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''A Fantastic Fear of Everything'' is a 2012 British
horror comedy Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary, television, and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as able to be categorized under three types: "black comedy, parody and sp ...
film starring
Simon Pegg Simon John Pegg (né Beckingham; born 14 February 1970) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He came to prominence in the UK as the co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'' (1999–2001), directed by Edgar Wright. H ...
, written and directed by
Crispian Mills Crispian Mills (born 18 January 1973 as Crispian John David Boulting; spiritual name Krishna Kantha Das) is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and film director. Active since 1988, Mills is best known as the frontman of the psychedelic i ...
with
Chris Hopewell Chris Hopewell is an English music video and film director and print maker. He has directed videos for Radiohead, Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, Scissor Sisters, Run the Jewels, Louis XIV, The Knife, The Offspring, Avenged Sevenfold, and several o ...
as co-director. It is based on the novella ''Paranoia in the Launderette'' by
Bruce Robinson Bruce Robinson (born 2 May 1946) is an English actor, director, screenwriter and novelist. He wrote and directed the cult classic ''Withnail and I'' (1987), a film with comic and tragic elements set in London in the late 1960s, which drew on hi ...
, writer and director of ''
Withnail and I ''Withnail and I'' is a 1987 British black comedy film written and directed by Bruce Robinson. Loosely based on Robinson's life in London in the late 1960s, the plot follows two unemployed actors, Withnail and "I" (portrayed by Richard E. Gran ...
''. It has been described as a low-budget "semicomedy" about a children's author-turned-crime-novelist who has become obsessed with murder and murdering. It was released on 8 June 2012 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and received a limited U.S. theatrical release on 7 February 2014. The BBFC classified the film a 15 certificate in the UK, while the MPAA rated the film R in America.
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...
began on 6 July 2011. Filmed at
Shepperton Studios Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not to be confused ...
, the film was the first to be backed by Pinewood Studios' initiative to support low-budget British films. It was released by
Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
in the UK and Indomina Releasing in the US.


Plot

Jack B. Nife is a children's author whose happy marriage has been destroyed by his obsession with his unpublished first book, ''Harold the Hedgehog''. He is working on a series of manuscripts titled ''Decades of Death'', about
Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
serial killers. He has become obsessed with serial killers and paranoid that people are watching him and trying to kill him, which isn't helped by the fact that a serial killer called the
Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...
Handshake Killer, who cuts off the fingers of his victims, has been active in his neighbourhood. While trying to give money in a sock to carolers, Jack is startled by a phone call from his agent, Clair. She tells him that Harvey Humphries, the head of scripts at the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, is interested in Jack's scripts and arranges a meeting between the two in just a few hours. Jack convinces himself that Humphries is a serial killer but plans to attend the meeting anyway. Jack tries to clean his clothes in the oven to be presentable for his meeting with Humphries, only to find that he has super-glued a carving knife to his hand. After trying to remove the knife, he discovers that his clothes are ruined. Jack realises that he has to go to the
laundrette A self-service laundry, coin laundry, laundromat, or coin wash is a facility where clothes are washed and dried without much personalized professional help. They are known in the United Kingdom as launderettes or laundrettes, and in the Uni ...
. Since he is terrified of the prospect, he calls Professor Friedkin, an old friend, and asks for help. After listening to Jack's traumatic memories of the launderette, Friedkin convinces Jack that he must confront his fears and go there. While at the laundrette, he doesn't understand how the machines work, and he fails to add laundry soap to his load. Frustrating the fellow patrons, he decides to just dry the clothes because he doesn't have time to wash them again. A beautiful young woman then enters, causing Jack further distress, so he rushes to remove his damp clothes from the dryer so he can leave. Forgetting that the carving knife is still glued to his hand, he removes his hand from his pocket and causes the other customers to panic and lock him in the laundrette. The police arrive, break into the laundrette and subdue Jack. The police remove the knife from his hand and treat his wounds. They are about to take him to the police station when a helicopter flies over and announces that there is an emergency and they are needed elsewhere. They hastily throw Jack into the back of the police van and drive off, but they fail to latch the doors and he falls out of the vehicle as it accelerates off. Perkins, a community support police officer, follows the young woman while Jack returns to the laundrette to get his clean shirt for his meeting. While Jack is changing into his shirt, he notices that a back door that had been locked is now open. He goes through the door and finds a hatch in the floor. As he looks through the hatch, someone hits him from behind. Jack wakes up in the basement of the laundrette tied up next to the young woman. As they begin to panic, Perkins comes down the stairs. They urge him to get help but he reveals that he is the Hanoi Handshake Killer; he cuts the fingers off of his victims and blames the killings on the
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
ese
mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...
. Perkins says the laundrette used to belong to his grandmother until the Vietnamese immigrants pushed her out, and he now murders for revenge. He then goes upstairs to sharpen his knife. Jack tells the woman about the traumatic events in his childhood regarding the launderette, and she comforts him and urges him not to give up hope. She says her name is Sangeet and Jack asks her if she will have dinner with him if they survive. Perkins returns carrying a boombox playing the song " The Final Countdown" by
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
. Perkins and Jack argue about the song's genre, causing Perkins to tell them about his childhood. His mother died when he was very young and his grandmother took him in and gave him a room in the cellar. During this story we see that this was the same launderette that Jack was abandoned in and he was being watched by Perkins from the back room. Jack and Sangeet try to get Perkins to admit that his grandmother did not take proper care of him. Jack argues that Tony is not a good serial killer because he is not original (he supposedly has his grandmother's body in a rocking chair, which references the film '' Psycho''). Sangeet frees herself and injures Perkins as he is about to murder Jack. Sangeet tries to escape but Perkins recovers and drags her back into the cellar. As Perkins is struggling with Sangeet, she frantically suggests that Jack tell a story. Jack convinces Perkins to listen to a story as his final request. Jack tells a story called ''Brian the Hedgehog''; Perkins relates to the story and cries, admitting that he didn't kill the first victim and he had only found the body. The owner of the launderette opens the hatch, prompting Jack and Sangeet to scream for help. Several months later, we see a well-groomed Jack reading his book about Harold and Brian to a group of children. Sangeet and Professor Friedkin are there. Clair finally introduces Jack to Humphries, causing Jack to become briefly fearful. Sangeet reminds Jack that they are going to dinner, and so they leave the event and catch a taxi as the credits roll over the frame.


