The Fear – Mondo Macabro (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Greece, 1966
Director: Kostas Manoussakis
Writer: Kostas Manoussakis
Cast: Elli Fotiou, Anestis Vlahos, Spyros Fokas, Elena Nathanail, Mairi Hronopoulou, Alexis Damianos, Theodoros Katsadramis, Kostas Gennatas, Giorgos Sifis

Release Date: August 8th, 2023
Approximate running time: 106 Minutes 11 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1 Aspect Ratio / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Greek
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"Anna, a young female student living in Athens, returns to her family’s large farm in the remote Greek countryside. She starts to feel the tensions that lie, repressed, under the apparently tranquil rural setting. Her father and mother are trapped in a loveless marriage and her half-brother, Anestis, seems even more of a brooding and dangerous figure than ever before. Anna’s only real friend is the mute servant girl, Hrysa, who many of the local villagers see as some kind of saint due to her alleged sightings of the Virgin Mary in the lonely corn fields that surround the farm.

Hrysa disappears and is reported missing. Anna soon suspects her half-brother is responsible and has probably killed the girl. She starts to follow him, trying to trick him into a confession. Realizing that she might become his next victim, Anna starts to fear for her life. Confused and scared she accepts a marriage proposal from a local man. It’s at the wedding ceremony, with the whole village watching, that the truth finally emerges and the terrifying last act of this rural psycho drama is played out." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, “Brand new 2k restoration from original negative.”

The Fear comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 35.1 GB

Feature: 28.7 GB

The source used for this transfer looks great; any source imperfections are minor and never intrusive. The image looks crisp; contrast and black levels are very good; compression is solid; and the image looks organic.

Audio: 4.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in Greek with removable English subtitles. The audio is in great shape; dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced and surprisingly robust, especially the score.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a still and poster gallery with music from the film playing in the background, a video tribute for actress Elena Nathanail that is a collection of images of her and stills from The Fear with music from the film playing in the background, and an archival documentary about The Fear and director Kostas Manoussakis titled Kostas Manoussakis: The Exiled Filmmaker (50 minutes 14 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Greek with removable English subtitles.

Summary:

Directed by Kostas Manoussakis, a filmmaker who has only directed three films. The Fear was the last film he directed. The other two films he directed are Love in the Sand Dunes and Treason.

The narrative revolves around a mute servant girl named Hrysa, who one day goes missing. Though there are no leads to where she might have gone, it soon becomes apparent that foul play is involved in her disappearance.

The Fear is a film about a dysfunctional family: an alcoholic father, a deviant son with pent-up sexual frustration, a timid wife or stepmother who turns a blind eye to what she sees, and a well-executed stepsister or stepdaughter who’s about to be married. Then there is a mute servant girl who unwillingly becomes the object that the son desires when, one day, he becomes aroused watching her milk a cow. It is also this event that sets in motion the fear that overcomes all of the characters.

The Fear is best described as a psychological drama in which most of the ‘fear’ at the heart of the story comes from their insecurities and their fear of being exposed for what happened to the missing mute servant girl. That said, the initial setup does a great job laying out who everyone is, while tension picks up considerably in the latter half, building towards a finale where everything reaches its boiling point.

When it comes to the performances, the entire cast is excellent, especially Elli Fotiou in the role of Hrysa, the mute servant girl. Though her performance is entirely physical, her character has the least amount of screentime of the five main characters. Her character's presence looms large throughout. Another performance of note is that of Anestis Vlahos in the role of the son, who is consumed by pent-up sexual desire for Hrysa.

From a production standpoint, there is no area where The Fear does not excel. The premise is perfectly realized, and a well-executed narrative is overflowing with tension. Other strengths include the visuals, which are filled with striking imagery, and composer Giannis Markopoulos’ superlative score, which contains piercing percussive sounds that reinforce the mood. Ultimately, The Fear is an extraordinary film that more than lives up to its name.

The Fear gets a first-rate release from Mondo Macabro that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and an insightful documentary, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer