|
|
Kate (Mary Page Keller), a singer recovering from a nervous breakdown,
moves into a new home with her new boyfriend and former psychiatrist David
(Andrew Stevens) and her son from a previous relationship Jason (Josh
Segal), and at first things couldn't go better. Sure, a handiman dies
while fixing the roof, but that isn't noticed by anybody and his body's
never found, so apart from a slightly rotten smell in Jason's room that's
no bother. But then Kate and David discover the secret of the place, that
it has once been owned by cruel slave owner George Masterson (David
Ramsey), who was so evil in fact that his own wife Elizabeth (Nicole
Fortier) helped his slaves to perform some wicked voodoo on him. Of
course, this was more than a century ago, but the more Kate reads in
Masterson's journal, the more she's haunted by visions of him, and the
mere fact that some human bones are found in the house's attic (probably
from Masterson's time) make these visions all the more vivid. David does
his best to calm her down, but psychiatrist that he is, his professional
opinion soon is she's having a relapse. He already wants to re-admit her
to the asylum he has first met her at when ... he has a weird change of
heart, and it's at his next confrontation with Kate we begin to realize
why: He's possessed by George Masterson, and he's out to kill Kate and
Jason. And when the two of them try to escape, they are caught in a weird
labyrinth that's even going back in time to Masterson's era, and their
only hope is to combine a broken stone amulet to make the horror disappear
- that's easier said than done though when they have no idea where or when
they are ... Now I won't lie to you, Scared Stiff is not
the best horror movie ever made - but if you're a fan of 80s horror, it's
at the same time a definite must-see as it ticks all the right boxes, from
a slightly over-the-top yet simplistic horror plot via properly ghastly
practical effects to gruesome rubber creature masks and a finale that is
quite non-sensical but at the same time highly effective. And while it
might be true that it helps to shut off one's brain at least occasionally
during this one, it's also true that the film is lots and lots of fun for
just what it is - and that's a great trip down memory lane!
|
|
|