Profile of Fear

The title of this demanding little movie, actually nails it. It is a rather analytical movie that shows little gore. Centering around the prime character's fears ( fear not to succeed, fear to be unhappy ), the film shows the tiny details that lead to the situation, brings it to its climax, and finally offers various solutions. In that respect it is very well made. The only criticism I have is the log-line Your fears are faster than you. I find that really dumb and not fitting the story. Also, the director (or whoever) should have taken better care of determining the genre. Drama lacks the psychological and criminal parts. Otherwise definitely a recommendation. This film is refreshingly different.

This simple flick kind of remains roaming in my brain. On one hand I think this clearly needs a remake, since camera and some acting are, well, not that good, to say it diplomatically. Besides that flaws, this is a terrific movie. Though I did not really liked Andy, the lead character, I kind of felt with him on his way through investigating a cold case - which turns out to be just a sub-plot of a far more serious problem: Andy's life and happiness. If you like this film (which requires full concentration), you probably want to see it a second time. Only then I discovered these little bits that give hints to what is actually going on. And beware: This movie is a bit depressing. Saying this, I want to applaud the writers who did a great job, and probably the director, who achieved to create something which left a knot in my heart - despite the technical flaws here and there.

I just watched this flick on amazon.com VOD and was stunned! The only reason I stumbled upon it was, because my girl friend used to be a huge fan of Lee Baxter's Caught In The Act. I didn't waste a single minute of my life time: The movie starts with a weird animation clip that continues throughout the film and tells a totally different story about a guy who has a problem dealing with his fears. Then the story changes to the main character: A guy called Andy (played quite well by Lee Baxter), who comes from a very rich family, is more than unhappy with his life - despite all the wealth he enjoys. He thinks he could escape the numbness he experiences by joining a police education program. But he soon has to realize that this is depriving him of even more happiness, since the people at school do not seem to support him very much.

The story ends quite shockingly (though not too bloody, don't worry) and offers a couple of bone chilling surprises.

Profile of Fear seems to be cheaply made from time to time, though I'm not sure if this is on purpose (rack focus, noisy image). The story and overall directing is brilliant, though! Profile of Fear really grabbed me at the end and my girl fried was crying like hell.

I also recommend Jane Voosen, the female lead, who plays the main character's foreign girl friend. She delivers a great performance.

To be honest, I am not very fond of B-movies in terms of movies where you see that they didn't cost a lot of money. In this case I was positively surprised. But you have to follow the story pretty closely, otherwise you are lost. I was seeing this film with three friends and two of them did other stuff (you know these people who have to text and facebook every minute of their life) and they did not get some of the essential twists of this film. I do not like the performance of some of the main cast. Lee Baxter and the Professor guy are definitely not among the best actors I have seen. I also realize that the director himself was playing the part of the strange guy that kind of tells the animated fairy tale - the animation is very nice, but Jan Braband should stay with directing movies and NOT acting. Why do these people always have to show off? Saying that, the story and how the story is told has convinced me, not to say excited me. It was dark, touching, a very strange uneasy atmosphere - but still with a glimpse of hope hidden somewhere. Really, I like that a lot.

Andrew is a guy who has pretty much everything. But since his life appears shallow, he decides to enter a police school in London and mess with his uber-father. He just has to prove to himself that he can achieve something on his own - and seems to fail.

This is the startup situation with Profile of Fear, a small, unpolished marvel that I've recently stumbled upon on Fetch TV. While Andrew is on a desperate mission to show that an old case he is confronted with has some nagging questions left, he slowly drifts into a world of chaos and desperation.

It is hard to tell what fascinated me about Andrew. I do not really LIKE this character, nor do I understand every single step he makes. But his desperation, his struggle with his environment, seems surprisingly real and familiar. At least to me. It is a very, very strange feeling of being a soul mate. Strange and fascinating. This fact alone makes this movie a strong recommendation.