Frozen Man Productions J.D. Feigelson Productions Polar Films
Original release
Network
CBS
Release
May 22, 1985 (1985-05-22)
Chiller (also known as Wes Craven's Chiller) is a 1985 American made-for-televisionhorror film directed by Wes Craven and written by J.D. Feigelson.[1] It follows corporate executive Miles Creighton (Michael Beck), who dies and is cryonically preserved in the hopes that he can be revived. Ten years later, the procedure is a success, and Miles returns, but without his soul. The film premiered on CBS on May 22, 1985.
Plot
Miles Creighton is cryonically preserved. When his storage tank malfunctions and begins to thaw, Miles is rushed to a hospital. His mother, who has missed her son terribly during his 10-year incapacitation, arranges for surgeons there to perform a procedure that was not possible when Miles was originally frozen. The operation is a success and Miles revives.
Miles returns to the company which his father (now deceased) had started. He ruthlessly strips down anything that the company does not require to be profitable, and fires the man responsible for keeping the company running in Miles' absence.
A series of mysterious deaths occur and circumstantial evidence implicates Miles. His mother, of course, does not want to believe her beloved son is a heartless killer. It is only when Father Penny arrives at the hospital in critical condition that she is convinced her son is evil. Penny tells her that Miles was responsible, and she rushes home to save her step daughter and have Miles arrested.
The events that follow pit Miles against his mother, and she ends up locking him in a walk-in freezer. The police arrive and discover that Miles, though apparently frozen, is still alive. His mother comes to the rescue by shooting her son in the chest with a policeman's revolver. At the hospital later, it is implied Miles survived but it is unclear if he will survive the surgery as the techniques to save his life 'aren't quite there yet'.
The final scene is set at the cryogenics facility, where another alarm goes off as another storage tank malfunctions and begins to thaw. This is followed by several more storage tanks malfunctioning.