the23rdjoker

An exclusive-to-BBC-iPlayer (sort-of)-documentary, which is (sort of) about how and why horror movies scare us, 'Fear Itself' is a peculiar, esoteric, wonderful little treat of a film.

In a manner reminiscent of Mark Cousin's epic and fantastic documentary series 'The Story of Film: An Odyssey', combined with Mark Gatiss' delightful documentary strand 'A History of Horror', director Charlie Lyne - with 'Fear Itself' - does away with conventional documentary structure (i.e. linear narrative, talking head interviews, objective in-depth analysis), and instead presents us with a stream-of-consciousness ramble from a fictional, unseen Narrator (played/voiced by the lyrically dulcet Scottish tones of Amy E. Watson), who hushedly guides us through a smorgasbord of clips from over 100 years of horror film-making.

Over an eclectic tapestry of fearful scenes from films you'd expect (such as 'Ringu', 'Don't Look Now', 'Suspiria', and a Lynchian double-bill with 'Lost Highway' (via the Mystery Man) and 'Mulholland Drive' (via...NOT the creature behind Winkies Diner, weirdly)) and other films you wouldn't expect in the slightest (such as 'Gravity', 'Brazil', and 'Hollow Man'), the Narrator weaves a thesis on the nature of fear in cinema, and fear itself (naturally), via a fictional narrative of her character that just so happens to tie in with the films turning up on-screen while she speaks (like with 'Martyrs' and 'The Strangers').

Watson's mesmerising voice, alongside the words she speaks, as well as the barrage of clips from films familiar and obscure, coupled with the extraordinary music and unnerving sound design, help make 'Fear Itself' an exceptionally hypnotic viewing experience, which transfixes you from beginning to end.

Plus, it makes you appreciate the craft of not just horror film- making, but the sheer visceral power of the moving image itself, and the ways in which the best movies can effect you just through the way they look and sound.

Even better, it introduces you to a whole host of old and new foreign films that you'll never have heard of before, but which you will definitely want to seek out once you see the images from them that 'Fear Itself' shares with you.

A perfect film to watch in the run-up to Halloween.

This hour-long film was first shown at 10pm on BBC2 on Sunday 26th August. It was this particular broadcast that I caught to watch this finely crafted, impeccably acted and thoroughly unsettling drama. The film's director is Birger Larsen, who fans of Danish crime shows might remember as having directed the first few episodes of the first series of the classic "Forbrydelsen" (The Killing), as well as some of "Those Who Kill" (less of a classic, but no less engrossing). With him at the helm, "Murder" is imbued with a hefty Scandi-esque gloom, whilst also accompanied with an extraordinary visual style that far exceeds its small screen confines, but works just as well within them: night-time cityscapes aglow in neon become overcast in clouds the colour of blood; flashbacks are shown as if shot in grainy 8mm; and, most at the forefront of the visual style, is the fact that all the characters relay events to camera, directly to us. They use this to-camera style as an opportunity to give their side of the convoluted, complex and disturbing story that unfolds before us...even if not all the points of view match up...and even if some of the characters happen to not be telling the whole truth. In the end, your sympathies, opinions, predictions and - most crucially - your trust become tested at every turn. Now, in a way, "Murder" reminded me of the outstanding Japanese film "Confessions", which is no bad thing. I won't explain how. It's best left for you to find out, and discover exactly why. The two lead actors deserve a special mention, too: Joe Dempsie (great in "Game of Thrones," brilliant in "The Fades") plays a man seemingly destined for unending pain and injustice, whether he's dealing it out himself, or receiving it in kind. And as for Karla Crome, who plays the sister of the victim (though not necessarily the only one) of the story? My lord, if she does not get the golden future in acting she so utterly deserves, I will eat my hat AND my shoe. Before "Murder," I saw her in the also quite brilliant (but totally mental) "Hit & Miss", and with her performance in that and in this to go on, I must paraphrase Ollivander and say that we can expect great things from you, Ms. Crome...