Review of Chiller

Chiller (1985 TV Movie)
6/10
"What Happens to a Man's Soul When He Dies?"
20 December 2005
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."
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