Final Instinct

Scissors is a tense psychological thriller where a disturbed woman (Sharon Stone) is trapped in an apartment by an unseen intruder in an attempt to drive her crazy. This film relied heaveily on Stone's dramatic acting and honestly she created a very believable and sympathetic character. She had to carry this film by herself basically and she pulled it off well.

If a film could be rated just for ideas, then perhaps i would rate higher than a five. For me, the ratings are all about the overall entertainment value that watching a movie provides... and this film did provide some entertainment! It's definitely a thriller rather than a horror. And in some ways a very simplistic thriller at that. Every character has two dimensions, or sides to their personality. Angie is schizophrenic, there, simple, two sides to a personality. The man across the hall is possibly undecided about whether he wants Angie, or wants to get back with his ex. Another two sides! His ex and his twin brother (another two!) play one role in front of him, and another when with each other! Two's company to be sure! And the list goes on.

The possible calculations of all these two's, allow the movie to traverse its twists and turns without too much friction... it's a thriller, and we don't want to know "who done it?" till the end, right?? So we learn a little about Schizo-Angie's world, and very little it is at that, and then see her plunged into a carefully designed, even designer, nut-ball apartment of hell. And believe me, what goes on would be enough to send anyone schizo, let alone someone already suffering problems! The acting is passable... Stephen Railback does well playing both twin brothers, Ronny Cox plays the same character he always does... oooh, he can look mean when he wants to! And Sharon Stone has her usual moments of smouldering sexuality, determined beauty, and vulnerable perfection which make her performance and her 20-something virginal character acceptable! However, I did spot one rather interesting fish impression... I wonder if she's thought of developing that into a mermaid role or something!!

The complexity of the situation Angie finds herself in is what really makes the film. With thrillers, or horrors, we viewers do need to ask "just how will she get out of that!" And for this low key, low budget film, they certainly made sure we asked the question!

"And what was the point of the scissors?" you ask... well, scissors have points!!

Angie Anderson (Sharon Stone) gets attacked by a masked man in her apartment elevator. She stabs him with her scissors but he promises to return. She is helped by her neighbors identical twins Alex and Cole Morgan (Steve Railsback). She collects dolls and makes clothes. Psychiatrist Dr. Stephan Carter (Ronny Cox) treats her. She's 26 and sexually frigid. She becomes beset by paranoia and fear. Ann (Michelle Phillips) is the doctor's wife.

The music, the acting and the story is all trying to make an old overwrought sexual-psycho thriller horror. Sharon Stone is playing against type especially considering her later roles. She never fit this shy scared girl even when she was younger. It's really problematic. She is forced to overact. There is no good acting in this by anyone. The music gets kind of annoying which makes the horror thriller not scary at all. There are some weird nightmarish turns. However it comes off laughable to me. It's like the movie takes a detour into the Twilight Zone.

Before Sharon Stone hit big with Basic Instinct, she made Scissors - another thriller than gave her what was easily her best role at that time. In it, Stone plays a repressed 26 year old virgin who repairs broken dolls and sees a psychiatrist (Ronny Cox) who keeps trying to free her of her repressed childhood memories. Things take a bizarre turn when she's attacked in the elevator by a red headed man with a beard and she stabs him with a pair of scissors. He leaves, but not before taking her purse and keys. She begins living in fear that, one day, he'll return and finish the job.

Enter a kindly actor neighbor and his invalid creep of a brother who both take a liking to our heroine as her mental stability takes a turn. She's eventually called on to interview for a job at a fancy new loft and ends up locked in, further complicating her already fragile mental state.

There's a lot going on in Scissors and most of it doesn't need to be there. The entire subplot with the two brothers could have been dropped completely since the payoff isn't interesting enough to warrant its inclusion in the first place. Stone is good, especially when she finally starts losing her mind. The final twist is far fetched, but does make some sense in the grand scheme of things. It's just a shame that the movie spends so much time on characters and subplots that feel like they're from a different film entirely.

After a young woman (Sharon Stone) is attacked in the elevator she meets her neighbors for the first time. One of them has a secret, the other has a crush on her. Her analyst tries to help her over the attack, but when she is invited to a mysterious apartment things get worse and worse.

Not even Ronny Cox could save this film. While Cox is an incredible actor and an amazing presence, this film has a few too many annoying aspects and tends to run a bit long. Sure, there is some suspense, and you need time to build that suspense, but there is a line that divides suspense and boredom, and I think the director may have crossed that line.

There are things to like about the film (besides Cox). The quirky characters, the menacing music... much of the architecture even makes of a good background. I do not happen to be a big fan of Sharon Stone (although Netflix seems to think so, because it has suggested her films more than once now). Some say this is among her best roles. Maybe, I do not know. A good editor good fix this one up nicely.