Prisioneira do Medo

Okay, so this is a made for TV movie of 1992. It is based around the fear of being out of the house - called agoraphobia (sp). Christine Lahti is the lady in distress. Usually I like this lady's work, but this time around I was not only annoyed at her dramatics but tired after awhile of her screaming antics. Now you also have the good looks of Dylan McDermott as one of the home invaders. At first you really like him. And then when he begins to show his true colors, the plot thickens. McDermott gives a reasonably good performance. Unlike his supposedly wacky sister, overplayed by Jennifer Rubin. I couldn't wait for Rubin to get her uppance. She was that annoying. Both she and Lahti deserved each other. I was hoping that the two ladies would kill each other and Dylan goes free. He and the parrot that is. The house gets trashed along the way and our leading lady gets out of the house. Not surprising. This story was written by Alan Jay Gluickman and made into a screenplay by David Birke. Leon Ichaso directed this, but letting the two leading actresses go too far in my opinion.

Artist, Meredith Cole (Christine Lahti) has a few problems. In addition to suffering from acute agoraphobia, her husband has left her and threatened to take their young son. A virtual prisoner in her large, rural home, Meredith struggles to overcome her debilitating fear of the outside world.

Meredith takes in a new boarder named Jane (Jennifer Rubin) who seems perfect. Alas, things take a turn when Jane's "brother" Pete (Dylan McDermott) arrives for a visit. This bodes ill, since we've already been shown an example of Pete committing a heinous act!

As time goes on, Meredith learns that she's not the greatest judge of character, all leading to a life and death situation.

THE FEAR INSIDE is a made-for-TV thriller that is the basic template for the future, superior film, RESTRAINT. Still, it's suspenseful enough in its own right, and McDermott is a serviceable psychopath.

Worth a watch...

The Fear Inside is a home invasion horror/thriller with a twist: the woman who is attacked in her home is agoraphobic and therefore unable to leave, even when the opportunity arises. It's a neat idea, and director Leon Ichaso tackles the story with a fair amount of style (albeit early '90s style), but it's made-for-TV origins means that it holds back when it would have benefitted from pushing the boundaries. While watching, I couldn't help imagining what what the film would have been like had one of my favourite Italian directors from the '70s been in control: Ruggero Deodato or Joe D'amato would have brought a much needed exploitative and gritty edge to proceedings.

Strong performances help make the movie watchable despite its frustratingly anodyne approach: Christine Lahti is excellent as children's illustrator Meredith Cole, whose fear of the outside has caused a rift in her marriage; Dylan McDermott impresses as handsome but psychotic criminal Pete Caswell; and Jennifer Rubin plays crazy to the hilt (think Juliette Lewis from NBK crossed with Sheri Moon Zombie in The Devil's Rejects), a little too over-the-top perhaps , but it certainly adds interest. Even the obligatory kid (played by Thomas Ian Nicholas, Kevin in American Pie) is watchable - I guess if this HAD been directed by an Italian, the child would most likely have been extremely irritating.

My friend and I recently watched The Fear Inside. We thought it was a uniquely put-together movie, compelling and thrilling at the same time. Because it is a sort-of murder movie, it had a lot of heavy moments in it, but there was a bit of comic relief from the very insane killers. Christine Lahti was very convincing as the half-crazed agoraphobic who is held at the mercy of two murderers, a prisoner in her own house. She is torn, quite literally, between the fear of going out doors, and the fear inside.

Now this movie is much better than five stars. It has a good plot, good directing and features the talent of the excellent Jennifer Rubin. She gives one of the best performances I have ever seen, as usual. Such a great actress! The scene when she commits suicide is very moving. Also listen closely to the score - it's by Michel Rubini, who made the wonderful electronic score for "The Hunger" (by Tony Scott) together with Denny Jaeger! He even recycles some samples from this earlier work for this movie!