Scared Stiff is the story of pop singer/former mental patient Mary Page Keller who, along with her son Josh Segal (don?t worry, I?ll get to him), move in with boyfriend/former doctor Andrew Stevens in his new house where, unbeknownst to them all, used to belong to a sadistic slave master who killed his slaves right
after they put a curse on him, leading him to turn even more monstrous and kill his wife and child. Well, sure enough, Keller starts seeing his ghost, as well as violent visions, roam the house, but Stevens thinks it?s her old mental problems acting up, causing a little bit of trouble in their relationship. Soon, the ghost slave master starts becoming more and more powerful, sending Keller and Segal through a maze of nightmarish images and amusing effects. First of all, Scared Stiff isn?t really all that scary. In fact, it?s a downright poor and pointlessly unrelated title for this movie. Secondly, the story is incredibly boring save for the last 15 minutes of this film, which goes all out with its special effects, corny as they may be since this was made in the 80?s, but fun nonetheless. Most of the characters are unlikable except for the comical black detective who manages to steal scenes that he was obviously only hired to be filler in. Now, let?s talk about this ?child actor? Josh Segal. While watching his performance, I had hoped for two things (and I?m fairly certain neither one is true): 1.) He is an autistic child bravely attempting to perform a major role in a film, or 2.) He is a BRILLIANT child actor attempting to play an autistic child. If neither of those is the case, then this kid deserves to have never had a successful career as an actor. Aside from the last 15 minutes of this movie (along with the unrealistic but beautifully grim ending), this movie is a bore.
September 21, 2009
