Thriller-author Frank De Felitta expanded Joyce Selznick's story and also directed this low-budget, warmed-over Hitchcock wannabe, its plot originally meant for a TV series. Hysterical, virginal 26-year-old woman (Sharon Stone, pre-"Basic Instinct"), in therapy for her frigidity, is attacked in her apartment elevator by a man with a red beard. Her neighbor, a polite television actor who wears suits, comes to her aid and finds her attractive, but his handicapped twin brother harbors a psychotic side. This is merely the first-half of the plot. The second-half involving Stone in a locked room with no exit is practically a different movie altogether. Quite a comedown for De Felitta, who displays no talent whatsoever for character development or in mounting sequences for suspense--only in stirring his plot with red herrings. This must have been an embarrassment for budding starlet Stone, who has vacant eyes and an artificial-sounding voice. * from ****

*Plot analyzed* Scissors (1991) attempts to showcase Sharon Stone's "acting ability", but as we learn, as in her other films as well, she has very little of it. She is horrendous here. It starts out well and basic, with some 1990's color and nods to Dario Argento (Italian film director) and Brian De Palma.Angie Anderson (Sharon Stone), a 26 year old virgin with mental problems and an excessive addiction to scissors and doll collecting, nearly gets raped in her apartment elevator. The doorman must be the most useless ever, as there's TV cameras and he's reading a book but doesn't see a thing. Why he never got fired, I don't know. Angie Anderson (Sharon Stone) fights off the attacker with the help of her new "scissors". Enter Steve Railsback, who plays two roles, Alex Morgan and Cole Morgan, Alex Morgan who helps her, and his brother Cole Morgan, who hates her.Later, for no apparent reason, Angie Anderson (Sharon Stone), gets locked in some odd apartment that looks like it was decorated by the late Abominable Dr. Phibes. It gets convoluted from there and very idiotic. Don't be misled, this isn't a horror film at all, it's more of a thriller, lacking any "thrills" or sense.It's probably best to watch this without your brain.

Angie Anderson (Sharon Stone) gets attacked by a masked man in her apartment elevator. She stabs him with her scissors but he promises to return. She is helped by her neighbors identical twins Alex and Cole Morgan (Steve Railsback). She collects dolls and makes clothes. Psychiatrist Dr. Stephan Carter (Ronny Cox) treats her. She's 26 and sexually frigid. She becomes beset by paranoia and fear. Ann (Michelle Phillips) is the doctor's wife. The music, the acting and the story is all trying to make an old overwrought sexual-psycho thriller horror. Sharon Stone is playing against type especially considering her later roles. She never fit this shy scared girl even when she was younger. It's really problematic. She is forced to overact. There is no good acting in this by anyone. The music gets kind of annoying which makes the horror thriller not scary at all. There are some weird nightmarish turns. However it comes off laughable to me. It's like the movie takes a detour into the Twilight Zone.

During the opening credits, creepy music plays. It sounds like a giant music box with an orchestra, giving the impression of a children's story, but with an evil twist.Angie buys the scissors, a style used to cut fabric (but which can also be used for more sinister purposes). Then she visits Mr. Kramer's thrift shop to buy a doll that needs repairing. She doesn't make a living fixing up dolls, because she needs to get jobs through a temporary agency as well, and she says dolls are only a hobby. Quite a hobby--there are so many in her bedroom it looks eerie, and she says she doesn't have room to sleep there. It is never explained how she can afford an apartment in a nice building, though rich parents are mentioned--by someone who doubts they are real.When she gets back to her building, Angie is greeted by the security guard. A lot of good he does: Angie gets on the elevator and is nearly raped. She stabs the attacker with her scissors, but he leaves with them--and her purse, which has her apartment keys.Angie goes to her neighbors, who she has never really gotten to know. Alex Morgan is a soap opera actor and really nice. His identical twin brother Cole is a portrait artist and confined to a wheelchair. He seems weird, and so are his paintings, which border on pornography. At one point, Cole confesses that Angie leaves her blinds open.Throughout the movie, Angie is having difficulty coping with her recent attack. She is already in therapy. Again, someone like her should not be able to afford this. Dr. Carter can do hypnosis and seems like he would be very expensive. Yet Angie sees him a lot and makes very little progress. She is frustrated that he believes she makes up a lot of things.One day Angie gets a job interview in a building that is mostly under construction. A sign in the elevator directs her to the top floor apartment apparently belonging to the developer. Angie goes in and finds herself trapped inside with no way to communicate (she can't even be heard yelling through the windows, and the two dog walkers who can see her ignore her). That's not all. There's a dead man with what appears to be her scissors in his back, a creepy talking doll, and a bird who keeps saying, "You killed him!" Sharon Stone shows what she is capable of. Angie shows a wide range of emotions, though someone like her wouldn't be expected to experience pure joy or excitement. Not that she couldn't have, but the writers chose to make her mostly troubled.Steve Railsback does a very good job as well. I didn't realize the brothers were twins, because to me they didn't even look alike. For one thing, Alex wears glasses. But it is Cole that really shows Railsback's talent.Ronny Cox also does very well as the therapist. And you have to like the folksy Mr. Kramer, who is only in a couple of scenes. And Midnight, Angie's cat, is so sweet and playful!This isn't really my kind of movie. But it has an interesting mystery and a very strange ending. It's not too violent but almost always slightly on the eerie side. At least the weird music gets replaced with pleasant music in the romantic scenes. I won't say who, but there are several couples and one slightly naughty bedroom scene. Having seen this on broadcast TV, I don't really know how explicit the movie gets.It's a good thriller for those who like that sort of thing.