As I was making my rounds through the internet today, I stumbled upon Simon Pegg's Twitter Page. There I found this just-released trailer for his upcoming British film "A Fantastic Fear of Everything". I hadn't heard much from the film, and though I expected the comedic tone to be in line with many of the other films Pegg has starred it, I figured I'd give it a watch and see what the deal was.
Let me assure you, this wasn't of that similar style. Think more of a mix between surreal nightmarish looking sequences and some really good dark humor, different than what I've seen from Pegg in the past.
The film, directed by Crispian Mills and Chris Hopewell, stars Simon Pegg as a children's book writer suddenly inspired to write crime novels. In his research for the stories though, he's let his psyche slip a little too far past reality, and he suddenly finds himself entrenched in a series of maddening situations, much akin to the novels he's writing. Will the fear and emotional strain get the best of him, or will he survive it and possibly even come away with perfect material for his novel?
As you can see, the storyline looks very dark and twisted. I think after I watch this movie, I might question my sanity as well! And anytime you bring creepy looking animal puppets/dolls into the picture and have them move around - especially via the always unsettling use of stop-motion - I want nothing to do with it. The concept seems interesting and fresh looking though, and I think I'll want to check this one out as soon as I get a chance.
I'm hesitant to use this reference because I've already seen it floating around multiple media outlets now, but if the glove fits... Pegg's character and his path in this movie seem incredibly reminiscent of Jack Nicholson's character, Jack Torrance, in "The Shining". I'm not trying to say these films are on the same level, but the manic, obsessive nature of both characters, mixed with the strong visual experiences present in both films, seem to warrant comparison. Now the big question is, Can Pegg pull off one of the deepest looking character performances of his career? I'm pleasantly surprised from what I saw in the trailer, so I have hope.
While this film is set to release June 8, 2012 in the United Kingdom, there's no word on a U.S. release yet.
What do you guys think? Any interest in this one?