The stage curtains open ...
Even by "made-for-tv" standards, this one was pretty bad. I just don't understand it. All the elements for something special were there. It was directed by Tobe Hooper. It starred some pretty big names from that time with Anthony Perkins, Dee Wallace Stone, R. Lee Ermey, and a young and beautiful, Mädchen Amick. It had a good story with a fun premise - but unfortunately, this one fell completely flat. It almost seemed like everyone involved with the project just gave it lip service at best.
Amy (Amick) is a college student who is charged with acquiring props for a school stage play, and finds an old trunk at a yard sale for a steal at only $7.50. Inside the trunk is an eye catching, red satin cloak. It doesn't take long for this cloak to make its presence felt - immediately turning the disposition of its wearer sour and evil. Taken with how beautiful it is, Amy decides to turn it into a dress ... and then the real fun begins. Soon, bodies start turning up, and the red dress is somehow always involved. Amy is warned by a local professor (Perkins) of the power that the red cloth wields, as he knows where it came from and has been searching for it. After she believes the dress to have been destroyed, it turns up yet again forcing her into a "do or die" situation.
The previews and trailers I've seen for this movie made it look like it was going to be good. Heck - even the poster for it made it look ten times better than it actually was. This film was such a huge letdown with god awful performances, directing, and editing. There was one scene where Amy witnesses the death of someone in an explosion ... and then in the very next scene, she is nonchalantly out for a morning run like nothing had happened. This movie was such a mess and all over the place.
It did have its moments however, and that is why I was able to give it the paytry 2 star rating instead of the absolute worst 1 star. Mädchen Amick was very sweet and likeable in her role as the good-hearted Amy, who looked after her ailing grandmother and was always willing to help others. She had good intentions, and was the face of "good" in this good versus evil plot. Despite her charm though, it wasn't enough to lift this film to anything worth watching, let alone remembering. If you don't care how you burn a couple of hours, then watch it - you might enjoy it. It just wasn't for me.
Even by "made-for-tv" standards, this one was pretty bad. I just don't understand it. All the elements for something special were there. It was directed by Tobe Hooper. It starred some pretty big names from that time with Anthony Perkins, Dee Wallace Stone, R. Lee Ermey, and a young and beautiful, Mädchen Amick. It had a good story with a fun premise - but unfortunately, this one fell completely flat. It almost seemed like everyone involved with the project just gave it lip service at best.
Amy (Amick) is a college student who is charged with acquiring props for a school stage play, and finds an old trunk at a yard sale for a steal at only $7.50. Inside the trunk is an eye catching, red satin cloak. It doesn't take long for this cloak to make its presence felt - immediately turning the disposition of its wearer sour and evil. Taken with how beautiful it is, Amy decides to turn it into a dress ... and then the real fun begins. Soon, bodies start turning up, and the red dress is somehow always involved. Amy is warned by a local professor (Perkins) of the power that the red cloth wields, as he knows where it came from and has been searching for it. After she believes the dress to have been destroyed, it turns up yet again forcing her into a "do or die" situation.
The previews and trailers I've seen for this movie made it look like it was going to be good. Heck - even the poster for it made it look ten times better than it actually was. This film was such a huge letdown with god awful performances, directing, and editing. There was one scene where Amy witnesses the death of someone in an explosion ... and then in the very next scene, she is nonchalantly out for a morning run like nothing had happened. This movie was such a mess and all over the place.
It did have its moments however, and that is why I was able to give it the paytry 2 star rating instead of the absolute worst 1 star. Mädchen Amick was very sweet and likeable in her role as the good-hearted Amy, who looked after her ailing grandmother and was always willing to help others. She had good intentions, and was the face of "good" in this good versus evil plot. Despite her charm though, it wasn't enough to lift this film to anything worth watching, let alone remembering. If you don't care how you burn a couple of hours, then watch it - you might enjoy it. It just wasn't for me.