Haunting Fear (1990)

A woman has nightmares of being buried alive which somehow awakens a long-repressed enity inside her while her greedy, cheating husband plots to murder her for her money.

Director:

Fred Olen Ray

Writers:

Edgar Allan Poe (story "Premature Burial"), Fred Olen Ray (as Sherman Scott)

Stars:

Brinke Stevens, Jan-Michael Vincent, John Henry Richardson

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Brinke Stevens	...	Victoria Munroe
Jan-Michael Vincent	...	Detective James Trent
John Henry Richardson	...	Terry Munroe (as Jay Richardson)
Delia Sheppard	...	Lisa
Karen Black	...	Dr. Julia Harcourt
Robert Clarke	...	Dr. Carlton
Robert Quarry	...	Visconti
Michael Berryman	...	Mortician
Hoke Howell	...	Father Corpse
Greta Carlson	...	Visconti's Girl (as Sherri Graham)
Mark Thomas McGee	...	Morgue Attendant #1
Jeff Yesko	...	Morgue Attendant #2

Storyline

Victoria can't sleep: she's having bad dreams about being buried alive. Her husband Terry makes her go see Dr. Carlton, who she blames for her father's death. Unable to help her, he asks Dr. Harcourt to try and unlock Victoria's mental block with hypnotism. Meanwhile Terry continues an affair with his secretary, and worries about paying off a huge gambling debt. Terry could pay off his debt and be with his secretary if he could just get his hands on Victoria's money somehow.

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Plot Keywords:

adulterous husband | psychiatrist | hypnosis | nightmare | gore | 

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Taglines:

Victoria Monro is haunted by the fear of being BURIED ALIVE.

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shot in six days.

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Goofs

Obvious fake head when Victoria knifes Terry and decapitates him.

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Connections

Featured in Screaming in High Heels: The Rise & Fall of the Scream Queen Era (2011)

User Reviews

Worth it if you like Brinke or director Fred Olen Ray; everyone else - run!

Victoria Munroe (Brinke Stevens) is having nightmares that seem to be driving her husband Terry (Jay Richardson) nuts. Not because he fears for her well being, but because he wants her to die from her weak heart so that he can inherit her wealth and live high on the hog with his secretary Lisa (Delia Sheppard). Oh, and maybe pay off his gambling debt he owes to Italian mobster Visconti (the decidedly un-Italian Robert Quarry). Looking to speed up the process, Terry and Lisa decide to bury Victoria alive in order to scare her to death. Loosely based on Poe's "The Premature Burial" (hey, it has a premature burial), this Fred Olen Ray shocker is from his serviceable period with some decent FX, that same house he used in every other film (the brown one, not the white one) and nice photography by Gary Graver. This is probably the biggest role Stevens has ever had and she is fine as the stressed out wife. Her acting takes a slight turn for the worse when she is supposed to play psycho at the end. Jan-Michael Vincent, Karen Black, Hoke Howell, and Michael Berryman all got in one day of work in small roles. Vincent's role in the first half relies on him sitting in a parked car and staring at things. Ray obviously knew him well.

Details

Official Sites:

Troma

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

March 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Edgar Allan Poe's Haunting Fear

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$115,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Independent Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1