The Refrigerator (1991)

I found this movie while looking for Attack of the Killer Refrigerator and man, it’s wild. Steve and Eileen Bateman (Dave Simonds and Julia McNeal) have moved into a new place in New York City and as he works endless hours and she dreams of being on stage, the icebox in their kitchen shows them visions, whether they are future victims in Steve’s case or unborn children in Eileen’s.

Meanwhile, a plumber working on their apartment, Juan (Angel Caban), works on scenes with Eileen and warns her that the appliance is a gateway to Hell.

This took director Nicholas Jacobs — who also worked on The Adventures of Pete and Pete, the original MTV Jon Stewart show and You Wrote It, You Watch It — four years to make. He wrote it with Christopher Oldcorn and Phillip Dolin, who went on to direct B Movie.

It feels like everyone is working out their issues on film, because Eileen isn’t all that great of a wife, complaining about Steve no longer being fun, all while he’s killing himself to make a life for them. But she has her issues too, as her mother used to threaten to kill herself every single day and now that she’s been through therapy, she wants to reconnect with her daughter who can’t find the strength to forgive her.

Maybe it was never about a killer fridge.

Maybe it was about how alone we all truly are.

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