By Melissa Antoinette Garza
Marty Slash (Lee Arenberg) is a concert promoter hosting a show to save the Amazon. Iggy Pop performs and with his help, Slash raises a million dollars. Instead of putting the money where it should go, he decides to steal the cash. He takes all the money out of the bank unbeknownst to any of the performers.
All is going well, until he begins hearing his conscience (Sam Kinison) warning him not to go through with it. He does his best to ignore his inner voice despite how loud it is.
Just as he’s about to escape with the money, a sexy woman dressed in leather and with a black wig shows up. As the two are getting close the hottie reveals herself Ms. Kilbasser (Katey Sagal), his banker. She informs him that she’s aware of his plan and saw him withdraw all the money earlier in the day. He asks her what she wants and is shocked when she demands half of the money. His conscience pleads with him to call the police and to return the money. The more he ignores his inner voice the louder it becomes. Rather than listen to his conscience he kills Ms. Kilbasser and stuffs her in Donny Osmond’s drum case.
The police arrive to ask him to turn the music down and his conscience tries to demand that he confess about the money and the murder. He’s able to get the cop out of the room and remain silent, but the voice doesn’t stop. It drives him crazier and crazier to a point where he can’t deal with it anymore.
This isn’t scary at all. It’s definitely a re-imagination of Edgar Allen Poe’s A Tell Tale Heart. It isn’t the best retelling I’ve seen but it is quite unique. It’s most certainly entertaining, well thought-out, and enjoyable.
The acting is topnotch. The entire cast is great in their roles. I grew up watching Ms. Sagal on Married with Children and I’ve always loved the character of Peggy Bundy. Married with Children was such a groundbreaking, one-of-a-kind, hilarious sitcom. I really believe it was as significant as All in the Family, but never received the respect it deserved. The dysfunctional bunch were a pleasure to watch and I miss the show so much.
Sam Kinison did a great job as the inner voice. I always thought his death was one that was especially tragic since he had put his life together and had stopped abusing drugs and alcohol.
Lee Arenberg did great in the lead. He was over-the-top but the role demanded it and he was able to keep an element of realism to the character while acting insane.
Scared Stiff Rating: 7.5/10
