Chiller

1985 "Frozen for 10 Years... He Returns To The Living Without His Soul"
Chiller
4.5| 1h40m| en| More Info
Released: 22 May 1985 Released
Producted By: CBS Productions
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

A wealthy industrialist arranges for his body to be kept on ice in a high-tech cryonic chamber. When the instructions are not followed properly, he emerges from the frozen crypt as an empty, soulless creature with an appetite for destruction.

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Lee Eisenberg One of Wes Craven's lesser known movies focuses on a cryogenically frozen man who gets brought back to life...but isn't exactly the same person. One might interpret "Chiller" as a look at the corporate world. This individual who previously was just like any ordinary person is suddenly an unfeeling, ruthless jerk. Isn't that the stereotype of the sort of people who crashed the economy a few years ago? It's not any kind of masterpiece but passable. As the unfrozen man, Michael Beck looks like Vigo in "Ghostbusters 2". I guess that the point is the same as in countless horror movies: we humans shouldn't try to play god. The rest of the cast includes Beatrice Straight ("Network" and "Poltergeist") and Paul Sorvino ("Goodfellas").So, to riff on Princess Elsa, does the cold bother you anyway?
Woodyanders Corporate executive Miles Creighton (a superbly unnerving performance by Michael Beck) gets revived after being cryogenically frozen for ten years. He comes back as a cold, amoral, unfeeling automaton who's only concerned about satisfying his own urges. He proves to be a ruthlessly cut-throat businessman and even develops incestuous longings for his sweet, comely, frightened cousin Stacey (winningly played by the always pretty and perky Jill Schoelen). Director Wes Craven, working from an interesting and provocative script by J. D. Feigelson, does an expert job of creating and sustaining a creepy and unsettling atmosphere. The solid and credible acting from a fine cast constitutes as another substantial asset: Beatrice Straight as Miles' loving, but scared mother, Paul Sorvino as a concerned priest, Dick O'Neill as Miles' loyal business partner, Laura Johnson as an ambitious advertising executive, Anne Seymour as Sorvino's elderly friend Ms. Bunch, and Alan Fudge and Craig Richard Nelson as honest, dedicated surgeons.Stan Winston's excellent make-up f/x, Frank Thackery's slick cinematography, Dana Kaproff's spooky'n'shivery synthesizer score, and a pertinent central message about how being truly human requires having a soul are all up to speed as well. A genuinely eerie and on the money effective made-for-TV horror movie.
jed-estes What was Wes thinking making this dribble? It does not jive well with any of his other work but then again he seemed to fall into a slight slump after making a A Nightmare On Elm Street. This can be seen by his follow ups 1.Invatation to Hell 2.Chiller 3.Hills Have Eyes II 4.Deadly Friend 5.Serpant and the Rainbow 6.Shocker all of these films were either mediocre our crap it was not until People Under the Stairs that he gained his momentum back and started to kick butt again. Chiller it'self has none of Craven's regulars and none of his suspense. The only good scene in when the old man has a heart attack on the stairs after graveling for his job.
BaronBl00d I liked this made for TV movie about a cryogenetically frozen body being brought back to life. Michael Beck plays the cold-hearted lad who dies ten years ago and was frozen by his mother waiting for a chance for science to bring him back via new medical technology. His cylinder goes on the fritz and action must be taken quickly to see if science has the answers now that it did not have ten years earlier. Beck is revived but not the same person. It seems that whilst his body is living again, a chasm only fills the void vacated by his soul's departure. Beck comes back with no regard for human and animal life and only wants to appease whatever appetites he might have at that very moment. Now, this is some pretty absurd stuff I grant you, but director Wes Craven and some good acting save it from being terrible. In fact it does get one thinking about some things. The acting is uniformly good with Beck doing a good job and Oscar winner Beatrice Straight and Paul Sorvino as a cleric really bringing home the bacon. They both do stellar jobs with this material and give it some much needed credibility. Sorvino is very convincing in his role. Some good character acting by Dick O'Neill and Anne Seymour add to the mix, and the addition of beautiful Jill Schoelen doesn't hurt either. Kudos also to Craven for not going overboard as many others might be apt to do. Beck is a man with no supernatural abilities per se but rather just soulless is his approach to another chance to "live."