Tortured Obsession (1993)

 

An ultra-low-budget flick from one-time director-writer Kelli Lidell. A psychopathic security guard robs, kills and seeks revenge on hapless nineties girls.

At an antique show, the happy shoppers take an elevator - little suspecting what's about to take place.

Frank (Tim Iaquinta) holds Jaclene (Christi Sims) at knifepoint.

Jaclene's friend, Angela (Leah Keith), has a gun in her purse and shoots him.  They run to the bathroom.

Like an idiot, Jaclene doesn't tell their boyfriend cops, Steve (Jamie Valli'e) and Michael (Michael Berger), about the incident.  Clearly it was self-defense, and there were witnesses.  So, this is dumbest thing I've ever seen.

Kitty (Jalene Ward) is a stripper at Shenanigans. 

She's actually Frank's fiancee.  Yes, Frank survived the gunshot.

Frank likes sex involving a chain.

Nice boobs, but worst James Dean poster ever.

Frank continues to kill people for money while acting as a security guard.

The ladies that were in the elevator discuss what actually happened.

Frank lurks nearby in an adjacent booth listening to their conversation.

The witnesses are killed when they leave the diner.

Jaclene and Angela work at an antiques shop.

They enjoy a romantic evening with Steve and Michael.

The girls leave so the two dudes can discuss the case.

I love Steve's mullet. 

Michael and Jaclene have sex.

There is full frontal nudity, but you have to kinda be pervy about it and freeze frame to get a good look.

Kitty returns to the apartment to plan their wedding.

Frank just lurks in the corner like a creep.

Kitty is obsessed with the wedding and cuts out pictures from a bridal magazine.

Frank bangs her by the fridge.

Angela steps outside and is accosted by Frank.

Frank found her engagement photo in the newspaper and recognized her as the girl who shot him.

Angela sobs to Jaclene about the encounter.

Like a fucking idiot, Angela still refuses to tell her cop fiancee about Frank, so she won't implicate herself in the elevator incident.

This actually a pretty selfish move on Angela's part, because she knows he's a dangerous psychopath still on the loose.  

Angela is attacked once again.  Yet she still won't go to the police.

Frank returns home to Kitty.

Kitty lays on the bed and spreads her legs.

Kitty, still obsessing about her upcoming wedding, wears a bridal costume in her Shenanigans performances. 

Leaving the club, she finds frank in the back alley. 

He strangles Kitty to death.

He shoots Steve and Michael and then is shot dead.

From this ad on the back of the VHS, you can see producer-director-writer Kelli Lidell had hopes to perhaps make more movies.  Perhaps this didn't do well enough to finance another. Lidell had quite an eclectic run in the early nineties working in odd jobs on everything from family friendly flicks like The Legend of Wolf Mountain (1992) as second unit director to location manager for Teenage Bonnie and Klepto Clyde (1993). But that's what was so great about the early VHS SOV films, you had people from out of nowhere making movies. I'd ten times rather watch a female writer-director with almost no experience make a thriller than the billionth Scorsese mobster film.  

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆6/10