Fear X (2003)

Nicolas Winding Refn's Fear X is a disappointingly muddled and derivative "thriller." The genre is in quotes because Refn is clearly more interested in provoking existential questions about the nature of loss and guilt and the relative morality of taking another human being's life than he is in providing thrills and chills. There's also an interesting undercurrent of post-9/11 anxiety with an emphasis on constant surveillance (Harry's [John Turturro] job) and shady overzealous policing (Peter's [James Remar] job). Refn's narrative (co-written with Hubert Selby Jr.) flirts with political allegory, indicated by inserts of a huge American flag behind a town meeting where Peter is being honored as a "hero" (which he is clearly not from the film's perspective) and of Peter's son's war toys on the kitchen table. But the film's heavy-handed visual allusions to Stanley Kubrick and David Lynch are distracting, and the implied comparison serves to diminish the impact of the lesser work we're watching. The weird hotel where Harry stays evokes not just The Shining but Turturro's similarly affect-deficient protagonist in Barton Fink. Fear X also brings up the possibility that a good deal of the action takes place inside Harry's head, but it doesn't draw us into this haunted character or delve deeply enough into the many issues and questions it raises. Frustratingly opaque by design, Fear X offers viewers insufficient fear and excessive "X." ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide