Corey Williams (Lukas Haas) fancies himself a decent guitar player, while his buddy Ricky (Kirk 'Sticky Fingaz' Jones) thinks he sucks. When Corey unwittingly purchases a used guitar at a pawn shop formerly owned by rock star Bobby McCain, he suddenly begins to play like he made a deal with the devil at The Crossroads. His good fortune starts to go off the rails however, when the guitar gets a mind of its own and becomes jealous of anyone else taking up Corey's time and attention. The guitar strap loops its way into a noose around his girlfriend's (Tangi Miller) throat, and a recording session comes to an electrifying halt when Corey attempts to use a different instrument. The way the guitar intrudes into Corey's life by popping up whenever he tries to put it out of sight calls to mind a Rod Serling episode of the 'Twilight Zone' titled 'The Dummy', in which Cliff Robertson began hallucinating about his mannequin coming to life. I think that one had a better twist ending, here Corey just couldn't take it anymore and drove his car straight into rock n' roll heaven. It's not as glamorous as it sounds.
Review of Harsh Mistress
