresses up like a tramp in order to meet Red Skelton (or somebody). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1985  
PG13  
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Director Rob Reiner's The Sure Thing is essentially It Happened One Night for the 1980s, but its lack of surprise in no way impedes its entertainment value. John Cusack plays Walter "Gib" Gibson, a self-involved college freshman who makes plans to head to California, there to touch base (and a few other things) with a "sure thing" played by Nicollette Sheridan. Likewise planning a westward journey is coed Alison Bradbury (Daphne Zuniga), a control freak who has a wealthy, stuffy fiancé over there. Gib and Alison despise one another on sight -- so naturally, they are compelled to travel to California together. The fact that everyone in the audience knows precisely how this one will end up is inconsequential; Cusack and Zuniga deliver such engaging performances that we're pulling for them to wise up and discover one another from the very first scene. One of the best bits: the mismatched couple being bombarded with an ear-piercing rendition of "The Age of Aquarius" by their dippy traveling companions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
John CusackDaphne Zuniga, (more)
1985  
R  
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According to high school wrestler Matthew Modine, a spiritual "Vision Quest" is necessary for him to decide his future. Thus, Modine starts behaving in a manner that amazes even himself. The crowning achievement of Modine's new outlook on life is his romance with 21-year-old artist Linda Fiorentino. Somehow, all of this boils down to the standard "underdog makes good at crucial sports event" finale. Essentially Rocky and Breaking Away redux, Vision Quest is saved by the spirited performances of its young protagonists. Of historical value is the brief appearance by Madonna, whose voice is heard throughout on the film's music track. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Matthew ModineLinda Fiorentino, (more)
1986  
PG13  
This is teen drama concerns three friends, Margo (Daphne Zuniga), Kelly (Virginia Madsen), and Cece (Cynthia Gibb) whose only pursuit in life is men. The three young women go out to night spots to see what action they can pick up, and one evening Kelly's discarded date Clifford (Clayton Rohner) is conned into driving Margo and Cece to their favorite clubs. Meanwhile, Kelly is close to getting herself into serious trouble. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Daphne ZunigaVirginia Madsen, (more)
1987  
PG  
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A space bum helps rescue a princess from an evil overlord with the help of a benevolent elder in this Star Wars send-up written and directed by Mel Brooks. Lone Starr (Bill Pullman) and his half-man, half-dog co-pilot, Barf the Mawg (John Candy), are content to scour the galaxy living the easy life. But they reluctantly come to the rescue when Druish Princess Vespa (Daphne Zuniga) is threatened by the evil Lord Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis), who wants to steal all of the air from her planet, Druidia. Trapped on a harsh desert world with Vespa and her robot chaperone, Dot Matrix (voice of Joan Rivers), Lone Starr and Barf are helpless to prevent Helmet from kidnapping the girl. But assistance arrives in the form of Yogurt (Brooks), a wizard who turns Lone Starr on to a mysterious power known as The Schwartz. Catching up with Helmet just as he's transforming his spaceship into a giant vacuum cleaner in orbit around Druidia, the reluctant heroes stage a dramatic showdown. Although it borrows most of its plot from the Star Wars series, Spaceballs also pokes fun at Star Trek, Snow White, and Planet of the Apes -- as well as the entire videocassette and movie marketing industries. The large supporting cast includes Dick Van Patten, Jim J. Bullock, and the voice of Dom DeLuise. John Hurt makes a cameo in a parody of the exploding chest scene he played in Alien. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Mel BrooksJohn Candy, (more)
1988  
R  
