By Melissa Garza
I love fun whodunits. Whodunits with endings that are entertaining are the best. During the course of the little known gem Phobia I thought to myself, “wouldn’t it be cool if the killer was this person and his motive was this” and sure enough that is exactly how it played out. Still, I can’t say it was expected. I told myself that was one thing that probably wouldn’t happen. For wrestling fans, it was sort of like when the NWO announced there was a third guy and Geno and I through around names. We guessed everyone from Shawn Michaels to Tatanka. I remember bringing up Hulk Hogan but saying, “there’s no way they’d make him the bad guy” but nonetheless they did and it was even more awesome than I imagined.
The plot is simple. Dr. Peter Ross (Paul Michael Glaser) is a psychiatrist who is trying a radically different treatment than anything attempted before. They are subjects that are forced to face their fears head-on by watching it on huge television screens. A man afraid of heights is forced to watch a doll that appears to be a baby flying out the window of a tall skyscraper. A woman who is deathly afraid of being attacked by a man is forced to watch men while they sexually assault a woman.
The list of suspects include a few rough and tough police officers, some other patients and a few colleagues.
Some of the film is slow moving, there’s absolutely no gore, but the deaths are extremely interesting. For those put off by the parts that drag, I definitely suggest staying for the conclusion as it makes up for any parts of the movie that dragged.
The acting is good and Glaser is especially awesome in his role as he tries to determine who the murderer is. Robert O’Ree who played Bubba King, a patient afraid of snakes was also especially great. I wish he was in it more.
Overall, fans of whodunits or suspense movies will definitely enjoy this! It’s not really scary but the fun factor outweighs the lack of actual fear. There’s absolutely no gore as it is primarily dialogue driven. I wouldn’t go as far to say it’s an intellectual movie but the dialogue is significant to the plot and should be paid close attention to.
Scared Stiff Rating: 7/10
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