Haunting Fear (1990)

One of my all time favorites.

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Unhappy and neurotic heiress Victoria Munroe (a very strong and intense performance from Brinke Stevens) not only suffers from nightmares about being buried alive, but also must contend with wormy no-count husband Terry (Jay Richardson in sturdy sleazy form) and his lusty mistress Lisa (deliciously played with lip-smacking wicked aplomb by the delectable Delia Sheppard), who are plotting to kill Victoria for her money.Writer/director Fred Olen Ray relates the engrossing story at a brisk pace, does a neat job of crafting a suitably morbid atmosphere, and further spices things up with a generous serving of tasty bare distaff skin courtesy of Brinke and Delia as well as two incredibly raunchy semi-pornographic sex scenes which are performed with scorching naughty abandon by Mrs. Sheppard. Moreover, there are sound supporting contributions from Robert Clarke as concerned family physician Dr. Carlton, Jan-Michael Vincent as pesky private detective James Trent, Karen Black as helpful hypnotherapist Dr. Julia Harcourt, and Robert Quarry as menacing mobster Visconti. Michael Berryman has a nice bit as a creepy mortician in an effectively macabre nightmare set piece. Chuck Cirino's shivery score hits the spine-tingling spot. Gary Graver's typically proficient cinematography provides a pleasing polished look. Best of all, Stevens really sinks her teeth into her juicy lead role; she's a lot of fun towards the end when she goes gloriously off the rails cackling psycho crazy. A cool little B-grade fright flick.

Fred Olen Ray is a lousy director, even as far as B movie directors go, but 'Haunting Fear' is probably one of his better films. Yes, it does butcher the great Poe story 'Premature Burial' and yes, it is badly paced and uneven throughout, but it is also pretty entertaining. Scream Queen Brinke Stevens is better than usual as a pretty, fragile housewife whose worthless husband (Jay Richardson) is plotting to do away with her because he needs money to pay off a gangster (played by Robert Quarry). Delia Sheppard, a veteran of many early 90s soft-core movies, actually gives the best performance in the film as a slutty mistress. You will also enjoy small roles played by Karen Black as a psychic, Robert Clarke as a doctor and Michael Berryman in a nice cameo in one of the better scenes. The ending didn't make much sense!

It has been a while since I saw the movie, but it was much more interesting that what I expected. Although not Poe's Premature Burial, the theme was well done. Brinke Stevens portrayed the victom very well and made the movie more interesting.The interplay between the actors/actresses was well done, and I believe that is what made the movie a step above a B movie. I enjoyed some twists and turns in the plot that were not expected. I have to admit that Jay Richardson's acting, at times, was not the best.Other than that, the movie was very well done and a joy to watch. I suggest to anyone to rent this movie. I hope I can say that.

I purchased this video quite cheaply ex-rental, thinking that the cover looked quite nice. And it was nice, but the movie is trash. I can handle B-grade, I sometimes even enjoy a good B romp (ie. 'Surf Nazis Must Die' is a classic example of how entertaining the genre can be), but this was just bland bland bland. Incredibly dull scenes were broken up too sparsely by good wholesome cheap porn and entertaining dream horror sequences. This movie has very little to offer.