Review of Fever

Introduction

What do you get if you take a Polish couple, a Scottish neurotic and a tortured artist, and place them all inside the grottiest apartment block you`ll ever see in the so called `developed world`? It may sound like a vaguely racist joke, or possibly an exercise in psychiatric problem solving, but the answer seems to be a rather intriguing and, for the most part, uniquely realistic thriller.

Written and Directed by Alex Winter, known to the screaming masses as Bill from the `Bill and Ted` films (last famously sighted playing twister with death as a light hearted homage to Ingmar Bergman`s `Seventh Seal`) and starring Desperate Housewife Teri Hatcher (back when her desperation was more of just a slight itch), `Fever` could be, on first impressions, conceived as a merely average dark and twisted affair. Indeed, if that were the case, then the release of this film on DVD would prove risky business in an era when the Japanese film industry has cornered the market in that very genre. Thankfully, the gamble was worth it.

Nick Parker (Henry Thomas) is the tortured artist who just can`t seem to get a break, despite the bizarrely unexplained fact that his sister (Hatcher) owns an Art Gallery (that`s sibling love for you). Living in squalor, he notices the unexplainable murders of those living around him and instinctively distrusts new kid on the block `Will` (David O`Hara), his junkie-style demeanour seemingly modelled on nineties British classic `Trainspotting`. Yet, not all is as it seems and, just when he thinks he has the answers, Nick discovers some terrifying truths about himself.

Video

Perfectly complimenting (and the process further creating) the dark and alienated feel of the movie, sparse shots and overhead camera angles are used in excess. With much of the picture being made through what seems to be some sort of `dirty` filter, with the effect being a grubby grey movie, the cold atmosphere is, at times, too much to take. In fact, the cinematographer (Joe DeSalvo - of `Johnny Suede` fame) seems to have fulfilled all his dirty little fantasies at once with this one!

The result of such a technique is that it really does create an impressive looking film. Indeed, although this won`t be the DVD that you throw on demonstrate your brand-spanking new plasma screen TV and suitably impress your mates (there aren`t enough colours!), it is unlikely that you wont be taken aback by the overall look of the film.

Audio

Arguably the least impressive part of `Fever`, the soundtrack doesn`t do much to set your spine tingling. Sure, all the squeaks, shatters and bumps are in the right place, but that`s about all it can boast.

Features

The extras on the disc are `Interviews with the cast and crew` and a `Behind the scenes` documentary.

Although not provided on the review disc, these seem pretty self-explanatory and may give some incite into `Teri Hatcher: the wilderness years`.

Conclusion

As if it were utilising some sort of interactive bacteria, `Fever` manages to draw the viewer into the sickening and illness ridden world that the characters inhabit. This is a movie all about heartbeats and isolation; about the demons within those who possess a fragile mind. Above all of this however, it is an incredibly paranoid film painting a picture of distrust amongst the vulnerable. Ok, admittedly it`s not up there with the great social commentaries of all time, but as a thriller, it manages to strike a refreshingly real and urbane chord.

Unfortunately, one thing which seems to be a prerequisite in the land of the eerie Thriller - `The clever twist` - is, as becomes clear at the end of the film, conspicuously absent. Without giving too much away, it`s more likely than not that you`ll end up scratching your head and wondering what exactly the finale was exactly trying to say. Even more irritating is the fact that, being six years old, if a `Director`s cut` exists somewhere, then there has been ample chance to dig up something with an infinitely more satisfying denouement.

As it stands, Fever is a surprisingly entertaining and achingly suspenseful DVD which does its director and cinematographer proud. Those who want a few more plot developments may have to look elsewhere, but they would be missing a great example of how American Indie thrillers can challenge the American and Japanese mainstream examples and give them a run for their (considerably more) money.