Tags:
Film: The Fantasist
Year: 1986
Director: Robin Hardy
Writer: Robin Hardy
Starring: Moira Sinise, Christopher Cazenove and Timothy Bottoms
Review:
This was a film that I learned about when looking for a horror film from Ireland that was from a year that ended in a 6. This one fit the bill so I decided to make it a featured review in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. Other than that, I did come into this one blind, just knowing the title and that I could watch this on Tubi.
Synopsis: a young Dublin woman is stalked by a telephone charmer who poses victims nude and then stabs them.
The story opens in Dublin with a shot of the docks and brick buildings. Inside, Kathy O'Malley (Gabrielle Reidy) receives a threatening phone call, soon followed by her murder. It shifts to the countryside, introducing recent college graduate Patricia Teeling (Moira Sinise), whose uncle, Lar (Mick Lally), wants her to take over the farm, though Patricia plans to teach in Dublin for a year first. The murder of Kathy is edited in between the scenes at the Teeling home.
We then see Patricia during the first week of teaching. Robert Foxley (John Kavanagh) is a colleague who invites her out for a drink. It is here that we learn she’s still looking for an apartment to rent. She can also drink as we see her down a glass of beer. Patricia has to leave to look at a flat. She would have to share it with Monica Quigley (Bairbre Ní Chaoimh). These two get along well and come to terms.
Patricia settles into life living in Dublin. She goes out dancing where a guy gets too aggressive. She seeks help from Danny Sullivan (Timothy Bottoms). Patricia goes on a date with Robert, where he drinks too much and gets weird. She also meets her downstairs neighbor, Fionnuala (Deirdre Donnelly). What she doesn’t realize is that this woman is married to Danny. The two develop an odd relationship that is flirty while Patricia keeps him at a distance.
The murder of Kathy isn’t the first in this style. She also isn’t the last. Fionnuala is then killed and it makes Danny a suspect. Inspector McMyler (Christopher Cazenove) is one of the men in charge of the investigation. Patricia takes a liking to him. She is torn as she went to visit Danny while he sat and caught him making a prank call. He claimed it was to his wife, but it lines up to what Kathy relayed before she was killed. There is also turmoil at the family farm. When the killer starts to call Patricia, she must figure out who it is before it is too late.
Now that is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is by saying that I did wonder for a good stretch of this if it was going to be horror. The crime is the catalyst event for the story, but this is more drama that turns thriller as we go on. There are even shades of this being an Irish gialli. The only reason I consider it, we have a murder mystery with our killer having a distinct perversion. I don’t truly consider it to be in that sub-genre, but it flirts with elements.
Let’s then look at our lead character, Patricia who is a recent college graduate who declines her Uncle Lar's offer to run his farm, choosing instead to teach in Dublin for a year. She is courted by Robert, Danny, and Inspector McMyler, each with their own quirks, forcing her to decide on dealbreakers. A notable interaction occurs with Monica, who asks if Patricia is a virgin while viewing an apartment. Monica asks since her last roommate became sexually active. Patricia is more subdued, so it sparks curiosity. Sinise portrayal of a conservative, modern woman was good.
I then want to shift over to discussing these male suitors. A good element is showing that each of them have their own oddities, which is realistic. Robert does outrageous things at a fancy dinner. To then end the night, he asks to rub Patricia’s stomach since it soothed him as a child. Danny is flirtatious and fun. The problem is that he’s married when they first meet. That doesn’t stop him from putting on his moves. Inspector McMyler comes around more when Danny is the prime suspect as the killer. Underneath his charm lies a peculiar nature that is creepy.
Let’s then shift over to Kathy's murder. We saw parts of it and then from there, it is subtly handled through background news reports. The crime isn't central to Patricia's life initially, offering a meta-commentary on how proximity to crime is ignored until it directly impacts us. This changes when she becomes the next target, introducing gialli elements. She grows suspicious after noticing odd behavior from both Danny and Robert, highlighting the deviant acts that can make anyone a suspect. They aren’t the only ones either.
Other key themes include Patricia's shift from rural innocence to urban isolation in Dublin, highlighting neighborly anonymity. The killer, who recites poetry over the phone, represents the duality of the artist and the predator. The victims' method of killing involves voyeurism, as the killer watches Kathy before her death. Ultimately, repression and sexual fantasy, another potential influence from gialli, motivate the killer's actions.
Let’s then look at the acting performances. Sinise carries this. She is the focus so that would make sense since this is her character study. Seeing her navigate life in the city and managing the male suitors who enter her life works well. The best performance then would be Bottoms. He’s an oddball that reminds me of myself at times. Cazenove and Kavanagh are both good for characters with a bit more deviance. Lally and her family work to put pressure on Patricia. Chaoimh, Donnelly and the rest of the cast rounded this out for what was needed.
The film excels in filmmaking, featuring good, experimental cinematography and framing (one shot recalls Tenebre). The contrast between the countryside and city effectively mirrors Patricia's duality. Limited, yet effective, special effects and eerie phone call sound design contribute to the tone. The last thing to include is with the pacing. This is a slow-burn that sets the stage for our lead before she becomes the target to the serial killer. This could be an issue for some viewers.
In conclusion, this is a compelling 1986 Irish thriller that transcends a simple horror label, offering a nuanced character study of Patricia Teeling as she navigates urban life and its perils. While a slow-burn pace may challenge some, the film is rich with thematic elements—from the contrast between rural innocence and city anonymity to the exploration of repression and sexual fantasy, reminiscent of the Italian gialli genre. Anchored by a strong performance from Sinise and supported by the unsettling presence of Bottoms, director Robin Hardy utilizes evocative cinematography and sound design to craft an atmosphere of creeping menace. Ultimately, it succeeds as a psychological thriller that intelligently uses a serial killer plot as a device to scrutinize the anxieties and emerging autonomy of its female lead.
My Rating: 7 out of 10