By Melissa Antoinette Garza
Ulric (Joe Pantoliano) is a homeless man struggling on the streets when Dr. Emil Manfred (Gustav Vintas) offers him money to partake in a medical experiment.
He agrees and the mad scientist implants a group of cells from a cat into him. This special surgery gives Ulric 9 lives. Manfred tells Ulric there is money to be made with his new gift and the duo meet up with Barker (Robert Wuhl), who owns a carnival. The men make a deal where Ulric becomes a sideshow performer. He dies in front of the audience and then is resurrected in front of them.
The gimmick works and the audience feed into the show all vying for the opportunity to be the one to kill him. Things go mildly wrong as there are times it takes him awhile to come back to life. At one point, he ends up at the morgue and the morticians prepare to embalm him, but he is at the last minute saved by the carnies.
As his lives dwindle down, he decides to do a huge show for his last event. He blackmails Barker into giving him 100% of the profits.
Of course, there’s a twist which is really pretty cool. Though, it’s predictable, it’s still a fitting conclusion that makes for a fun watch.
The acting is great and the story is interesting and entertaining.
Scared Stiff Rating: 7/10
