"I love you. Please love me."
OH THIS IS A MASTERPIECE!!!!!
Edward Bianchi's The Fan is very akin to The Last horror Film as they both follow a young man who obsesses over a famous actress. I adored Last Horror Film, but I found this one so much better because of how realistic it all is.
THE PERFORMANCESMichael Biehn and Lauren Bacall (loved her in How To Marry A Millionaire) give amazing performances. I especially Biehn's take on the obsessive psycho archetype. You really get to see Douglas's mental health degrade more than it already has as the film progresses, especially through the tone of his letters. His face acting/subtle acting is really good and the spurts of uncontrolled emotion are genuinely creepy. Lauren Bacall dazzles as Sally, I was really starstruck by her performance. It was really naturalistic and it was nice seeing a golden age actress in a horror film.
FAVOURITE SCENESThere's some really great scenes/set-pieces in this film. The swimming pool kill for example was my favourite kill. The whole set-piece was so cinematic, especially when Douglas gets in the pool. It's one of those kill sequences where I'm like, "you know what, I wouldn't mind going out like this." Like yes, I want to be the hot guy who gets slashed in the pool. My number one favourite sequence in the whole film would have to be Sally's entire musical performance. The aesthetic was so glamorous. And the choreography was fire and the costumes were so dazzling. The whole thing reminded me of the film Burlesque. Lauren Bacall's singing near the end really touched my heart, and Douglas's quiet outburst was the perfect gut-punch. Such a great sequence, honestly.
THE KILLSI love how realistic the kills are. They really fit the tone of the film. Some people complain that they weren’t bloody enough, but I prefer it that way. I, of course, am a huge fan of gore fests and splatter and I understand why people would want to see that in this film (because it would be fun), but that wouldn't have worked for a more psychological film like this one. The realism of the kills really immerse me further into the film and actually makes the film more creepy. There's no excessive gore to add any "fun" to the kills.
CLOSINGI was really bummed to find out how dismissed this film was at the time of its release, being a failure both critically and commercially. I do think it needs a critical re-evaluation because this is a great piece on obsession and schizophrenic behaviour patterns. It really stands out amongst its contemporary peers, even though it was overshadowed by them. You can tell a lot of thought and creativity went into the storytelling, direction and acting.
It really is a perfect film.