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In Last Rites a serious thriller on a sensational topic, a priest falls in love with a woman he is protecting. Father Michael (Tom Berenger), a priest with family ties to the mob, helps a woman on the run. Angela (Daphne Zuniga) is the mistress of a murdered Mafia Don, now being hunted by hitmen hired by the Don's infuriated wife. As Father Michael realizes he is falling in love, both his faith and his vows are severely tested. Directed with restraint and respect for the subject matter by Donald Bellisario, the film still caused controversy and was criticized because of love scenes between the priest and the woman. Despite this criticism and despite the fact that the film is somewhat slow and predictable, Last Rites has fine performances by its cast and is an entertaining thriller. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Tom BerengerDaphne Zuniga, (more)
1989  
PG13  
Add Gross Anatomy to QueueAdd Gross Anatomy to top of Queue
Gross Anatomy is to medical school what Paper Chase was to law school, with perhaps a little less sobriety. Mathew Modine plays a blue-collar kid attending a posh school of medicine, where everyone--teacher and student alike--seems to be well above Modine's social strata. Perhaps as a reaction to the snobbery all around him, Modine behaves as irreverently as possible. Neither teacher Christine Lahti nor lab partner Daphne Zuniga finds Modine's what-the-hell act appealing, but both are fully aware that he is a talented young man with a brilliant future. The climax of the film lays it on pretty thick in defining Modine as an all-around good fellow despite his cheekiness (he even delivers a baby just before taking his finals!), but Gross Anatomy strives successfully to be a "feel good" movie--albeit brought ever so slightly down to earth by the death of one of the principal characters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Matthew ModineDaphne Zuniga, (more)
1989  
R  
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After winning an Academy Award for their documentary Down and Out in America (1986), actress-director Lee Grant and her producer-husband Joseph Feury filmed this comedy-drama based on an original script by playwright Monte Merrick. In a small Southern town, the McDermott family has owned and operated a popular chicken restaurant for years. Each of the three McDermott boys, Brian (Tim Quill), Kit (Dermot Mulroney), and Duncan (Sean Astin) expects to inherit part of the business from their father (Jim Haynie). While enjoying liberal amounts of skirt-chasing, marijuana-smoking, and alcohol consumption in their off hours, the McDermotts have big plans for the place, but then dad drops a bombshell -- he's sold the restaurant without consulting his family, leaving each son to struggle with his newfound, unwanted independence. In the meantime, mom (Melinda Dillon) considers reuniting with her old band. Because of the bankruptcy of its producer, Hemdale Film Corporation, Staying Together (1989) was shelved for over a year before its release. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Sean AstinStockard Channing, (more)
1989  
R  
Chris Walas, the makeup and animatronics director on David Cronenberg's remake of The Fly, takes a stab at directorial duties in this sequel. Before Seth Brundle morphed into scrap metal in the original The Fly, he managed to leave behind the seed of his legacy, and at the start of The Fly 2 his son, Martin (Eric Stoltz), has suffered an accelerated growth, thanks to his fly genes. Although played by Stoltz, Martin is supposed to be only five human years old, and unaware of his imminent transformation into a fly. All his life, Martin has been confined to a laboratory at Bartok Industries, where evil CEO Bartok (Lee Richardson) plans to breed a new race of super flies. Martin spends his days working in the lab experimenting with teleportation. But then Martin meets Beth (Daphne Zuniga), an attractive researcher. Martin is attracted to her, but not only do his hormones kick in, so do his fly genes. Soon, Martin begins to transform into a bug just like his father. Desperate to stop his transformation, he wreaks revenge upon Bartok while trying the find a mate with which to swap his unwanted fly genes before it's too late. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Eric StoltzDaphne Zuniga, (more)
1990  
 
