Parasocial Peril.
May has been a delightfully odd mix of titles, including Robin Williams’ One Hour Photo (listen), Aussie/UK thriller Like Minds (listen), and seminal disaster movie The Poseidon Adventure (listen). Adding to the fun is our most recent film: a revisit of the classic stalker title, The Fan (1981).
*We previously tackled the film in our editorial series here.
In Edward Bianchi‘s feature directorial debut, Michael Biehn is Douglas Breen, a music store employee whose singular obsession is with theatre actress Sally Ross (Lauren Bacall). The aging starlet is about to debut in a Broadway musical called ‘Never Say Never,’ but her assistant Belle (Maureen Stapleton) hasn’t been passing along Douglas’ increasingly unhinged letters.
When the young twink’s dangerous behaviour begins to escalate, Sally’s support network – including Inspector Raphael Andrews (Héctor Elizondo) and her ex-husband Jake (James Garner) – is called in. But can anyone stop the determined queer-coded antagonist? Or is Sally doomed to die on opening night?
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Episode 387 – The Fan (1981)
Stay out of the pool and work on your singing because we’re talking Edward Bianchi’s The Fan (1981) starring Grand Dame Lauren Bacall and a twinky Michael Biehn.
Joining us for the discussion is returning guest Michael Varrati, who dubs the film “parasocial peril” and praises Bacall’s emotionally vulnerable performance as aging starlet Sally Ross.
Look for adaptation questions about Bob Randall’s pulpy source material; critiquing James Garner’s autobiography; and highlighting the subway stalking and pool slicing sequences.
Plus: the queer coding of Douglas Breen; the film’s uneasy place in (horror) history; and trying to figure out the plot of in-movie musical Never Say Never.
Cross out The Fan!
Coming Up Next: We’re realized there’s an enormous gap in the podcast’s coverage: we’ve never discussed a Vincent Price title! We’re rectifying that mistake with a look at one of his favourite roles in 1973’s Theater of Blood.
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