Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Writer/director: Castille Landon, Defiant Screen Entertainment.
A fascinating journey into the mind and life of a schizophrenic teen girl, Fear of Rain adopts a brilliant technique of challenging the audience’s sense of reality so we share in the central character’s mental state.
As Rain, Madison Iseman’s (Annabelle Comes Home, Still the King) performance is exceptional and is possibly her best to date.
Katherine Heigl (King of the Hill, Wish Upon a Star) is Michelle Burroughs and Harry Connick Jr. (Memphis Belle, Copycat, Independence Day) plays John Burroughs. They are Rain’s parents.
For the teenager, a diagnosis with schizophrenia means that every day is a struggle as she tries to figure out which of the disturbing images, harrowing voices and traumatic feelings she experiences are real and which are all in her mind. She becomes convinced that one of her teachers (Eugenie Bondurant) has imprisoned a child in her attic.
With the help of a handsome classmate named Caleb (Israel Broussard), Rain defies her parents and fights to keep this kid from going through what she herself recently did, when she was held captive by a stranger in the woods.
The movie’s honest depiction of schizophrenia is thoughtfully rendered. This is ultimately a subtle character study, uneasily wedged into a standard genre picture. Landon grapples to produce much stress from her plot, which does – at times – feel orchestrated.
Nonetheless, it grips as it takes you inside Rain’s mind as she confronts the frightening hallucinations of her imagination to determine whether there is real horror hiding right next door.
We have three DVDs of Fear of Rain to give away. You could be a winner, if you tell us the names of the actors who play the role as parents of Rain Burroughs? Entries should be sent to [email protected] by Monday, 17 May 2021. Names of the winners will be announced in Frank Cassidy’s PS-sssst…! column on 18 May 2021.
