This film does not make sense on so many points, starting with it being titled Scared to Death despite the fact that no one in it is scared to death, or even mentions the possibility of such. Here are just a few of the baffling questions Scared to Death raises and never answers:
1. At the beginning of the film, an investigator says he can't precisely determine the victim's time of death because it was unnaturally cold in the room when she was murdered. We're never told how the investigator could tell this, and the issue of coldness never comes up again.
2. Why do the police answer Shelly's phone call and then almost immediately hang up? Not even a "Is anyone there?".
3. Why does Sherry go to Jennifer with her information on the killings? The two don't know each other, so we're left to speculate that Jennifer is some sort of specialist, but her profession is never revealed.
4. If the creature's method of killing makes it look like an epileptic fit or a brain tumor, how were so many victims identified as murder cases?
5. Even the scientist who created the Syngenor said it is so dangerous that he would have to kill it before it reached maturity. So... why create it? The filmmakers seems to have been banking on audiences thinking that genetic engineering produces completely random results.
The main problem with Scared to Death, though, is that it is overly reliant on jump scares. Over and over, we watch as a character slowly wanders alone through a dimly lit, dank location until the soundtrack spikes, and the monster pops up in your face before killing the character in gratuitously gory fashion. The director seemingly never tires of this formula, and only towards the end does he aspire to make the viewer actually afraid rather than just jumpy.
On top of the many pointless gory death scenes, we get no less than three scenes where the detective in charge of the investigation (Lou) pleads with his ex-partner (Ted) to help him out, and he refuses (we never learn why). The film spends so much time on scenes that go nowhere that there's hardly any time to establish a plot, which is just as well, since what plot there is is pretty thin.
There is a passable romance sub-plot, with decent performances by both actors, but it never serves a purpose in the overall story other than to give Ted a motivation to kick genetically engineered monster butt (because apparently his best friend pleading for his help wasn't enough).
Still, I can't say that the sole enjoyment I got out of this film was being able to laugh at it. The musical score is strong and effective at creating mood, the monster design is fairly cool, and the cast are all consistently likable, even in those moments where the acting is unconvincing. The budget is noticeably low, but the cinematography is good, and there's an obvious love for variety of sets. There's also an overall sense of fun, even if it misses that mark as often as it hits it.
Scared for Death screams for faster pacing and more depth, even by the standards of the monster movie genre, and can't be recommended when there are so many superior films in the same vein. But if you have some particular reason for wanting to watch it, and set your standards low, my expectation is that you will enjoy it.
