Nutcracker (2001)

Director:

Glen Grefe

Writer:

Glen Grefe (writer)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Prepare to Look Into the Human Brain

Plot:

It's another crazy Christmas and psychotherapist Dr. Carlton Fairfax, Jr. is losing control of his patients and his sanity - then he meets one particularly mysterious patient who sees to it that he definitely continues down that road. |

Plot Keywords:

Psychotherapist | Christmas | Spirit | Gift | Hell

Cast

Bill Bragg	...	Carlton Fairfax II
David Hess	...	John Gard / Clyde Fairfax
Christine Marie Schneider	...	April Oakridge Fairfax
Elina Fillipova	...	Sierra Steinbach
Noris Campos	...	Sonja Delhi
Karl-Heinz Teuber	...	Albert Woods
Cheryl Jennings	...	Herself
Darian O'Toole	...	Blair Weesch
Michael St. John	...	Asylum Inmate
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Vinny Adan	...	Young Carl
William King Appel	...	Detective Jeremy Ringer
Ralph Filice	...	Dario Convero
Jon Gale	...	Missionary
Kim Law Grefe	...	Night Club Singer
Jesse Hess	...	Young Clyde
Duane Orville Johnson	...	Detective Jim Lynch
Esther Mamet	...	Mother Fairfax
Stesha Marcon	...	Amanda Fairfax

Also Known As:

Nutcracker: An American Nightmare (USA)

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Dream St. North

Quotes:

Carlton Fairfax II: That... that... that's...
John Gard: ...that's like ME being the doctor and YOU being the patient.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs The Last House on the Left (1972)

Soundtrack:

Walking the Blue

Great Independent Thriller!

Director Glen Grefe's first full-length feature film is a testament to why Independent features are produced. This self proclaimed "no budget" thriller kept me enthralled from beginning to end. Unlike other films that finish their character development within the first half hour or so, Nutcracker's characters are ever changing and evolving which keeps the viewer's interest better than many big budget films. The first reason I decided to view this film was the inclusion of David Hess to the cast. Hess has been one of my favorite Horror/Suspense actors since the mid 1980s, so naturally this film was a must-see for me. In addition to Hess, I found the film to be solidly acted throughout. I thought Bill Bragg turned in a great performance as Dr. Carlton Fairfax, and I absolutely loved Darian O'Toole's performance as the Vampiress who is not quite ready to face the world without her beloved therapist, and of course, the most subtle and underlying character in this movie was the setting itself, the gorgeous city of San Francisco, whose beauty is skillfully displayed with the film's excellent camera work. This film is also paced very nicely, and with a relatively short running time (approx. 1:20), it is an easy film to digest. I highly recommend this film to fans of Suspense Thrillers or Giallo films, as well as any fans of the work of the unmistakable David Hess! Currently, you can purchase the film on Amazon or at the film's official website but I have heard a rumor about a special Blockbuster Edition of this film possibly coming in early 2007, we can only hope! A funny side note, the film has great audio, so convincing in fact that when Carlton rings Sierra's doorbell, my 2 dogs go absolutely bonkers! Probably the only movie I own that gets a reaction like that, my hat's off to whoever mixed the audio!