Fabled (2002)

Joseph just broke up with his girlfriend and is not taking it very well. He thinks she is plotting against him with their mutual psychiatrist. His dog is missing and he suspects the people ... See full summary »

Director:

Ari Kirschenbaum

Writer:

Ari Kirschenbaum

Stars:

Desmond Askew, Katheryn Winnick, J. Richey Nash

Cast

Credited cast:
Desmond Askew	...	Joseph Fable
Katheryn Winnick	...	Liz
J. Richey Nash	...	Alex
Michael Panes	...	Dr. Roy Frumkes
Coleen Sexton	...	Lisa from Accounting
Deven May	...	Jim
Theo Hausen	...	Brian
Doug Wert	...	The Boss (as Douglas Wert)
Della Askew	...	Narrator
William Ryall	...	Bookman
Adam LeFevre	...	Pharmacist
Tony Cucci	...	Bartender
R. Brandon Johnson	...	James
John O'Connor	...	Paul
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jim Ireland	...	Mr. Finney

Storyline

Joseph just broke up with his girlfriend and is not taking it very well. He thinks she is plotting against him with their mutual psychiatrist. His dog is missing and he suspects the people at work might be behind it. Then there is the unshakable guilt over his past. It just might all be bearable, somehow possible to live through, if it weren't for those damned 'monsters' that keep trying to kill him. Through an allegorical 'fable' that is told in parallel with Joseph's struggle, we are left to decide for ourselves in the end, who is the crow and who is the wolf., was someone out to get Joseph, was it a stroke of bad luck, or was it all in his head?

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Taglines:

"There once was a wolf named Lupold..."

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller | Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 August 2002 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Connecticut, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$9,642 (USA) (10 December 2004)

Gross:

$25,918 (USA) (11 March 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fabled LLC, Simian Tales Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmed in 21 Days.

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Quotes

Narrator: There once was a wolf named Lupold, who was black as coal... As thick as a tree trunk... And feared like death. He had teeth the size of carving knives, powerful claws of stone, and eyes that glowed like fat fire flies. He could smell your sweat before the first bead broke from your skin, he could hear your heart beat from miles away and he could see you even in the blackest of pitch.

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Connections

References Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

User Reviews

Best paranoia movie since Rear Window

"Fabled" is a stylish, complex psychological thriller that makes me think this is the kind of stuff Hitchcock would be doing if his life and career had been extended another 30 years. If you like tense, artistic mindbenders like the Aronofsky films "Pi" and "Black Swan", or the works of Korean director Ji-woon Kim like "A Tale of Two Sisters", or some of the David Lynch puzzlers like "Mulholland Drive", then this is for you.

I guarantee it won't make complete sense immediately, but instead it presents a nice puzzle that'll have you thinking for a long time afterwards. What separates it from the classic mindbenders is that the plot itself isn't the puzzle you're expected to solve, but rather the challenge is to figure out the film's meaning through symbolism, theme, and so on. For example, there are certain recurring ingredients which are not integral to the story, but they definitely mean something: a scrap of paper stuck to the main character's shoe, odd flashbacks to a dog digging under a fence, appearances of a creepy man with books, etc. None of these things are significant parts of the story; yet they are there by design and meant to add depth and meaning. They are not random.

Something I really enjoyed about this film, which is absent from the other movies I listed above, is a sort of dark comedy that exists under the surface. There aren't really any big punchline gags, but the banter between the characters of Joe and Alex (actors Desmond Askew and J Ritchie Nash) had me laughing out loud the way I laughed at the banter between Travolta and Jackson in "Pulp Fiction". Also this movie has a lot of humorous repetition that makes it seem more like a dark comedy than a thriller (like random people asking the main character "has she come home yet?" to which he rants something about his girlfriend, only to learn they were referring to his dog). Back to my earlier comparison, Hitchcock was the master of mixing chills with laughs, and I think first-time director Ari Kirschenbaum did an excellent job at it. It takes a lot of guts to attempt humor with such a serious theme.

I liked this movie so much, after watching it the first time I immediately watched it again with the commentary track. Unfortunately, the commentary doesn't shed much light on the film's symbolism and meaning (you can tell they're trying not to ruin it). But one thing that's obvious in the commentary as well as the actors' performances is that everyone enjoyed making this movie and put their all into it. Shot in 21 days on a modest budget, half the extras are crew and family members. This intimate vibe, especially the funny chemistry between Askew and Nash, Results in one of the "warmest" thrillers I've ever seen.