There has to be a morning after, but only if you survive the night before.

In Tony Lo Bianco’s Too Scared to Scream, murder doesn’t stalk the shadows of New York’s back alleys but the plush hallways of an Upper East Side high-rise. This slick urban thriller unfolds as a whodunit, where every locked door hides a potential suspect, and the safe cocoon of luxury living is stripped away by a series of savage killings.

At the heart of the intrigue is Ian McShane, playing the building’s elevator operator, the son of the owner, and a man with a checkered past. McShane injects the role with that trademark quiet intensity—charismatic on the surface, but laced with unease. His very presence complicates the mystery: is he the keeper of secrets or the one making the walls run red? Watching him guide residents up and down the tower while their lives crumble gives the film its most potent metaphor—no one really knows where they’ll end up when the doors open.

Opposite him is Anne Archer, who gives the film its moral compass as an undercover detective posing as a tenant. Archer plays the role with intelligence and poise, blending seamlessly into the building’s social fabric while keeping her true agenda simmering beneath. Unlike the typical horror heroine, she’s not a passive target; her performance brings both authority and vulnerability, making her the strongest figure to root for as suspicion tightens around the residents.

The whodunit mechanics are the film’s most enticing asset: red herrings lurk in every corner, neighbours cast suspicious glances, and the looming question of “who’s next?” keeps the viewer guessing. Lo Bianco delivers some tense stalking sequences, but the film wavers between slasher conventions and mystery thriller aspirations, never fully committing to either. The finale, though effective enough, comes across as hurried, leaving the build-up stronger than the payoff.

As a relic of mid-1980s genre cinema, Too Scared to Scream straddles an awkward middle ground—too polished for grindhouse, too conventional for true noir. Yet McShane’s unpredictable performance and Archer’s grounded presence make it worth revisiting. They elevate the material, keeping the audience invested even when the script threatens to flatten into cliché.

The Prognosis:

Not a lost classic, but not without its charms, Too Scared to Scream is the kind of three-star curiosity that lingers in the mind: a high-rise mystery where the real suspense comes from watching two leads turn a middling thriller into something far more intriguing.

• Saul Muerte