The Two Stars Go To The Creature.
Added 6/7/2009
The title Scared To Death sounds more like a psychological thriller kind of deal, but make no mistake about it, this is a monster movie. And given the cool monster, it could have been a rather fun monster movie, but it's extraordinarily dull. I remember looking at the VHS box for this film as a kid. I was intrigued by the metallic, clawed, nasty looking beastie on the cover, but for some reason I always passed it by. Well, watching it recently, the film decided to punish my ass for all those years of neglect.
A wiseguy detective turned writer gets caught up in an investigation of mysterious deaths and disappearances. Turns out it's a monster living in the sewer! A Syngenor to be exact. In a tossed in back story we find out that a scientist was hellbent on creating a new life form, thus the Syngenor was created. It's a large, "Alien" looking beast that feeds on spinal fluid and emits cold air. Why a scientist would want to create such a dangerous thing is beyond me. But I guess if you're going to create a new life form for the sake of doing it, you might as well put some flair into it.
The monster is seen in bits throughout the film, and we don't get a good look at it(and only too briefly) until the end of the film. Normally this technique works well for me, but considering how boring the film was, I'd really have liked to see more of it considering it looks so cool. Also, the kills in this film are very weak. The Syngenor looks like it should be ripping people to pieces, but it slowly shuffles about and kills folks in an extremely unterrifying, bloodless manner. I certainly don't require gore galore, but at least make it interesting for crying out loud! Doesn't quite live up to the Scared To Death title, ya know? A wasted opportunity for a neat monster.
The film was directed by William Malone, who has blessed us with the crapfests, Feardotcom and the House On Haunted Hill remake. Taking that into consideration, I'm not terribly shocked that I didn't like this film. And that's too bad coz horror films from this time period are my bread and butter usually. I should have just left myself be content with that cool image on the VHS coverbox.
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Before Syngenor, there was...
Added 5/6/2009
...Scared to Death. Yes many people today do not know that the better known monster romp Syngenor (out now by Synapse films) is actually a sequel to this film made 9 years before in 1981.
The plot is simple. Scared to Death has a Syngenor creature on the loose in a city killing people. It's low budget yet entertaining in a B-movie way. Director William Malone (House on Haunted Hill, Feardotcom) does what he can with the story and his creature design (as he is also a gifted artist) is phenomenal for the budget. If enjoy watching obscure, B-movie romps from the 70's and 80's then you should find enjoyment in this.
Other than the awful new cover-art which makes looks like a modern direct-to-video/made-for-Sci Fi Channel drek (The world Syngenor was added to the cover to make a connection to it's sequel) , this DVD is tops. A nice 16x9 widescreen transfer and an interview with director William Malone.
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Pretty standard monster-on-the-loose shenanigans.
Added 4/6/2009
The debut feature for William Malone (the House on Haunted Hill, Parasomnia)is a moderately entertaining monster movie with one Hell of a creature. The syngenor is a memorable creation and it's about the only thing that stands out in a fairly slow paced horror movie.
Harkening back to the regional horror movies of the 60s and 70s, SCARED TO DEATH has a simple plot that is constantly interrupted by random fits of day players getting mauled by our resident toothy critter (Syngenor is definately in need of some upper dental work). The most ridiculous vignette here is a group of kids rollerskating in an abandoned warehouse (!!?).
It's too bad because there's a lot to like here. Malone's direction is rough and, at times, clumsy; however, he does manage some very atmospheric moments here and there. The script is weak in the knees, though the characters bring some life to the situation and there's some unintentional hilarity to be had.
The biggest error is giving our monster next to nothing to do, so much so that the movie has to grind to a hault so that it can randomly show up and do stuff. There aren't too many monster scenes that are necessary to the plot after the first fifteen minutes or so.
Retromedia's DVD is a mixed bag; the movie's transfer is sufficient and the packaging is nice, but the only extra is a pithy interview with director Malone. This is the only DVD for the movie in Region 1 (that's legal) and it makes a fun Saturday night viewing. Check it out.
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