"The Twilight Zone (2002)" Retro Recap: "Harsh Mistress"

​Written by Scotty

​While everyone has a dream of becoming rich and famous, many of us do not have the talent to achieve this goal.  There is nothing to be ashamed of as you keep watching and seeing how the stars react to the media and have to fall back on their vices to get along with their lives. So many people have a hard time containing their inner emotions when they become famous and it makes you see that they are just the same as you and I and even sometimes much worse off than us.  It takes a special person to hit it big and keep their name out of the papers and off TMZ, but just know that everyone is flesh and blood and has their issues like the rest of have, it just seems so much worse when you're in the spotlight.

Corey Williams wants to make it big in the world of music, but he has one problem, he does not know how to play an instrument.  While rummaging through the local pawn shop with his friend Ricky, Corey sees a guitar that has caught his eye.  Trying to play it, it is apparent that he does not have the skills to make it sing like the greats, but even that will not hold him back since it is a 1957 Stratocaster, the same one that his idol Bobby McCain used to play.  Getting the guitar home, he and Ricky see that the guitar is covered in blood and the story was that when Bobby McCain went out, he did it in a blaze of glory, blowing his brain out all over the guitar.  Looking at the old school poster, everything matches, even the chip in the pick guard and somehow, Corey has gotten ahold of his idol’s guitar.

Being able to play like he never has been able to before, Corey practices his craft and becomes very good.  When going to an audition for a fading one hit wonder, Corey gets his own contract and starts recording right away.  With every take being better than the last, Corey is not able to stop since the guitar is making him better and better every day.  After a recording session and fifty eight takes on one track, the record producer sees that Corey is going to be a star and will put the entire backing of the label behind him.  Corey does not know what to expect, but he is able to gain fame and fortune overnight.

Three weeks after his record hits the streets it sells a million copies.  Not being persuaded by the groupies or the fame, Corey just wants to keep playing the guitar.  But young executive Ashley is able to convince him to have a night out and partake in the better things life has to offer.  After a long hot night, Ashley puts the guitar on and tells Corey the history behind it.  Finding out that it was not just Bobby McCain’s, but that it belonged to other artists that met a tragic end, Corey starts to believe that the guitar is cursed.  After finding Ashley dead in the guitar’s strap, Corey tries to distance himself from the haunted instrument, but no matter where he goes or what he does the guitar is always there for him to play.  After a botched video shoot where Corey tries to smash the Stratocaster, he has to find a way to get away from the guitar once and for all.

Sex, drugs and rock-n-roll right?  Not in this tale, just the rock-n-roll that Corey had dreamed about all of his life.  Gaining a relationship with the guitar from the get go, Corey was chosen for the life by the Strat, but once he starts enjoying it for a reason outside of the music, it gets angry with him.  Not allowing anyone else to be close to the star, the guitar will kill anyone that tries to take Corey away from her.  Kind of freaky right?  A guitar that can make your dreams come true, yet not let you go all the way?  Starring Lukas Haas as Corey Williams, Sticky Fingaz as Ricky and Tangi Miller as Ashley.  This is a great telling of what fame can do to someone who thinks that they are ready, but really has no idea of what to expect when their world starts to change, especially if their gift is not earned.  It helps to be mindful of who or what got you to the top before you start thinking it was just you and you alone.

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