O Enigma do Passado

I first saw "Scissors" some ten years ago, and I had kept some memories of it when I saw it again on tv. It fulfilled my expectations, as I remembered it as rather interesting, though somewhat far-fetched.

Several reviewers have wondered about the necessity of showing Sharon Stone's beautiful bare breasts. I think it signifies that, though she reacts frigidly to men's advances, her sexuality is nevertheless present and no longer repressed when she is alone. Most writers rightly stress the excellency of the impersonation of Sharon Stone, on her (delayed)way to stardom. However I should like to point out that Steve Railsback, a very underrated actor, is quite remarkable too in the dual role of the neighboring twins. I think the film is worth a 8.

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.

This film was made in 1991, and it is sort of odd. Sharon Stone however, looks great (she is more understated, young and fresh). Steve Railsback ("Helter Skelter", and the more recent "Ed Gein") is strange and menacing.

The film itself has some odd cinematography and sets, including the apartment where Stone is abducted. Sort of a cold, Los Angeles modern look to it. It was marketed as suspense/horror. Probably more suspense/mystery.

Ronny Cox as Stone's psychotherapist and Michelle Phillips as his politician wife, so there is a message somewhere lost in the script. It is not the worst, and Stone looks beautiful, so it's worth a shot. 6/10

The real masterpiece by Frank De Felitta is the excellent 1981 Telefilm 'DARK NIGHT OF THE SCARECROW' which next to the brilliant 1988 'SCARECROWS' is probably the 2nd best Killer Scarecrow movie of all time (you can see my review of that film here too if you wish)

But, back to this one... I'm glad he wrote and directed this movie, because in lesser hands it really would likely have been pretty lame. But, thanks to his engaging and creepy style, although somewhat flawed, it is a fun and entertaining film to some degree.

In my lowly and wretched opinion, I thought Sharon Stone's performance was not really that great. I was quite surprised since she went on to become so famous that her acting in this one was pretty weak. However, I thought everyone else did a great job with their roles, especially Railsback and of course the always great Ronny Cox.

As I do in all my reviews, I'm not going to waste your time going over the somewhat complicated plot, since just about every other reviewer almost always goes all through that. But, as I always try to do with my reviews is simply give you my opinion as to whether I felt the movie was well done and/or entertaining.

So, what carries this film the most I feel is the style and mood, a truly disjointed and Surreal tone which greatly adds to the atmosphere of this kind of Psychological Thriller. And, of course like I mentioned whatever directorial flourishes that Felitta brought to the story.

If you can tolerate Sharon Stone's rather overdone performance (yes, I Know she is supposed to be somewhat unbalanced, but I just didn't personally really buy her rendition of it) the actual story, the performances of the other excellent actors, and especially the offbeat, Surreal touches do give this movie a nice off kilter vibe which lends itself to being a moderately entertaining Psychological Thriller. I gave it a solid '6'

I personally think that with a little better writing and a lot better performance by Sharon Stone, this could easily have been a strong '7'...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My Particular Way of Rating:

5 - Flawed, but perhaps with a little entertainment value here and there for some.

6. A decently passable story maybe worth a watch.

7. A solid film, well made, effective, and entertaining.

And, obviously, you can probably figure out what above and below these would mean... : )

There are so many things that make no sense and plot points that are completely meaningless. The main supporting actor, Steve Railsback plays twins, but neither of those characters story arcs play a factor in the main storyline or the climax of the film. The acting is so over the top you'd think someone told Sharon Stone this was a comedy. Almost no situation put on screen in this film makes any logical sense. There's a bird in the film and you can see the string attached to its leg that the handler is using to control it. This is definitely a so bad it's good movie, but be warned the score may be the worst I've ever heard and it's bad in a bad way and the movie is at least 15 minutes too long, so even the "good" parts can drag and get tedious at times.