This film first debuted as an episode of the television anthology Shelley Duvall's Nightmare Classics. Based on a story by Ambrose Bierce, it tells of how the spirit of a wild panther continually plagues a young woman (Daphne Zuniga). ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide

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1991  
 
In this grim and violent made-for-cable television thriller, a murderous female escapes from a mental hospital and begins a killing spree that baffles the FBI because she is a mistress of disguises and is able to take on the identities of each of her victims. Fortunately, a female cop has the right stuff to stop her. She had better hurry because her FBI-agent boyfriend may be next on the killer's list. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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1992  
R  
Director Martin Donovan (real name Carlos Enrique Varela y Peralta-Ramos) directed this beautifully photographed western/horror amalgam. The story takes places in the American West in 1892. Jenny Hill (Mary Stuart Masterson) longs for the love of the local rough-and-tumble outlaw James Miller (Stephen Blake), who is also in love with her. But Jenny's mother (Fionnula Flanagan) doesn't approve, and instead marries Jenny off to James's half-brother Miller Brown (Hart Bochner), a polite and inarticulate farmer. Miller is in love with Jenny, but she can't stand his touch. Jenny begins to lapse into boredom until the full moon rises and she discovers Miller is a werewolf who spends his nights growling and baying at the moon, while Jenny remains locked inside their cabin. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Mary Stuart MastersonHart Bochner, (more)
1992  
 
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A nighttime soap opera about the lives, careers, trials and tribulations of a group of young people living in an apartment building in the trendy neighborhood of Melrose Place. The show was a spin off of Beverly Hills 90210 and starred Heather Locklear as the scheming Amanda Woodward, head of her own advertising agency and owner of the apartment building.

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1993  
 
In this jungle adventure, based on a Jules Verne novel, Spunky Minha, was born and raised in the Amazon jungle on her father's hemp plantation. After she agrees to marry Dr. Manuel Valdez, they decide to hold the wedding in Brazil so his sickly mother can be there. Unfortunately, the girl's father hestitates to make the long, dangerous journey downstream because years before he was convicted for a crime and was sentenced to die. Though innocent, he does not want to face Brazilian justice and so changed his name and created his own jungle world on the plantation. Despite all this, he decides he will be there at the wedding. They set off on a great raft and during the journey face many dangers including deadly natives, snakes, piranhas, gators, fierce storms and a greedy bounty hunter who wants to blackmail Juan. The extortionist knows that Juan is innocent and carries with him proof, but this does not stop him from demanding that Juan pay him a fortune and hand over his lovely daughter. When Juan refuses, the bounty hunter makes good his threat, leaving his daughter and the doctor to somehow prove her father's innocence. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Daphne ZunigaBarry Bostwick, (more)
1993  
 
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There's a lot happening during the 31-episode 1993-94 season of Melrose Place, the sexy, steamy, outrageous, and slightly-more-grown-up spin-off of Beverly Hills, 90210. Heather Locklear (as Amanda Woodward) -- a late-first-season, ratings-boosting addition to the cast -- fully becomes the show's star this season as she purchases the titular apartment complex, takes over the D&D advertising agency, and sets her sights on Jake Hanson (Grant Show). Philandering doctor Michael Mancini (Thomas Calabro) has an affair with Dr. Kimberly Shaw (Marcia Cross, later of Desperate Housewives), divorces Jane Andrews (Josie Bissett), and then takes up with Sydney (Laura Leighton). Billy Campbell (Andrew Shue) still pines for Alison Parker (Courtney Thorne-Smith), whom he jilted for a fling with Amanda -- their boss -- in Season 1. But, this being Melrose Place, that's just the start of it: Jake breaks up with Jo Reynolds (Daphne Zuniga); Michael becomes paralyzed; Kimberly slips into a coma; Sydney becomes a prostitute; and the other soapy twists that were to be the show's trademark come fast and frisky. Features on this set include select audio commentaries by series creator Darren Star and featurettes such as: "Melrose Place - Meet the Neighbors," in which viewers get the inside scoop on favorite characters; a highlight- and lowlight-filled "Melrose Place - The Best of the Worst"; and an overview of the characters' tangled webs, "Melrose Place: Complex Relationships."

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1994  
 
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One of the definitive, landmark shows of the 1990s, "90210" quickly became an important fixture on the FOX and in the popular discourse of adolescents and young adults. The third season's main characters, Dylan, Kelly, Donna, Steve, David, Andrea and twins Brandon and Brenda all attended West Beverly Hills High School. Brandon and Brenda Walsh and their parents, transplants from Minneapolis were the stable nuclear family with strong values; their home was a safe haven for the whole gang and the center of much of the drama. The show dealt with a steady stream of love triangles and other romantic entanglements and occasionally touched on more serious issues as well.

