Richard, a college student who has decided to focus his attention on the study of fear, invites a group of friends up to his family's secluded mountain cabin for the weekend, during which a lifelike, wooden carving of a man begins stalking and killing them.
It's death-by-fear (aka scared-to-death) in this deceptively psychological thriller. The hero, Mike brings his friends to his grandparents' house for a Halloween party wherein they will all dress up as their innermost fears. Mike's fear is that he's inherited a homicidal legacy from his father. Mike's father was a serial killer who murdered his mother right in front of him when Mike was five before committing suicide. Mike's fear manifests itself in his inability to commit to his girlfriend of 4 1/2 years, Peg for fear that he will kill her too. Everything gets rolling when an ancient Indian totem wooden figure named Morty comes to life and starts killing off Mike's friends by making their worst fears come true. The ultimate confrontation comes when Mike has to face his greatest fear - his own father.
Bridgette is an aspiring actress who teaches aerobics at a local gym that's run by the womanizing Adam. After a tryst with Adam, Bridgette scores a role in a big play, but then learns that a former boyfriend is dying of AIDS. While preparing to get tested, Bridgette suspects Adam of cheating on her, and must face the HIV tests alone, which shockingly come back positive. Building a support network, including a penitent Adam, Bridgette faces her own mortality.
A young woman thinks one of her neighbors in her apartment building is a serial killer and begins to suspect both her current boyfriend and former girlfriend of being the killer.
