Phobia (1980)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Phobia Phobia - Labyrinth of Fear Labyrinth of Fear |
| Original title | Phobia |
| Country of production | Canada |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1980 |
| length | 86 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | John Huston |
| script |
Jimmy Sangster Lew Lehman Peter Bellwood |
| production | Zale Magder |
| music | André Gagnon |
| camera | Reginald H. Morris |
| cut | Stan Cole |
| occupation | |
| |
Phobia , also Phobia - Labyrinth of Fear and Labyrinth of Fear , is a 1979 Canadian psychological thriller by John Huston with Paul Michael Glaser in the lead role.
action
Fears - large and small, normal and abnormal - are the special field of work of the young psychiatrist Dr. Peter Ross in Toronto . For his patients who have been released from prison and suffer from phobias of all kinds, he is the last port of call in the hope of a cure. Ross' methods are anything but squeamish, rather radical, but supposedly quite effective. With brutal closeness to reality, Dr. Ross the desperate people who tell him about the things that make them sweat on their foreheads every day, with exactly these fears. One day, however, his attempts at healing turn into absolute evil, because someone murders one of his patients after the other. Is it a psychopath who wants to harm Ross with his blood orgy, is it one of the patients of the respected psychiatrist or possibly someone close to Ross? In any case, the maniac kills using a very effective method: the majority of the victims die exactly as it corresponds to their greatest phobia. A patient with fear of heights falls and dies, and the black Bubba King, fearful of snakes, dies as the madman's final victim to the fatal bite of a rattlesnake. Other Ross patients, on the other hand, die from deaths that do not correspond to their phobia: a patient who is afraid of crowds dies in an explosion, while a woman who is afraid of rape is drowned by the sinister killer.
The police, in the shape of the snotty Inspector Barnes, are not getting anywhere and suspect everyone, no matter how harmless they may be. Ultimately, the investigation comes down to the young prisoner Johnny Venuti, who behaves more than conspicuously and has meanwhile been piled up. Ross wants to meet the fugitive at his friend Jenny St. Clair's before Venuti can fall into the hands of the gruff Barnes. In a panic, however, Venuti flees again when he sees Barnes pull up in front of Jenny's house, and he, the claustrophobic among Ross' patients, is crushed by an elevator. Finally, Dr. Ross himself as the psychopathic killer of all those people he was unable to heal. He sees his murderous deeds as appropriate punishment for the fact that those released from prison simply could not be cured. Ross shares this knowledge with his Jenny, who suddenly thinks she is in great danger. But finally, Dr. Ross himself: Aware of his hopeless situation, he shoots himself after assuring Jenny: "I will not spend the rest of my life in a straitjacket".
Production notes
Phobia - Labyrinth of Fear , was created in the fall of 1979, is considered one of the most unknown productions by Huston and has received little attention in the USA since its publication on September 9, 1980. In the production country Canada, Phobia started on September 26th of the same year. With production costs of around $ 5.1 million, the flick only grossed just under $ 60,000, making it a mega-flop. The film was released as a video in Germany in 1984, and Huston's late work was first broadcast in Germany on ZDF under the title Labyrinth der Angst on January 10, 1987.
Reviews
"Absolutely terrible film (...) Mercilessly boring, illogical and unsympathetic."
"Routinely staged psychological thriller that sheds less light on the psychological background than tells an exciting crime story. Despite the pale character drawing, the audience sympathies are skilfully directed. "
"Inconspicuous thriller with a horror approach, but nothing of the kind you would have expected from this director."
Web links
- Phobia in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Phobia. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed December 1, 2018 .