The Fantasist

I stumbled across this relatively obscure film on a satellite channel the other day, and was eagerly anticipating an enjoyable experience, having been a big fan of director Robin Hardy's previous film (the Wicker Man).

95 minutes later, I was disappointed, although the film does have some redeeming features.

I consider The Wicker Man to be a classic of its type, and certain aspects of that film are carried over into this one - the haunting music, the atmospheric locations, and especially the suppressed eroticism. Also the final twist at the end. But having said that, this film does come across as a pale imitation of its predecessor.

Due to the appalling treatment that was meted out to The Wicker Man by the film industry powers, Robin Hardy retired from the business for over 10 years, and boy does it show here. Some of the editing is appallingly choppy, the characters' dialog is at times incredibly trite, and some of the scenes just don't gel. Examples of the latter are the initial murder, where the victim appears to offer no resistance to the knife wielding assailant, and the relationship between Moira Harris and Timothy Bottoms, which in one scene has her berating him for making pervy phone calls to his wife. then in next scene she discovers his wife's murdered body, and in the very next scene has her defending him aginst police suspicion? Duh???

Another scene that is particularly laughable is the night club scene where Harris and Bottoms meet. The moment when Timothy Bottoms raises his fists to the Mr. Halitosis character almost had me laughing out loud.

Moreover, there is virtually no mystery as to who the main pervy phone caller is, as the voice is easily identifiable as one of the main characters in the film.

However, it's not all bad news. As in The Wicker Man, there is an air of Catholic sexual repression which pervades the whole story, and is handled on the whole very well. I'm not Irish or Catholic, but I found it believable and not just because it gave the film an excuse to show a few bare breasts.

It's just a shame there couldn't have been a bit more suspense to go with it.

It was made 13 years later (1986) and was marketed on video in the U. S. as a slasher film which it absolutely is not. I'm not even sure if THE FANTASIST was released in the U. S. theatrically and it is just now making its DVD debut there. Yes, there is a serial killer and a couple of women die but, that's not what the film is really about. The movie is set in Dublin and it deals with one woman's attitudes toward men and sex in then contemporary Ireland.

The central character of Patricia (Moira Harris) is a country girl who goes to Dublin to make her way and to escape her parochial family who have other plans for her. Although she is savvy enough to be wary of most men, she is still on the lookout for Mr Right. While there she becomes interested in an American writer (Timothy Bottoms) and then becomes the target of the "phone killer" who has murdered Bottom's wife along with several other women. Could it possibly be Bottoms and if it isn't then who is it?

Writer-director Hardy takes this scenario and invests it with observations on the nature of relationships from a woman's point of view. He also explores the darker side of sexuality as the titular character is obsessed with recreating a famous nude painting by Francois Boucher of Louis XIV's mistress (who happened to be Irish). This gives the film the elements of an Italian "giallo" but if you've come looking for a typical slice and dice offering than forget it.

As was evident from THE WICKER MAN, Robin Hardy has more on his mind than just a simple crime story. There are a number of eccentric, occasionally humorous touches including a truly bizarre spanking scene. It also has a hurried, unsatisfying ending. Still THE FANTASIST has something to say and should be seen for its social observations if nothing else. It's a hard film to categorize and, as such, will have a very limited appeal...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.

Although nowhere near as good as "The Wicker Man", Robin Hardy has made a good stab at penetrating the Irish slasher genre

An interesting plot with some oddball characterisation and great scenery. The Dublin shots bring back memories of a pre-Tiger city. A motley crew of familiar and somewhat unpleasant actors [especially Ronan Wilmot and Jim Bartley] add to the frenetic atmosphere.

Definitely worth 95 mins of your time.

7/10

I saw this movie for one reason and one reason only and, probably like everyone else who has seen it, that reason is because the film is directed by Robin Hardy; the man behind the all-time cult classic 'The Wicker Man'. I honestly have no idea how a man behind such a great film as The Wicker Man could end up directing something as crap as this. The Fantasist does not have a very good reputation, and that's hardly surprising as this film is completely boring. It was thirteen years between the release of this film and Robin Hardy's classic, but I actually believe that shooting for The Fantasist began in 1974, only production was slow as the cast and crew kept on falling asleep during shooting! The film takes place in Ireland and follows an Irish woman who moves to Dublin. It's not long before she begins receiving obscene phone calls from a stranger, and (coincidently?) there also happens to be a killer on the loose known as 'The Phone Call Killer'. Most people in that situation would change their phone number, but our heroine is drawn to the mystery caller instead...

The film starts off slowly but any hopes of it getting better are quickly dashed when it becomes quite clear that the pace is never going to pick up. This movie will grind you down; such is the sheer boredom on display. The film could be termed a slasher since people get sliced and diced, but it seems that Robin Hardy wanted it to be a bit more than just a slasher, and it's backfired horribly as there is no interest created around the central premise which absolutely kills it. Robin Hardy also had no luck in the casting department either as American actress Moira Harris fails to convince or generate any sympathy from the audience. The Wicker Man was a largely aesthetic affair with the picturesque island featuring strongly as well as the standout ending; but there's nothing like that here; all the locations are dreary and drab and that adds to the intense torture that is The Fantasist. Hardy probably wanted the movie to be a bit steamy and while there are brief flashes of nudity, the film certainly isn't sexy (though a sequence that sees the killer undress a girl with his knife is one of the few memorable moments). It all boils down to a stupid and predictable ending and overall, I would not recommend this rubbish even to hardcore fans of The Wicker Man.

I just finished watching this movie this weekend for the second time, having seen it on TV about six years ago. And it was just as good as I remembered it to be. The plot twists are very very clever, enough to keep you guessing to the end. My g/f commented that it was a bit slow to get started, but once we got into it, she was guessing who the culprit was all the way through.

One other thing - the scenery shown of Ireland is absolutely gorgeous.