That was an excellent one.

Powerful

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Robert Englund stars as a doctor whose expertise and study is of fear and how to locate and defeat it so that those suffering phobias can overcome them. Finona Dourif (daughter of the legendary cult actor, Brad Dourif) was one of several who endured trauma after a gunman in black mask walked into a diner and started shooting people. There were others in the diner needing Englund's help including a patient unable to eat (Angelina Armani) and a brain trauma victim (Thomas Dekker) in a wheelchair unable to speak. Friend (Cleopatra Coleman) of Fiona's has a fear of bugs, her mind manufacturing back itch, and one of Englund's colleagues (Felisha Terrell) was helped to overcome a fear of being buried alive. Englund has created a "fear chamber" that requires patients to lay in them with a face device involved. Englund guides them into a fugue state where they face whatever caused their phobia, having them address their fear and conquer it. However, those "cured" are starting to hallucinate again, returning to Englund for help, realizing that he has become an emotional wreck after one of his patients (Bonnie Morgan) dies while in the chamber.Gathered together in the fear clinic, Englund starts to recognize what happened to Morgan, and that his fear chamber was "starving" a "fear monster" that thrived on those suffering horrible trauma and phobia. In order to be set free and actually manifest itself from outside the mind/dream, gaining form and becoming an even more dangerous threat, the fear monster needs to "acquire" Englund, cocooning on a wall in a room of the clinic. In order for that to happen, it needs Dekker to remember what happened in the diner the day of the shootings. Fiona is the sturdy rock that Englund will stand in need of in order to combat the fear monster, while Dekker, after a fear chamber visit, has regained brain function lost to the gunshot wound that caused his mental crippling…this disturbing to Englund as his machine wasn't built to heal physical brain trauma but assist in curing phobic terror. I think the plot, which is admittedly out there, might be a bit much for some horror fans, but I thought it had a rather compelling presentation. It doesn't altogether work, but there's plenty of abrasive, shocking content to hold the attention.Englund is very good in a rare sympathetic role, going to battle for patients, rocked by the loss of a patient. Unlike other scientists dedicated in experimental procedure to help cure or offer a breakthrough for patients who might put their work above their subjects, Englund is agonized and melancholy about hurting instead of helping them. The weight of the chamber posing a threat instead of help leaves Englund embattled with guilt and disappointment. Fiona, along with Felisha (his main assistant), tries to motivate him not to stop.The film also emphasizes the hallucinations caused by the fear monster's phobia. The monster emerging from the cocoon and manufacturing an Englund "face mask", re-introducing to cured patients a "fear loop" that is toxic to their mental state. The diner shooting and the black mask the killer wore "beckoning" to be worn again serving as the catalyst the fear monster uses to gain advantage. Fiona will have to be one step ahead and use something Englund told her (close your eyes) in the hopes of "putting fear in its place". Dekker is equal parts tragic and eerie. Ickiest scene has Cleopatra succumbing to her fear of bugs, a sac on her back shoulder containing black fluid (also vomited by Angelina upon her return to the clinic (the black fluid is an indication to Englund of the fear monster's gain in strength)) sliced open, with spiders spilling out. Corey Bauer and Kevin Gage are employees at the clinic offering their services to maintain the everyday functions of the place, eventually endangered themselves. This has, in my opinion, one of Englund's best roles in years. Armani's deteriorating condition puts a strain on her marriage and clearly indicates the fear monster has a meal with her. A unique take on fear, anchored by good performances.

For a low budget film, Fear Clinic respectably produces several good horrors, they even resemble high fantasy at times. However, aside from the fast introduction early on, the plot stutters with repetitive scenes and the actors' performances are too often flimsy. The concept and visual are decent enough, but the movie just feels that it loses momentum as it progresses and eventually doesn't conclude as strongly as it opens.Story follows a doctor who has made a method to deal with fears. He would put people inside a chamber and let them experience virtual enactment of said phobia. Problem arises after several people begin to see strange things even when they are not connected to the machine. The first act is arguably the best part, since it delivers a good hook and fast enough for people to invest in.Unfortunately, the plot suffers from awkward development. Scenes would feel jumbled and needlessly recurring, mostly because the editing is poor. After the initial build-up, the characters are interacting with the excitement of telemarketer or frantic over-the-top. It seems odd since there's barely any coherency between each scene, the characters' reactions appear to be unexpectedly random.For what it's worth, it has a few good moments. When the visual is accommodating, the thrill is presented admirably. A couple of events look like they belong to sci-fi or fantasy film, or even another higher quality production. It's unfortunate that the film only produce these instances briefly.Fear Clinic couples together decent concept and presentation, it's just not done consistent enough as it deteriorates anticlimactically.

Photo-realistic creature FX wizard, Robert Hall directs this direct-to-video fear flick starring The one and only Freddy Kruger, actor Robert Englund as a brilliant doctor who finds a way to cure his patients' extreme phobias through a makeshift sensory deprivation chamber that creates hallucinations that eventually eradicate that area of the brain that controls fear. Unfortuanately "fear" is actually a demon incarnate, (or something) and wants retribution against the clinic's inhabitants for trying to defeat it in the first place.Some may find this to be a clever concept with a modest budget controlled very well with production value and efforts from the cast. Others, including myself find it to be a convoluted, CGI ridden mess with most of the action incoherent and a premise that fails to justify an extremely bizarre and confusing climax. The performances of the cast are quite impressive. Englund is convincing as the conflicted doctor and Fred Dekker (The Sarah Conner Chronicles) is very good as a cripple who's brain begins to regenerate after the treatment. The strangeness really kicks into gear when people begin to die after their treatments are rather successful, and for some reason or another the doctor is possessed by the "fear" entity in an onslaught of nightmarish special FX. Its induced with lots of panic and emotional drama from the female cast as well as male cast behaving like typical douchebags. Other performances include Fiona Dourif, the daughter of veteran genre actor and voice of Chucky the killer doll, Brad Dourif and the acting debut of talented heavy metal front-man, Corey Taylor of bands, "Slipknot" and "Stone Sour" as a clinic orderly. With that in mind, this fulfills most of the clichés with teen screams, big-boobed sex scene, a little bit of gore but not much to expect from what resembles an intensely atmospheric music video much of the time. Its not bad if you don't have anything else to watch.

I had great expectations for this film considering who stars in it, however I was disappointed. I love Robert Englund and his acting abilities. The rest of the cast let him down. It seems to me to be a low budget movie, which is probably why I lost interest after the first 30 minutes (I did though watch it all). Well, when I say I watched it all, it was on while I facebooked and tweeted. It's such a shame that such a great actor has resorted to this kind of movie. If I had any piece of advice to anyone thinking of watching it is Don't.