Scissors (film)
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| Scissors | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Frank de Felitta |
| Produced by | Don Levin Mel Pearl Hal W. Polaire |
| Written by | Joyce Selznick (story) Frank de Felitta (screenplay) |
| Starring | Sharon Stone Steve Railsback Ronny Cox |
| Music by | Alfi Kabiljo |
| Cinematography | Anthony B. Richmond |
| Editing by | John F. Schreyer |
| Distributed by | DDM Film Corporation |
| Release date(s) | 1991 |
| Running time | 105 min. |
| IMDb profile | |
Scissors is a psychological thriller released in 1991. The film is directed by Frank de Felitta and stars Sharon Stone, Ronny Cox, and Steve Railsback.
[edit] Synopsis
The plot centers around the life of Angela Anderson (Stone), a sexually repressed woman in her mid twenties. The film begins with Angela buying a pair of large scissors from a hardware shop. On her way home she is attacked in the lift of her apartment block by a red bearded man, who she stabs with the scissors in self-defense. Immediately after the attack Angela is found by the twin brothers (Railsbrack) who live next door to her. The first brother Alex is the star of a successful soap opera, whilst the other Cole is a wheelchair bound artist. As the film progresses an attraction develops between Angela and Alex, which is constantly restrained by Angela's sexual repression. Hypnotherapy sessions with her psychiatrist Dr Steven Carter (Cox) reveal a red bearded man named Billy in Angela's past, a startling coincidence to her recent attack.
Following her attack in the lift, the increasing attention from Alex and the fear of Cole she develops, Angela's sheltered world starts to fall apart. Following another encounter with her red bearded attacker, and harassment from Cole, Angela finds herself lured with the prospect of a job to a large and mysterious apartment where she finds herself trapped.
In the master bedroom, Angela finds the body of her red bearded attacker, who has been murdered with the same pair of scissors at the start of the film. The only other living thing in the apartment with her is a caged raven, who caws repeatedly that Angela killed him. As Angela explores the apartment she finds it is full of exhibits relating to her own psychology, it is clear at this point the someone wants to drive Angela into insanity.
After many failed escape attempts Angela takes the raven from its cage, ties a message to its leg and releases it into the air vent (using the blood stained scissors to remove the vent cover). Angela wakes up the following morning to find that the body of her attacker has been moved to the dinning room, the mutilated corpse of the raven sits on a plate before it. The sight of this causes Angela to collapse in shock where she experiences a childhood flashback. In the flashback her red bearded stepfather Billy was murdered by her Mother with a pair of scissors before her eyes, the horror of which being the root of her repression.
The next day the apartment is visited by Dr Carter's wife, who is having an affair with the owner. She arrives to find her husband waiting for her, disguised in a red beard, revealing that he was Angela's attacker at the beginning of the film. He revealed to his wife that when he learned of the affair he murdered her lover with a pair of scissors and had set Angela up to take the fall by luring her to the apartment, and exploiting what he had discovered about her past during hypnotherapy sessions. Carter and his horrified wife set out to find the scissors used in the murder, leaving the main door to the apartment open. Whilst wondering in a trace like state, Angela ventures through the door closing it behind her trapping Carter and his wife inside, the former imposing Billy to encourage Angela to let them out.
Outside Angela is rescued by Alex who had tracked her to the apartments address. The film ends with a trapped Carter banging the scissors furiously against the glass of the window, a liberated Angela looking back with a vengeful smile
