The Fanatic - Film Review

It's been a while since I posted a review of a bad movie, so I thought I'd pull out all the stops for this one. It's a damn shame to see John Travolta's career implode in such a spectacular fashion as I've always been a fan of his (I really recommend The General's Daughter). This just might be the final nail in Travolta's lengthy career. 

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Where You Can Find It: We streamed this freak-show on Amazon Video where it is available for rent/purchase.

General Information 
The Fanatic is allegedly a psychological horror-thriller (that's what its Wikipedia page says at least) that was released on 30 August 2019 to a limited theatrical run, as well as video-on-demand. It was written and directed by Limp Bizkit lead vocal, Fred Durst, with Red Box Entertainment funding much of the film's production. As of 3 October 2020, the film holds an 18 Metascore on Metacritic and received an overall box office total of $3,153. It was nominated for three Golden Raspberry Awards of which John Travolta won the Worst Actor award.

There's obviously a lot of issues with this movie, but the first one is simply trying to figure out what this movie's genre actually is. There's nothing remotely scary about this movie, and John Travolta's depiction of a man with autism almost makes this a comedy. I would liken it to the cringe comedies of the 1990s as opposed to stalker thrillers like Cape Fear. Despite the awful ratings and low box office returns, this film is more weird than bad.

The Story
Moose (played by Travolta) is an autistic street performer on Hollywood Boulevard that collects horror film memorabilia. He is currently obsessed with action movie star, Hunter Dunbar (played by Devon Sawa), and much of the plot centers around him trying to get his autograph. Moose's obsession rapidly spirals out of control after a brief exchange between him and Dunbar when the action star refuses to sign Moose's vintage leather vest.

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Ladies and gentlemen, I present the opening scene of the movie

It's unclear what the film's overall message is supposed to be in this movie, which makes it puzzling to watch. It's depiction of the mentally handicapped is embarrassingly unpleasant to behold, while its examination of Hollywood narcissism falls flat. 

With the exception of Moose, all other characters' motivations never really make sense. For example: Moose's friend(?), Leah, enables him in stalking Dunbar on more than one occasion, but they don't really seem to get along, which begs the question as to why/how the two are friends. Near the halfway point of the movie, it seemed as though the audience was supposed to be sympathetic to Hunter Dunbar, but that drive goes out the window by the final scenes when he randomly turns into a sadist.

Special Effects/Atmosphere
I'm not sure what the overall budget of this movie was, but it's actually shot fairly well with a production quality that can stand next to most modern movies. The few scenes that require special effects genuinely look good, while the movie is fairly minimalistic in its design. I'm not sure if I should congratulate or condemn the costume designer as Moose's outfit and hairstyle amplifies Travolta's disturbing performance to a whole new extreme.

The Acting
According to IMDB Trivia, John Travolta signed on for this movie in order to pay tribute to his son, Jett, who also had autism and passed away in 2009. This information disturbs me as Travolta's depiction of autism is outright humiliating to watch. I will admit that Travolta is certainly all-in on his character but it's done to such an extreme that it made me wonder if Travolta believed he'd get an Academy Award for his performance. His mimicry of cliché autistic ticks are present throughout the movie, but I'm unsure if Travolta was attempting to be comedic or dramatic (he certainly succeeds at the former). In essence, those that watch this film are also actively observing the self-destruction of Travolta's career.

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This man was nominated for an Academy Award twice...

I actually enjoyed Devon Sawa's performance and think he did the best he could with what was given to him. I haven't seen him in anything since Final Destination, and I imagine he took this role seriously despite what was going on in the script.

The Best of the Best: Moose running around a house while holding deer antlers to his head.

The Worst of the Worst: Leah actively helping a mentally handicapped person stalk someone and then being surprised that said person stalked someone.

Calhooey Score: 3/10 - Bad

Would I Recommend?

Like I said before, I wouldn't consider this movie to be bad per se, but rather just weird. If you're looking for a movie-going experience, this film sets itself apart from the rest of the pack for sure.

-------------------------------------------------Spoiler Comments-----------------------------------------------------

• How does Moose afford his apartment? If you're telling me that he can pay rent in Los Angeles by pretending to be a British patrolman, I will refuse to accept that.
• What did Leah honestly expect Moose was going to do when she showed him the star maps app?
• It cracks me up that Todd wanted to involve Moose in his criminal aspirations so badly that he was willing to threaten and intimidate him. How is Todd not in prison already? Better yet, how are the majority of the characters in this movie not in prison yet?
• It took two days for Dora's corpse to be discovered despite lying out in the open. 
• Speaking of which, I don't know why the film acts like Dunbar is going to actually be framed for the murder as there's tons of evidence that shows he didn't do it.
• Was Dunbar trying to kill Moose? I don't really blame him for shooting at the guy, but knifing him in the eye didn't really make any sense.  

----------------------------------------------------References--------------------------------------------------

(1) Wikipedia. (2019). The Fanatic film cover image. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fanatic_(2019_film).   

(2) Kiytos. (2019, September 18). Travolta gif. Tenor. Retrieved from: https://tenor.com/view/the-fanatic-icant-talk-igotta-poo-john-travolta-poo-cant-talk-too-long-gif-15074419. 

(3) The Fanatic. (2019). Moose on a moped image. Amazon Video.