L'ombre de la peur

A great TV Movie that is extremely well acted by all concerned with a very sound plot that doesn't pull any punches while tackling a difficult subject matter is how I would describe this little gem.Starring Amanda Righetti as Casey Cooper who has her life turned around when she becomes the victim of a 'stalker'. She changes from an outgoing, extrovert and confident to a young lady who is afraid to venture outside or far from her home whilst receiving the statutory hate mail and endless 'phone-calls that the Police appear to have no power OR to her and her friends NO WILL to stop. This film drives on from start-to-finish and I guarantee will have you 'supporting' poor Casey and her friends as they fight against the seeming in-action of the local Police and her 'stalker' until they are unsure which exactly is the worst of the two? A brilliant support cast includes Will Estes,Harry Hamlin, Christie Burson and Eric Smzanda

For this LMN again brings you the damsel in distress, the terrible male character doing the bad deeds and once again we are asked to suffer a trite film with so-so acting, but for a few.

The damsel, in the name of Amanda Righetti, is not too good. It's all about her hair. When it is up, and she looks better that way and her age, she is happy. When her hair is down, not good on her, she's being dramatic. When it's all tossed about covering half of her face in strings down to her waist she is supposed to be disheveled.

I do believe she is too mature for the teen-age look. Why is it women and their hair become so important in films? Cut it short, my dear. You're supposed to be a classy lady and you look not so.

Her partner in crime, Christie Burson, also with flowing locks, doesn't do that much more for the film except to scream and stand by her friend. Has anyone heard of bobby pins? Why do they have to always have strands of hair hanging in their faces? So damned annoying and destroys my liking their work.

Catherine Hicks fares better and looks better and acts her age. I liked her. Harry Hamlin must be hard up for a job to take on this trite. He doesn't get much to do in this. Harry looks good though. And finally we come to the young man, William Estes, as the tormentor. His acting is a bit amateurish. You really don't believe him most of the time. Plus he looks as though he could be our leading lady's son.

I can't wait for the day when women look their age and act their age and this long straight hair look goes away. I am sick of seeing the same do, in all colors, real and phony, hanging straight down with some over each shoulder and some hanging down the back. It's like all the women look the same. There is really no difference. Except the acting. And there are some that can act and many that can not.

The title doesn't indicate that this is an above average lifetime movie with good acting and a plausible story. For this kind of movie it isn't too overboard. It avoids melodrama or shock tactics and remains plausible and realistic. Of course it is a movie so there are some elements of the plot that feel like a composite to achieve a dramatic story. The plot is a waitress/writer becomes the stalking target of an obsessed mentally ill man who is off his meds. The difficulties in dealing with a mentally ill person and the limited recourse for stalking victims is presented in a no nonsense fashion.

The behavior shown is an accurate if extreme portrayal of the mental illness schizophrenia even tough the violence only occurs in extreme cases in real life. I have seen someone like that with the obsessive calling and rubbish rantings and papers. Will Estes does a good job of portraying the mentally ill person without overacting or melodrama.

Amanda Righetti gives a believable performance through the various stages and ups and downs of coping with the situation and the effect of the stalking on her.

Well done. Worth a watch.

I notice this is is called SHADOW OF FEAR but when it was broadcast in Britain it was called DANGEROUS ATTRACTION a title that indicates i's going to be a clone of a very famous film from the 1980s so SHADOW OF FEAR is probably a more appropriate title . What is also interesting is that the site doesn't indicate it's a TVM . This certainly has all the feel of a chick flick TVM of having a woman stalked by a male hence the woman's trauma is the centre of the film's focus . It's unfortunate that that her stalker is a young man suffering from schziophrenia which means anyone watching this movie who has no knowledge of real life mental illness might jump to the wrong conclusion all schizophrenics are violent people . In reality a person suffering from this psychotic illness is 40 times more likely to kill themselves than another human being . In thisrespect SHADOW OF FEAR is offensive in its portrayal of mental illness whilst at the same time being inoffensive in every other aspect which again leads me to believe it's a TVM , one that's not worth watchingfor the most part

And the reason being is the characters .

Firstly I agree with one reviewer who stated that , in this type of movie , you have to like the victim and dislike the agressor .

I did not like the lead female role . From the begining she and her" team of protectors " ,annoyed me . This woman seemed incapeable of defending herself in anyway on her own , even though she is protrayed as being strong and independant from the opening scenes .

Secondly , I felt completely uncomfortable about the way that mental illness was dealt with in this movie , I mean, it was blatently obvious from the very start that Morgan was suffering from severe mental illness , and for anybody not to have noticed that ,and not to act immediatley , by reporting it , is just ridiculous .

And of course I felt sorry for Morgan , being that unwell is not a choice made by people who suffer from mental illness , rather a condition that requires urgent care and help .

Sorry , for the speech , but as I said , this movie made me feel uncomfortable .