Agoraphobia

A nervous woman inherits a big spooky house only to realize shes not alone... This is one of those movies that is sold on the strength of a name actor in the cast (candymans tony todd). But then it goes and does what a lot of movies of this type does: it rips off the audience. You think youre getting a genre name actor and of course it turns outs the actor is not even in the movie that much. I understand they have to sell the movie but so many movies of this type does this so often its not even amusing anymore. There are a few bits of good suspense to be had in this one along with a few twists so its not a total waste. Theres a lot worse out there in the streaming rabbit hole.

Trying to deal with her anxieties, a young woman is left alone in her father's old house to try to get over her issues, and the longer she stays there the more she begins to experience visions of someone or something else in the house with her and must overcome her fears to find out what's going on.

Overall, this was a fairly solid and enjoyable genre effort. Among its better qualities is a strong central setup that allows for a wholly sympathetic showcase while also providing the requisite starting points for the later shenanigans to follow. While highly cliched, the central setup involving the woman trying to get over this condition involving her being stuck inside the house with a crippling case of agoraphobia and trying to maintain all sorts of stressful scenarios that provide all sorts of enhancing factors to make her paranoid about staying there. With the situation further enhanced by the growing belief that the house is haunted by a figure trying to get to her or drive her crazy as the situation becomes more obvious that an unnatural presence is in the house. This starts the rest of the film off on a great note involving her belief that there's something genuinely in the house against the constant assumptions that it's just her condition playing on her anxieties. The scenarios are constructed just right for this to be the case, with objects being manipulated against her eyesight, doors being opened or closed against her knowledge, and shadowy figures appearing where no one else can see them. With the surrounding incidents also involving other physical factors that seem to point to it not just being in her head, the resulting paranoia that arises here is incredibly effective at letting this kind of scenario feel more believable and suspenseful which is altogether quite a lot of positives to hold this one up. There isn't much here to hold it back but it does have some drawbacks present. One of the biggest drawbacks here is the series of wonky twists into effect that are played out to try to provide a more human antagonist rather than a supernatural one. This is quite lazily explained to what the entire purpose of it is all about which is so cliched and expected that it doesn't register as much as it should but the fact that it's all designed to switch focus away from the supposed ghost haunting the house as that was a far more compelling storyline. Rather than going for this simple setup, the switch into this type of storyline comes off rather awkwardly due to changing the point. With the stripped-down, low-budget nature of the film also holding it back, these are the few issues here.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Violence.

Predictable, slow going with a feeling like an amateur production where the cast feels unsure of their lines as very rigid and not sure of the direction. Struggling to find any positives other than the end, but if you have absolutely nothing else to do and have 1hr 25mins to waste go for it. Also not sure why rated as 🔞 because not even a 13.

Another movie by Lou Simon who at present time does not have the best record with me, her movies have been less than impressive.

Agoraphobia tells the story of a young woman suffering from *Drumroll* agoraphobia who moves into her newly inherited home but begins to question whether she's alone.

Starring Cassandra Scerbo who I will always just see as that girl from the Sharknado films who shows her cleavage a lot. Also we have the horror legend that is Tony Todd, though his presence is sadly minimal.

The majority of the film is highly generic and very uninteresting. It's not until the end when the film delivers a twist and steps up its game, but by that point it's a tad too late.

The finale saved Agoraphobia from sheer mediocrity and though it's still nothing special it's a harmless enough 84 minutes for fans of the genre.

The Good:

Tony Todd

Maria Olsen for the first time ever

Nice twist

The Bad:

Tony Todd felt wasted

Highly cliched for the most part

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Can we have a horror movie where the family doesn't have pets please? We all know how that works out

Although the acting leaves a lot to be desired and the script isn't exactly the best, this film is quite a thought provoking one. With an interesting plot and some (rather predictable) twists and turns as the narrative progresses, it's not the worst film I've seen by a mile. The characters are a bit weak and not very well rounded or well thought out but if you can look past these few issues and just accept that it's not a big budget, Hollywood blockbuster, the film does have its good moments and is quite entertaining. I found this a rather mediocre offering at best, and feel that the original concept was a good one that sadly wasn't portrayed to its full potential.