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1995  
 
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Popular mystery writer Richard North Patterson found two of his potboilers, Eyes of a Child and Degree of Guilt, turned into a four-part miniseries for NBC with this star-studded opus. Degree of Guilt stars Daphne Zuniga as Terri, a young wife and mother trapped in an abusive marriage to Ritchie (Vincent Ventresca) in the San Francisco Bay area. With Ritchie sleeping around on her and burning through the family's savings, Terri turns to the sheltering arms of Patterson's recurring attorney-hero Christopher Paget (David James Elliott), much to her mother Rosa's (Tricia O'Neil) dismay. Torn between two men, Terri moves back in, child in tow, with the scolding Rosa. But when Ritchie turns up dead, it's up to Christopher to get his love off the hook. Degree of Guilt also stars Sharon Lawrence as an icy femme fatale whom Christopher is called upon to represent. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Daphne ZunigaVincent Ventresca, (more)
1996  
PG13  
In this suspenseful drama, a commercial jet filled with passengers becomes a potential agent for widespread death after it is discovered that terrorists have loaded it with a deadly virus. While government officials wrestle with ways of handling the situation and try to avoid the most logical solution -- destroying the plane to save more lives -- the pilot contends with a dangerously low fuel supply. No airport in Europe will allow him to land, and he is too far from the U.S. to return home. At the same time, the passengers grow increasingly restless. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Richard Dean AndersonJane Leeves, (more)
1997  
 
The actress Peg Entwistle (aka Lillian Millicent Entwistle) appeared as Hazel in David O. Selznick's Thirteen Women (1932), and tragically, on September 18, 1932, she leaped from the letter "H" of the Hollywood sign. An opening re-creation of Peg Entwistle's fatal plunge establishes the mood for this dark Hollywood drama, and then the action moves to a bar, operated by Jack (Costas Mandylor). The bar is the haven for a group of aspiring actresses who came in search of the Hollywood dream but instead serve as stand-ins for well-known screen stars. After three days on pills and alcohol, Garbo stand-in Shirley (Daphne Zuniga) has a run-in with mean-spirited Bette Davis-double Monica (Jordan Ladd). The stand-ins assemble at Jack's bar to stage a bitchy birthday party for Jean Harlow-look-alike Martha Anne (Sammi Davis), dysfunctional at age 30. Mae West-stand-in Peggy (Charlotte Chatton) and Dietrich-double Rhonda (Missy Crider) are also on hand for the festivities. The screenplay by Ed Kelleher and director Harvey Keith expands and embellishes Kelleher's one-act play. Shown at the 1997 Hamptons Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Daphne ZunigaCostas Mandylor, (more)
1998  
 
Burned-out, boozing crime novelist Bruce Simon Barker (John Ritter) emerges from his doldrums long enough to involve himself in a bizarre missing-persons case. At the urging of his police inspector sister (Samantha Eggar), Bruce investigates the disappearance of a baby. There have been no ransom demands, the baby's parents are (to put it mildly) dysfunctional, and the father of the child is cheating on his wife with her sister. At first, Barker figures that these sordid real-life intrigues might serve as inspiration for another of his crime novels, but the deeper he becomes enmeshed in the situation, the more he realizes that there is much, much more to the case than meets the eye. Meanwhuile, Barker must wrestle with the disintegration of his own marriage and the alienation of his daughter. Daphne Zuniga, Michelle Scarabelli and Roddy McDowell deliver standout performances as the sister-in-law, the baby's mother, and the family's shady attorney. Produced for Canadian TV under the title Loss of Faith, this film has since been shown on America's Lifetime network as The Truth About Lying. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
John RitterMichele Scarabelli, (more)

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