A Fantastic Fear of Everything

2014
5.8| 1h40m| R| en
Details

Jack is a children's author turned crime novelist whose detailed research into the lives of Victorian serial killers has turned him into a paranoid wreck, persecuted by the irrational fear of being murdered. When Jack is thrown a life-line by his long-suffering agent and a mysterious Hollywood executive takes a sudden and inexplicable interest in his script, what should be his big break rapidly turns into his big breakdown, as Jack is forced to confront his worst demons; among them his love life, his laundry and the origin of all fear.

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Reviews

Gutsycurene Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.
Derry Herrera Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.
Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
Kirandeep Yoder The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.
areatw When I saw that Simon Pegg (one of my favourite comedy actors) was in this film, I had high expectations. Pegg has an effortless ability to make people laugh, yet even he struggled with this material. The script is dire, the plot is practically non-existent and, most importantly, it's not funny.Pegg did his best with what he had to work with. He brought energy and personality to the role and at least made it watchable. I dread to think what this film would have been like with a less talented lead actor, because Pegg is the sole reason why I watched it until the end.'A Fantastic Fear of Everything' is anything but fantastic. 'A Feeble, Fruitless, Flawed and Frankly Forgettable Fear of Everything' would be a more appropriate title.
morrison-dylan-fan With a friend coming back from Australia,I decided to look round for a movie that she would enjoy.Due to her being a Simon Pegg fan,I was happy to find that one of his lesser-known movies had turned up at a local DVD shop,which led to me getting ready to discover how fantastic this fear could be.The plot:Unable to sell his children's book, author Jack decides to move on to writing a book on Victorian serial killers (not much of a change there!) Delving into research,Jack starts to become obsessed by the history of the killers,and starts to become paranoid.Locking himself in his flat,Jack gets a call from his publisher,telling him that he must come out,due to their being a big shot producer who wants to adapt Jack's book. Failing to clean up,Jack accidentally super-glues a knife to his hand.Putting a big coat on to hide the knife,Jack steps out into the outside world,where he soon runs into a modern wannabe serial killer.View on the film:Changing chords from Brit Pop band Kula Shaker to the big screen, Crispian "son of Hayley" Mills and fellow co-director Chris Hopewell turn the pages in Jack's book with an ultra-stylised chic.Backed by pounding Hip-Hop songs and a creepy score from Michael Price,the directors and cinematographer Simon Chaudoir lock Jack in his flat with a vice-like grip,as lightning fast whip-pans and scatter shot zoom- ins uncover the terror that Jack fears has joined him in his flat.Opening with a matte painting, Mills & Hopewell show a bravely in taking the chilling mood into unexpectedly quirky routes,by bringing Jack's stories to life in hand-drawn and raw stop-motion animation.Whilst the ending disappointingly leaves Jack's debut novel to end on a whimper,the screenplay by Crispian Mills thankfully spends the rest of the title pulling the blood red Comedy Horror nerves from Jack's paranoia.Opening up Jack's troubled life,Mills unveil all of the anxiety fuelling Jack's horror fears,which leads to bitter slap- stick laughs,as Jack faces his fears on the outside. Twitching across the screen,Simon Pegg gives a great performance as Jack,thanks to Pegg pushing Jack's eyes to bursting and shivering with terror over the smallest thing,as Jack faces his fantastic fear of everything.
ghosthurd This film is absolutely terrible we were desperate for something to watch and found this with simon pegg thinking it was a safe bet as he has done obvious good films. Narrrgggh this film is rotten we lasted about 50 mins and enden up with it just on in the background what was he thinking do they not watch their own film or do they get so Rich it doesn't matter what tripe they bash out its money in the bank, 99% of the time hes running round his flat looking unconvincingly scared with his knife not even sure there is anyone else in this film Boring Boring Boring ROTTEN PEGG stick to what you know fat boy run etc was fantastic what the hell is this tripe, sure you will get a few fools who think its a dark comedy or cult follow etc etc nargh don't risk it its crud.
Suicide_Saint For any fans of Simon Pegg or independent cinema who may potentially be discouraged from viewing this film due to the low ratings, don't be fooled! "A Fantastic Fear of Everything" is an incredibly well-done film from start to finish. Pegg delivers a brilliant performance as an agoraphobic writer attempting to delve into the world of Victorian killers for a new book project. His paranoia forces him into a number of hilariously unfortunate and unexpected situations. This is not your typical middle school toilet humor nor does the film set up jokes you can see coming a mile away.Overall, the film is humorous, entertaining, and incorporates a number of dark, unorthodox story-telling features (including bits of animation). Therefore, if you primarily enjoy big-budget blockbusters or expect that every film featuring Simon Pegg to be "Shaun of the Dead" that sadly, you will probably not enjoy this film. However, if you appreciate story-telling, exemplar acting, and something a little different than the norm, I would highly recommend this film.