Fear X (2004) Movie Information:

Fear X (2004) Directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn Fear X (2004) Written by: Nicolas Winding Refn, Hubert Selby Jr. Fear X (2004) Cast: James Remar, John Turturro, Deborah Unger, Jacqueline Ramel, William Young, Mark Houghton, Stephen McIntyre, Gene Davis, Frank Adamson, Sharon Bajer

Fear X (2004) U.S. Distributor: Lionsgate Fear X (2004) U.K. Distributor: Not available at this time

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Fear X (2004) Synopsis:

When his wife is killed in a seemingly random incident Harry (Turturro), prompted by mysterious visions, journeys to discover the true circumstances surrounding her murder.

Fear X (2004) Movie Review:

Security guard Harry Cain (Turturro) is on a solitary mission to discover who murdered his wife, in a seemingly random sniper shooting in a shopping mall.
Harry's dark venture into the unknown takes him to the brink of madness, where he may find the answers he has been seeking.

Harry lives in snowy Wisconsin, in an apartment evocative of the 50’s. It is nondescript and lacklustre, much like his life since the death of his beloved wife.

He spends his days searching and detaining shoplifters in the local precinct, and his evenings trawling through CCTV footage of his wife's shooting provided by a colleague, desperately searching for the culprit. “Who knows what you may find out if you keep looking?” becomes his mantra.

His clue - laden nightmares are punctuated with horrifying images which seem to delve further into the mystery.

Turturro never over - plays the role, preferring a more muted, restrained approach, and his haunted appearance also serves the movie perfectly.

Fear X is an incredibly stylised movie. It is a pleasure to study each scene. The set dressing must have been painstaking, as all the elements serve a purpose and provide a symbolic gesture.
Images within the movie are diamond sharp, all the more distinctive when compared to the grainy camera footage, which is so full of answers, prompting severe neck craning due to the inevitable clue factor.

The mall videos whizz past the viewer, evoking Harry’s state of mind; nothing registers unless it will help him find out ‘why’.
Some incredibly smooth camera work follows him around the mall, speedy, fluid and impressive.

The clues are eked out suspensefully. In a technique akin to Lynch, Refn drops us little red hints – a lampshade here, a chick in a red dress there, before building up the tension until everything is claret and the tale finally yields an answer.

Fear X is a thought provoker, to be pondered upon. So many straightforward events are also shrouded in mystery, destined to be debated by many. Just in case you’re in doubt of the strange depths, note the suitably odd hotel (Lynch again?) complete with quirky check - in man. In a red shirt.

It could be argued this is a cold, frosty movie but when the frost does crack, it serves to later empower an amazing scene, a surprisingly moving and unique moment.

The key is, that in spite of its obvious Lynchian influences, it does have some original ideas and conveys them in a confident intelligent manner.

This self – consciously classy movie may not appeal to a wider audience, but it probably doesn’t want to.

A final thought – the DVD could make a fantastic feature out of the security footage and it would definitely merit a second viewing at home.

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Fear X (2004) review written by: Terresa Gaffney