Possibly in Michigan
Possibly in Michigan is a 1983 American shot-on-video musical horror short film written and directed by Cecelia Condit, with music by Karen Skladany, who starred in the film as Janice. The film follows two women looking for perfumes in a department store, being stalked by a cannibalistic murderer wearing a mask.
Condit considers it to be part of the "Jill Sands trilogy". This refers to three of her films which star the actress Jill Sands: Beneath the Skin, Possibly in Michigan, and Not a Jealous Bone.
Plot
Two women, Sharon and Janice, are shopping at an empty department store for perfume, followed by a man in a mask, mouth agape, wearing a black suit. Both women are said to have a reputation for attracting violent men and making the violence seem to be the man's idea. Arthur, the man following them, is introduced as sharing the same inclinations as Sharon and Janice: Violence and perfume.Janice notices Arthur, and both women flee the department store. Sharon and Janice part ways after driving home, as Arthur follows them and stands outside Sharon's house, waiting for Janice to leave. A voiceover explains that Arthur has worn so many masks that he has forgotten who he is. "He imagined himself a frog, turned into a prince charming." He approaches the front door, appearing as a normal man, and rings the doorbell.
Janice is seen shooting at various masked figures at her home, each moving to a different spot after she shoots. Sharon, asleep, wakes up and goes to answer her door. When she sees who it is, she immediately drops to the ground and calls Janice on the phone. While they speak on the phone, Arthur picks up a stone from Sharon's yard, revealing a rotting mask beneath it, and shatters the bedroom window and breaks in, leaving glass and worms on her bed. Janice is seen shooting at more masked figures. As Sharon describes Arthur's appearance to Janice on the phone, he unexpectedly comes up behind Sharon and says, "the better to eat you with, my dear," in a distorted voice. Sharon turns around as Arthur kisses her.
Repeatedly pushing Sharon onto her bed, Arthur claims that she has two options: He will either eat her immediately or slowly dismember her, then eat her, claiming to do so for love. Janice shoots another masked figure and arrives at Sharon's front door. Arthur, now holding a knife, pins Sharon to her bed and begins choking her. He tells her that he has done this to six other women. Janice aims her pistol at Arthur and fatally shoots him. Sharon gets up and looks at Arthur's corpse in disgust.
The women lay Arthur's body out atop spread newspapers and begin to dismember him, making soup from his body parts. Nude, the women eat his remaining limbs, feeding scraps to their dog. While the two smoke cigarettes, Janice notices another masked man outside the window. She signals to Sharon as the figure hides before Sharon can see. After eating, the women wrap Arthur’s bones in newspapers and throw them into a trash bag. After putting the bag on the curb, a garbage truck comes and collects it, destroying the evidence.
Cast
- Bill Blume as Arthur, the man stalking Sharon and Janice. He is later killed by the women after trying to kill Sharon. Blume only appears at the very end of the film as writer/director Cecelia Condit played Arthur throughout the entire time he’s masked, but is uncredited in the role.
- Jill Sands as Sharon, Janice's best friend. She escapes from Arthur and cooks his body parts with Janice.
- Karen Skladany as Janice, Sharon's best friend. She shoots Arthur and cooks his body with Sharon.