Review of Fear X (2003) by D J — 02 Mar 2007

Count how many times you see inspirations of The Shining and David Lynch in this film and you will conclude it's not all tha original.

There is no denying director Nicholas Refn is one of the best foreign directors there is at the moment; with critical masterpiece 'Pusher' under his belt, this looked to be a promising little film with an equally talented actor, John Turturro. Now don't get me wrong, the first half of the film is beautifully shot and really manages to build tension with the near silent scenes, only haunted by the subtle music of Brian Eno - sound good so far? Believe me it is.

The last half after 60mins or so starts to wear thin a little and soon overcomplicates itself with a sub-plot (I won't tell you what) which by the end has merged with the main and created an anti-climatic ending on itself. It almost feels like the film isn't finished and there should be a sequel (heaven forbid).

It's a little pretentious which was disappointing I think, plus it steals the entire asthetics of David Lynch's back catologue (as well as The Shining) HOWEVER, I don't wish to be too harsh on it because it looks as though everyone is trying their best. Turturro is very good in it and manages to do a rather good Travis Bickle/Sy Parrish (One Hour Photo anyone?) impression.

Soso that steals too much yet is beautiful in visuals & audio - a false film.