Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.5

Scared Stiff Blu-ray Movie Review

Ornithophobia?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 1, 2019

Scared Stiff seems to be one of those odd little horror films from the 1980s that has largely been left by the wayside for one reason or the other — to wit: if you go to star Mary Page Keller’s Wikipedia biography page and scroll down to her filmography, the link for a film which was indeed made in 1987 and which was also indeed named Scared Stiff points not to this particular outing, but instead to this (though to be fair, the IMDb has it listed under what was evidently its original title, Siu sang mung ging wan). (For those wanting a laugh or two, visit the IMDb release info page for this "wrong" Scared Stiff film and take a gander at some of its other alternate titles.) The reason why this film has tended to languish on the radar of even some devoted 80s horror fans may be due more to tone than content, for as Richard Friedman and Dan Bacaner kind of sheepishly admit in one of the very appealing interviews on this disc’s supplementary material featuring the pair is that they started out trying to make a deadly earnest ghost story, and ended up with something that some viewers have better appreciated as a parody. The film probably could have benefitted from a more ambiguous presentation of an issue at the core of the story: whether (to put it kind of cheekily) damsel in distress Kate Christopher (Mary Page Keller) is ready to be readmitted to a psych ward (where it’s revealed she’s spent some time previously), or is indeed seeing ghosts.

So — pigeons. In a way, a lot that doesn’t quite register all that well with regard to Scared Stiff might be summed up by rather unexpected item. In a plot conceit that is owes a general tip o’ the beak to The Birds, but is so unintentionally funny at times that it seems to be filtered through a sensibility somewhat similar to the appropriately avian entitled The Dove (De Düva), Scared Stiff posits menacing pigeons who are evidently supposed to augur something terrifying, though what exactly that is isn’t explicated very well. Instead, whole scenes are given over to the gentle, pleasant cooing sounds the birds make, all of which is supposedly meant to generate scares.

The “actual” plot of the film deals with Kate, a one time hitmaker (think Sheena Easton, to whom this role was evidently offered) who has struggled with some emotional problems, but who is trying to reignite her singing career. She still seems to be a good, nurturing mother to her little boy Jason (Josh Segal), but in a sign that she perhaps doesn’t always show good judgment, she’s fallen in love with her erstwhile therapist, David Young (Andrew Stevens), to the point that she’s about to move into a somewhat forlorn looking Southern Gothic mansion in the (fictional) city of Charlesburg. The fact that the film opens with a vignette set in Charlesburg in 1857 documenting the nefarious activities of slave trader George Masterston (David Ramsey) provides a bit of backstory for the mansion which of course plays into “current day” events. The fact that a slave trader is named Masterson in this piece, not to mention there’s another 1857 vignette on the Ivory Coast that interrupts the 1857 Charlesburg vignette, perhaps gives some clue as to a variety of other ailment afflicting this tale.

Suffice it to say that the mansion Kate, David and little Jason move into has some literal skeletons in the closet (and/or attic), and in a plot dynamic that is kind of weirdly reminiscent of a made for television movie I recently reviewed, The House That Would Not Die, spirits from the past “reach out and touch” various folks, including via apparitions, but perhaps more saliently, in the form of possession. It’s all kind of bizarrely handled, without much of a cogent narrative, leaving a number of unanswered questions, including what exactly the “monster” in this film (and there is a monster in this film) has to do with anything, or (perhaps somewhat further down the scale of relevance) why pigeons attack and kill a house painter.

Scared Stiff Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Scared Stiff is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the restoration: Scared Stiff has been exclusively restored by Arrow Films and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with mono audio. An original 35mm interpositive element was scanned in 2K resolution on a Lasergraphics Director at EFilm, Burbank. The film was graded on Digital Vision's Nucoda Film Master and restored at R3Store Studios in London. The mono mix was remastered from the original mag reels at Deluxe Audio Services.

All materials for this restoration were made available by MGM. This will be another major upgrade for fans who have only experienced this film in less fulsome previous home video releases (if I'm remembering correctly, I actually first saw this thing on a really shoddy looking VHS tape back in the veritable "Dark Ages"). The restoration gauntlet has removed any major signs of age related wear and tear, though the eagle eyed viewer will still catch some very minor instances of speckling and a few stray white flecks along the way. While densities are generally very good, there are some variances, and the palette seemed a trifle warm to me, especially in brighter scenes, where flesh tones could occasionally look a bit on the pink side. There are also a few moments where things become "chunkier" looking, with a very heavy grain field that can either slightly pixellate or look a little yellow (divorced from anything like optical dissolves), but generally speaking grain looks natural and resolves without any major issues. Detail levels are rather good throughout, including in some of the fun practical effects.

Scared Stiff Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Scared Stiff features a fine sounding LPCM Mono track that delivers the film's often goofy dialogue flawlessly, while also providing good support for a rather well done score by The Barber Brothers. A number of outdoor scenes offer good ambient environmental effects. Fidelity is problem free throughout this enjoyable presentation.

Scared Stiff Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Mansion of the Doomed: The Making of Scared Stiff (1080p; 33:48) is a really fun retrospective featuring a ton of enjoyable (and often funny) interviews.


• Interview with Composer Billy Barber (1080p; 6:32)


• Image Gallery (1080p; 6:00)


• Original Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 1:28)


• Audio Commentary with Richard Friedman and Don Bacaner also includes Robert Ehlinger moderating.

As usual, Arrow has also provided a nicely appointed insert booklet.

Scared Stiff Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The putative "unanswered questions" alluded to above, along with a host of other illogicalities, are perhaps elided by the film's final "reveal", which (maybe a minor spoiler alert) goes what might be called The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari route. The film has some unintentionally funny moments (my favorite is when a supposedly dead guy moves his eyes quite noticeably, but Keller's wild "eighties hair" is a close second), but the underlying plot dynamics, while rote, are interesting enough. I think the film would have worked much better if Kate's mental problems had been more overtly handled and woven into a fabric where the viewer wasn't quite certain what Kate was "seeing" was really happening or not (again, that final reveal tends to put a different spin on niggling critical qualms like this one). Fans of this film should certainly enjoy the technical presentation, and as usual Arrow has assembled some enjoyable supplements, for those considering a purchase.