Scared Stiff

Director– Richard Friedman

Cast – Andrew Stevens, Mary Page Keller

Country of Origin – USA

Distributor - Arrow Video

Number of discs – 1

Reviewed by - Scott MacDonald

Date- 4/26/2019

    Scared Stiff opens in the 1800's with a slave trader being cursed by the slaves he bought and sold.  The film then cuts to the 1980's where a psychiatrist named David (Andrew Stevens) and his pop singer girlfriend Kate (Mary Page Keller) move into the slave trader's colonial style mansion with Kate's son. Unfortunately, the house was as cursed as the man, and things begin to go bad quite quickly for the 3.

    Scared Stiff is an interesting, but not always successful attempt at mixing supernatural horror into the slasher.  The film is light on scares, but is mostly interesting with the occasional odd moments through the first 2/3's of the film. Though this section of the film also has parts that really drag down the pacing. However, once the third act arrives, the goop hits the fan, and horror fans are treated to an incredible display, of blood, violence, and weird creatures as the possessed David begins stalking anyone who gets in his way.

    The Blu-ray from Arrow Video continues their tradition of rescuing cult obscurities and giving them a beautiful new lease on life. The film is presented with a 1080p AVC encoded transfer in a 1:85:1 aspect ratio. The image here looks crisp, clean, and well detailed. Colors are well represented and the film has solid film like textures, though it does that inherent 80's film look that has a certain blandness about it.

    The audio is handled by a DTS-HD Mono track in English, which sounds crisp, clean and suits the film well. Extras include a commentary with Richard Friedman, Dan Bacaner, and Robert Ehlinger.  There is a making of documentary  that includes members of the cast and crew. There is also an interview with composer Billy Barber, a gallery, and a trailer.  The package and restoration are excellent, the film is mostly entertaining. Arrow Video's Blu-ray of Scared Stiff is definitely RECOMMENDED.