A Reflection of Fear

I recently had the privilege to see a brand new (from the camera negative) 35mm print of this film at the American Cinematheque here in Los Angeles. It was a Friday night, there were probably only about 20 people in the theatre. Bill Fraker and Sondra Locke were there to talk about it. I really admire this film on many levels, visually it is quite amazing, filled with haunting pastel images and eerie dark shadowy lighting. It had look and feel [and content] of a film made around the 1970-71 period as opposed to '73, and sure enough that was indeed the case. (the film was shelved for 2 years before the studio did something with it) This is yet another interesting example of the kind of strange and bold and brilliant and unconventional film that could have ONLY been made in that time. (and surely the filmmakers of the time were not aware of it--as this was just the reality of the era)

In the same kind of haunting and lonely ambience this film created, I felt depressed that these works are still so overlooked. Even now, (as of late March 2003) there is only one other comment here on the IMDB. And this person (verna55) happens to a friend of mine I've corresponded with. It seems only too apparent there is simply no audience for movies like this, except for rare, intelligent, aware people like me. On one level I'm glad to know about and connect with films like this, on another it makes me morose with utter hopelessness knowing there is simply no market for films like this. Or chance anything like it could ever be made again, especially given the way people tend to overlook and ignore the most brilliant things. But gee, thats nothing new isn't it? I hold little hope for the future of humankind, and you know what? frankly I think some kind of armageddon would be the best thing that could happen to planet earth right now. (--D. Packard, director of "Reflections of Evil")

Weird! This is one of the most bizarre horror flicks I've ever seen. But weird can be good, and in this case, it's definitely good! The beautiful and sexy Sondra Locke is at her very best as the tormented teen. Mary Ure and Signe Hasso are appropriately sinister as Locke's overprotective mother and grandmother. Robert Shaw is the disturbed young girl's estranged father who returns home to announce he's going to marry lovely Sally Kellerman. Naturally, several strange and dastardly deeds occur before this event can take place. The film is by all means an effective suspense story(all right, so it borrowed here and there from PSYCHO), but does have its shortcomings. The movie was very severely cut to avoid an R rating and slide by with a PG. Bad editing makes it all too obvious where the missing footage should be. But, it's still a worthwhile thriller with genuine scares and great acting.

A Reflection In Fear tells the story of a wealthy man (Robert Shaw), returning home for the first time in 15 years to see his daughter and to divorce his ex wife so he can marry his fiancé He's devastated to learn his daughter is treated like a prisoner on the estate, locked away from society by a vindictive wife (Mary Ure) and mother-in-law (Signe Hasso). Marguerite lives in a fantasy world, with imaginary friends named Aaron who seems to come real and gets very jealous of Marguerite.

I must say I watched this a while back and I was pleasantly surprised, it was a really interesting watch and I can see that this being from the early 70's has influenced many later slashers such as "Sleepaway Camp" and "Unhinged" I'd like to go into greater detail about this "debt" but doing so would ruin the surprise ending.

Sondra Locke who plays the daughter Marguerite gave a mesmerising performance She looks so fragile and vulnerable in her Alice in Wonderland dresses, she really steals the scenes from the other cast members. Robert Shaw's performance is restrained but it's because his character is supposed to be oblivious to his daughter's sexual advances. He's still the best male actor in the cast and his larger than life qualities shine through. Mary Ure, Shaw's real wife at the time, has little dialogue but is able to convey evil and hatred with just a glance. Sally Kellerman also gives a strong performance as Anne, a woman who realises her future is crumbling before her eyes.

All in all Reflection may be a forgotten gem, but I really liked it and has the presence of a strong cast and a strong story line, I would definitely recommend tracking this down.

Despite getting top billing, for much of the time you're hardly aware that Robert Shaw is even in this murky psychodrama, the story so dominated by the female contingent (including Sondra Locke's imaginary friend who who looks and sounds like a grotesque parody of Hugo in 'Dead of Night').

The film is actually shown through the large hungry eyes of Sondra Locke who plays his daughter dressed as Shaw observes "like some precocious doll".

The casting of Shaw's wife Mary Ure as Shaw's estranged wife seeking a divorce is sadly ironic since her untimely death was one of the defining tragedies of his life.

The very least you can say about "A Reflection of Fear" is that it is a moody and atmospheric thriller! The story might feel familiar (especially when you watch a lot of obscure cult/horror movies) and somewhat predictable, but the tone of the film remains unsettling throughout thanks to the slow pacing and extremely integer acting performances. However, what this movie clearly suffers from the most are all the oppressed controversial and unethical themes that were supposed to be processed into the script but then abruptly cut in order to obtain a PG rating. Always a shame when that happens… Marguerite Sterling is an isolated and quite eccentric teenage girl that lives with her mother and grandmother in a remote land house. She has long and embittered conversations with a doll named Aaron and gets ecstatic when she finds out that her estranged father Michael is coming to visit. Officially he's coming to ask his ex- wife for a divorce, so that he can marry with his new fiancée Anne that he brought along, but when he notices how socially incapable his daughter Marguerite is, he wants to stay. And then a mysterious killer dressed in black visits the premises… Like I said already, it's a shame about the (not-so-) subtly camouflaged taboo themes. The most disturbing yet simultaneously powerful sequences in "A Reflection of Fear" are those in which young Marguerite tenderly embraces and kisses her daddy while his new fiancée jealously observes. The film is kind of reminiscent in atmosphere and events to a handful of great classics, including "Psycho" and "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane", but director William A. Fraker nevertheless succeeds in giving it an own style and personality. Fraker primarily built his career as an eminent cinematographer and that he clearly demonstrates in several beautiful shots and camera compositions. With her rather odd facial structure and pale skin, Sondra Locke is ideally cast as the naturally uncanny Marguerite, but also Robert Shaw is exquisite as Michael. Shaw usually depicts robust and macho characters, like in "Jaws" for example, but here he impresses as the calm father figure. In fact, literally everyone in the cast – including supportive characters like the fiancée and even the investigating police detective – behaves like he/she is under the constant influence of Xanax or any other tranquilizing medicine! They all talk slowly and practically nothing seems to upset them, not even double murder. The integer performances give an extra dimension of creepy to already uncanny – but flawed – thriller.