Successful LA marketing analyst Michael Boll (James Spader) seemingly has it all-except a sense of self-confidence. Enigmatic drifter Alex (Rob Lowe) enters Michaels life and immediately begins to exert a negative influence. As Michaels self-esteem zooms (aided by generous dollops of sex and drugs) he allows himself to be dragooned into a life of crime by the demonic Alex. The doppelganger aspects of Bad Influence, and the films many unexpected twists and turns, echo films of Alfred Hitchcock, especially Strangers on a Train. The films boldest stroke is to cast the likeable Lowe as the bad guy (albeit a charming one) and the often villainous Spader as the malleable milquetoast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide