Fear Clinic (2014)

Best movie of this year hands down!

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Dr Andover (horror legend Robert Englund) cures people's phobias using his Fear Chamber at his clinic. Naturally being a horror movie things go horribly wrong, with fear itself becoming a physical manifestation. At several points in the film characters state that they don't know what's happening. I felt the same. It does, however, all come together in the end, but if it were not for some OK acting & special effects then I'd have scored it less than 4/10. This is one clinic that I will not be revisiting!

Photo-realistic creature FX wizard, Robert Hall directs this direct-to-video fear flick starring The one and only Freddy Kruger, actor Robert Englund as a brilliant doctor who finds a way to cure his patients' extreme phobias through a makeshift sensory deprivation chamber that creates hallucinations that eventually eradicate that area of the brain that controls fear. Unfortuanately "fear" is actually a demon incarnate, (or something) and wants retribution against the clinic's inhabitants for trying to defeat it in the first place.Some may find this to be a clever concept with a modest budget controlled very well with production value and efforts from the cast. Others, including myself find it to be a convoluted, CGI ridden mess with most of the action incoherent and a premise that fails to justify an extremely bizarre and confusing climax. The performances of the cast are quite impressive. Englund is convincing as the conflicted doctor and Fred Dekker (The Sarah Conner Chronicles) is very good as a cripple who's brain begins to regenerate after the treatment. The strangeness really kicks into gear when people begin to die after their treatments are rather successful, and for some reason or another the doctor is possessed by the "fear" entity in an onslaught of nightmarish special FX. Its induced with lots of panic and emotional drama from the female cast as well as male cast behaving like typical douchebags. Other performances include Fiona Dourif, the daughter of veteran genre actor and voice of Chucky the killer doll, Brad Dourif and the acting debut of talented heavy metal front-man, Corey Taylor of bands, "Slipknot" and "Stone Sour" as a clinic orderly. With that in mind, this fulfills most of the clichés with teen screams, big-boobed sex scene, a little bit of gore but not much to expect from what resembles an intensely atmospheric music video much of the time. Its not bad if you don't have anything else to watch.

New Anchor Bay release, "Fear Clinic" is an unexpected thrill ride that's fun at every turn. It's a low budget horror film …..That doesn't know its low budget."Fear Clinic" is loosely based on the 2009 fearnet.com web series of the same name. It stars Robert Englung (Nightmare on Elm Street, Wishmaster, Urban Legend). The story follows Englunds Dr. Andover who's created a device that attempts to cure people of their worst fears. (Of course, no horror film would be worth its weight without something… going horribly wrong.)The films stand out is Englund himself. Being a horror icon, you'd probably expect a phoned in, overzealous, scenery chewing performance. But that is just not true. He gives a vulnerable, emotional, unguarded and in the end, heart wrenching performance, that's by far, distanced from any other (sans make-up) character he's ever played. To his credit, Englund has little dialogue and utilizes his screen time speaking a thousand words, exuding recognizable emotion with just his eyes: A rarity now a days with all the You Tube instant celeb mediocrity regurgitated daily. It's a trick that only a seasoned actor of Englund's stature can convey. Englund's Andover is a Doctor who truly believes he can help mankind. He becomes so emotionally involved, that he himself is, ultimately corrupted by the same evil force he's trying to cure. Another stand out is actor Thomas Dekker. Dekker is best known for playing a young John Conner in the short lived "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles". Dekker, a veteran of "….Clinic" director Robert Hall's (Laid to Rest), here plays a wheel chair bound Blake, incapacitated and unable to speak. Dekker could have thrown on the cheese and played the character with reckless cliché : Instead, he's fearless here, walking a fine tightrope, inviting us in to share his characters tortured past, peeled back in delicate layers, all leading to a third act twist I defy you to see coming. This is Dekker's best work since playing Smith, the "Chosen Son" in the Canne', Palm Award winning film, "Kaboom" by director Gregg Araki. Other cast stand outs include level headed Sara, played by Fiona Dourif, phobic crippled Megan, played with relish by Cleopatra Coleman, as well as worthy cast member and reluctant victim of Dr. Andover's device, the deliciously devious, possessed Paige, embodied with zeal by Bonnie Morgan (and helped by an outstanding special effects team): All, rising stars waiting to happen. Rounding out the cast are the horror film, "comedy relief staples", personified with glee by Kevin Gage and Corey Taylor. Director Robert Hall, whose original web series the film is based on, returns here, showing his chops by leading his cast down a road of atypical mayhem. The director could have ridden a murder every 30 minute wave that most low budgeters settle for. Instead, he doubles down on the phobias and in turn, with the help of dynamic camera work by Cinematographer, Joseph White and interesting editing choices by Sherwood Jones, the film takes us on a ride with peaks and valleys that are fun and solidly different.If I had to make one critical call I'd have to say my only regret was the over use of colored lighting gels that at times, bordered on annoying. But, if that's the worst thing that happened while viewing "Fear Clinic', I'm in pretty good shape. If you're looking for seen it before, duplicated dreck, check out "Michael Myers: Part 15" or "Jason Voorhees: Part 18". But, if you want to see an unexpectedly original horror franchise villain, waiting to exploit endless possibilities of fear in the human mind, step out of your huge budget comfort zone. Take a leap of faith and give over to the delicate moments of horror fun. Then, watch it again and discover what new interpretations can be discovered in this low budget horror/thriller with each subsequent viewing. A shout out to Sean Evans of "Back to the Movies" (http://bttm.co.uk ): It was through his web site, I was tipped off to this surprising gem. For that…. I am grateful.

A doctor (Robert Englund) works to cure patients suffering from crippling phobias by placing them inside his invention which induces and controls hallucinations.We Got This Covered panned the film as "underwhelming", writing "Fear Clinic is an ambitious project stitched together by unsteady hands, as the threads holding everything together threaten to unravel". Somehow in the recent past, WGTC has risen to the level of Dread Central as an authority on all things horror, but they tend to be very wrong. Other than correctly calling this "ambitious", they missed the mark.This is horror film 101, with a great director (Robert Hall), great effects artist (Robert Kurtzman), and a handful of horror stars: Robert Englund, Fiona Dourif and Corey Taylor. Even if the film was a failure, just watching this team do their thing would be worthwhile.Hall goes dark, and he brings the nastiness. While this might not pack the punch that "Laid to Rest" did, it offers plenty to admire: a clever concept, some cool looking medical gadgets, and more than enough blood and bile to coat the screen red and black. What more could anyone want? And, for fans who have to have the best-looking version out there, Best Buy is exclusively offering the blu-ray for a very reasonable price. Well worth picking up for anyone who enjoyed this on Chiller and wants to catch the fear again and again.