The Fear Inside

Meredith Cole(Christine Lahti) is an agoraphobic and is constantly a prisoner in her home! Since her husband leaves, she leaves an ad in the paper for someone to rent her guest bedroom. But supposedly brother and sister Jane (Jennifer Rubin) and Peter (Dylan Mcdermett)come a long and are not what they seem. Jane claims she's a vet and her brother claims he's a cop. Things go to extremes when Meredith finds a ring in their bedroom from which they murdered a rich woman and stole it from her as it is worth thousands. When Jane kidnaps and threatens to kill Meridiths son she has no choice but to come over her fear!The only good thing about the mad couple terrorizing her is probably them getting her out the house to save her son!This film is very good and has a good plot it shows that a fear is something but what extremes you have to go through to get out of it. Jennifer is great as mad Jane, she is fab at playing Jane's childish and psychotic nature.

The Fear Inside is a home invasion horror/thriller with a twist: the woman who is attacked in her home is agoraphobic and therefore unable to leave, even when the opportunity arises. It's a neat idea, and director Leon Ichaso tackles the story with a fair amount of style (albeit early '90s style), but it's made-for-TV origins means that it holds back when it would have benefitted from pushing the boundaries. While watching, I couldn't help imagining what what the film would have been like had one of my favourite Italian directors from the '70s been in control: Ruggero Deodato or Joe D'amato would have brought a much needed exploitative and gritty edge to proceedings.

Strong performances help make the movie watchable despite its frustratingly anodyne approach: Christine Lahti is excellent as children's illustrator Meredith Cole, whose fear of the outside has caused a rift in her marriage; Dylan McDermott impresses as handsome but psychotic criminal Pete Caswell; and Jennifer Rubin plays crazy to the hilt (think Juliette Lewis from NBK crossed with Sheri Moon Zombie in The Devil's Rejects), a little too over-the-top perhaps , but it certainly adds interest. Even the obligatory kid (played by Thomas Ian Nicholas, Kevin in American Pie) is watchable - I guess if this HAD been directed by an Italian, the child would most likely have been extremely irritating.

Okay, so this is a made for TV movie of 1992. It is based around the fear of being out of the house - called agoraphobia (sp). Christine Lahti is the lady in distress. Usually I like this lady's work, but this time around I was not only annoyed at her dramatics but tired after awhile of her screaming antics. Now you also have the good looks of Dylan McDermott as one of the home invaders. At first you really like him. And then when he begins to show his true colors, the plot thickens. McDermott gives a reasonably good performance. Unlike his supposedly wacky sister, overplayed by Jennifer Rubin. I couldn't wait for Rubin to get her uppance. She was that annoying. Both she and Lahti deserved each other. I was hoping that the two ladies would kill each other and Dylan goes free. He and the parrot that is. The house gets trashed along the way and our leading lady gets out of the house. Not surprising. This story was written by Alan Jay Gluickman and made into a screenplay by David Birke. Leon Ichaso directed this, but letting the two leading actresses go too far in my opinion.

I first saw this movie in a hotel room, on a business trip in a strange city, so I hadn't seen any previews - like the very long one that's available on youtube that essentially gives everything away. But here we are, nearly 30 years later, and I still remember being completely creeped out by this film - and the ending is PERFECT. The performances were STELLAR from the three leads, Christine Lahti, Dylan McDermott, and Jennifer Rubin. Yes, it's 90s style (it's called nostalgia), but it still stands out in my mind as a completely watchable and engaging film. Certainly, though obscurely memorable to me: the MINUTE I saw McDermott's Wheatley character on Law & Order SVU, I remembered the origin of him being capable of playing an intelligent, psychopathic and violent manipulator in The Fear Inside. And whatever happened to Jennifer Rubin? (google search up next for me) Wouldn't it be nice to experience whether The Fear Inside still holds up - IF ONLY IT WERE AVAILABLE?

Artist, Meredith Cole (Christine Lahti) has a few problems. In addition to suffering from acute agoraphobia, her husband has left her and threatened to take their young son. A virtual prisoner in her large, rural home, Meredith struggles to overcome her debilitating fear of the outside world.

Meredith takes in a new boarder named Jane (Jennifer Rubin) who seems perfect. Alas, things take a turn when Jane's "brother" Pete (Dylan McDermott) arrives for a visit. This bodes ill, since we've already been shown an example of Pete committing a heinous act!

As time goes on, Meredith learns that she's not the greatest judge of character, all leading to a life and death situation.

THE FEAR INSIDE is a made-for-TV thriller that is the basic template for the future, superior film, RESTRAINT. Still, it's suspenseful enough in its own right, and McDermott is a serviceable psychopath.

Worth a watch...