Terrified (1995)

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Heather Graham turns in one of her strongest performances in an otherwise straight-to-video thriller.

Olive (Heather Graham) is a secretary who picks up guys in bars for trysts in dark parking lots. She is a lonely and troubled widow, having witnessed her husband kill her lover before turning the gun on himself. By herself in a large L.A. apartment, Olive walks in on a mysterious man (Paul Herman), who punches her and flees. Police detective Joe (Rustam Branaman) takes a romantic liking to Olive, as does her best friend Pearl (Lisa Zane). Olive is still terrorized by the mysterious man, who stalks her on the streets, and puts her in the hospital. Olive begins to withdraw into paranoia as the attacks increase, and the police's help decreases.

Graham is the best thing going here. While she goes through the motions of a woman stalked, she is in almost every scene and builds tension convincingly. Her excusing attitude of her lovers is restrained and believable. Her best scene involves a conversation with her dead husband's brother, who she suspects of being involved in the attacks. The film is overloaded with peripheral characters who distract from the central, and obvious, plotline. The screenplay is sloppy about dropping clues to the ending, but Graham's energy keeps the viewer hooked. Most of the film takes place in Olive's apartment, making me wonder if this began life as a stage play. Merendino's direction is fine, the technical aspects are unremarkable, and the supporting cast is full of familiar faces. Don't put too much stock in the old DVD cover, photoshop programs seemed to be popular in those days.

"Terrified" did not have me terrified, or even slightly concerned. It did have me remembering better suspense films, and admiring Graham. Also known as "Evil Never Sleeps" and "Toughguy."

Stats:
(1995) 95 min. (* * *) out of five stars
-Directed by James Merendino
-Written by Megan Heath and James Merendino
-Cast: Heather Graham, Lisa Zane, Paul Herman, Rustam Branaman, Balthazar Getty, Don Calfa, Richard Lynch, Carrie-Anne Moss, Max Perlich, Tom Bresnahan, Sal Landi, Danny Kuchuck, Peter Dobson, Rainer Judd, Apple Via
(R)