Rainey Dawn
'Too Scared to Scream' was fairly interesting to me... worth a one time watch - kept me watching until the end. It's not what I would call a horrible film - but I would not call it a top-notch film either - mediocre.Most of the people in this film are "odd" or "weird" - not just our prime suspect. The film does have a surprise ending (in it's way). So if you like crime-thrillers then you might like this film.This is a 'slasher' film - but not in the stereo-typical way (you know, kids in the woods, no cops or terrible cops around, and a killer slashing away sex-crazed young adults - this film is NOT that way). This is a police detective film that is after a 'slasher'.6/10
eddy-28
Rating: *** out of fiveToo Scared to Scream is actually a better slasher movie from the 1980's than many would expect. Mike Connors (from TV's Mannix) plays a police detective with his partner (Anne Archer, in one of her first major screen roles) who try and solve puzzling murders that are happening at a sky rise apartment building in New York. There are a few suspects including the apartment building's gentle, kind doorman (Ian McShane) who lives with his mute, paralyzed mother (Maureen O'Sullivan, who played Jane in the Tarzan films). Other suspects include a fashion designer (Sully Boyer), and countless persons in and around the building. The film has aged poorly, and the script could have used some more originally and maybe a larger budget since it was not picked up by a major distribution studio, but Tony Lo Bianco's solid direction and fine acting and special effects and suspenseful musical score make this film a tense shocker. Supporting actors include John Heard, Ruth Ford, Leon Issac Kennedy, Carrie Nye and even Murray Hamilton, who we remember as Mayor Vaughn in Jaws. Charles Azonvour sings the film's song "I'll Be There" in the opening sequence.
BaronBl00d
Tony Lo Bianco directs this thriller mystery like a conventional television show, only he loads it with bloody violence and lots of nudity. The result isn't really that bad. The first three-fourths, in point of fact, are very engrossing as we tag along with cops Mike Connors and his "buddy" Anne Archer as they try to unravel the identity of a killer killing in the Royal Arms, a swanky hotel in New York City. The deaths seem to be unrelated, and the ways in which each is killed is horrifying. The prime suspect is the evening doorman Ian McShane. McShane gives a fantastic performance as a dour, reserved, yet mentally unstable man who still lives at home caring for his invalid mother(played by Maureen O'Sullivan). Images of Psycho will resonate as you watch, but the film is in no way a reproduction of that classic film. The film, however, starts to fall apart as the mystery is finally revealed and logic takes a holiday. Agatha Christie could not(and probably would not) have dreamed up an ending like this film has. But despite its illogical conclusion, the acting, direction, and script are tight enough through most of the film to be very entertaining.
Angelus-16
This TV-ish stalker flick has a few entertaining moments but is mostly marred by boring dialogue and useless scenes that don't mean anything. A gloved killer knocks off the rich and arty residents of a Manhattan skyrise bringing in a couple of detectives who suspect British poetically-charged doorman McShane who's mute, wheelchair bound mother reminds us of 'Psycho' a tad... The okay premise is wasted by misusing the setting and barely touching on the supporting characters resulting in a total lack of sympathy for anyone, and when the killer is finally revealed, it borders on prejudice... A little more imagination would have been nice.