Scared Stiff Blu-ray

Before bloodily unleashing the gallopingly gruesome, bone saw-slashing SPFX gross-out ‘Doom Asylum’, director Richard Friedman fearfully formulated his visually gut-punching, reality-spinning, ‘Scared Stiff’ aka ‘The Masterson Curse’ (1986) which breathed newly fetid life into the historical horror staple of ancient, Hoodoo-voodoo-bug-a-boo curse which benightedly befalls the unaware young couple who have only just recently moved into a rather grand 19th century property whose musty, boarded-up secret room comes fully furnished with its very own en-suite, 24/7 hyper-actively hallucinatory haunting! Not long after handsome Dr. David Young (Andrew Stevens), pretty pop star Kate Christopher (Mary Page Keller) and her young son Jason (Josh Segal) have moved into their new home when the macabre discoveries unveiled within the cob-webbed attic begin to greatly disturb the rather sensitive nature of singer Kate and before long she appears adamant that these openly threatening, music-spawned manifestations of an ancient evil originated from a demonstrably more twisted source than her over fertile imagination! This enjoyably creaky yarn owes much to the lurid Amicus portmanteau shockers of the 70s, and by adding some suitably grisly grist from vintage E.C Comics ‘Tales from the Crypt’ , ‘Scared Stiff’ appears to be sliced n’ diced from the very same mouldering celluloid as similarly gooey fare from vintage horror’s more theatrical past. The plot adheres to an enjoyably pulpy Gothic formula, whereby a great and grievous misfortune shall befall any poor souls that deign to find solace in the malefic Masterson house, all its inhabitants fated to be relentlessly assailed by psychedelic, supernaturally inclined monstrosities, imagined no less heinously than those described by Poe or Lovecraft! ‘Scared Stiff’ is far from being an 80s anachronism, seen today, Friedman’s strongly themed, roller-coaster rapid descent into mind-tripping, spook-raddled delirium has much to recommend it, our two photogenic protagonists gruesomely overwhelmed by this pitilessly malevolent maelstrom of black magic madness is given fearsome verisimilitude with the engagingly off-kilter, brain-boggling kaleidoscope of vividly eye-stalking, glass ceiling-crashing, sensationally special FX make-up by Tyler K. Smith, ‘Scared Stiff’ is guaranteed to give fear fans a fright to remember!