Cast

*
Simon Pegg Simon John Pegg (né Beckingham; born 14 February 1970) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He came to prominence in the UK as the co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'' (1999–2001), directed by Edgar Wright. H ...
as Jack *
Amara Karan Amara Karunakaran (born 1984), known professionally as Amara Karan, is an English actress who made her film début as Rita in Wes Anderson's '' The Darjeeling Limited''. The film premièred at the 2007 Venice Film Festival. Karan's second film r ...
as Sangeet *
Clare Higgins Clare Frances Elizabeth Higgins (born 10 November 1955) is an English actress. Her film appearances include ''Hellraiser'' (1987), '' The Worst Witch'' (2017 - 2020) '' Hellbound: Hellraiser II'' (1988), ''Small Faces'' (1996) and '' The Golde ...
as Clair * Paul Freeman as Dr. Friedkin *
Kerry Shale Kerry Shale is a Canadian actor and writer based in London, England. Filmography Film Television Video games References External links * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shale, Kerry Living people 20th-century British male actors 20th-century Ca ...
as Harvey Humphries * Alan Drake as Perkins * Zaak Conway as Young Jack * Filippo Delaunay as Waiter * Elliot Greene as Hoodie * Mo Idriss as Mr. Rowntree Restaurant Diner * Tuyet Le as Warden *
Henry Lloyd-Hughes Henry Lloyd-Hughes (born 11 August 1985) is an English actor. He is known for his roles in ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' (2005), '' Unrelated'' (2007), ''The Inbetweeners'' (2008–2010), '' Miliband of Brothers'' (2010), '' Weekender ...
as PC Taser *
Alice Orr-Ewing Alice Josephine Orr-Ewing (born 7 July 1989) is a British actress who starred in the 2012 British film '' The Scapegoat'', an adaptation of the 1957 novel of the same name by Daphne du Maurier. Early life Orr-Ewing was born in Hammersmith, Lon ...
as Lavinia *
Jane Stanness Jane Allison Stanness is a Welsh actress, writer, and singer-songwriter, best known for starring as Deborah in the BAFTA winning comedy series ''Sally4Ever'', as Matron in the 2018 film '' Slaughterhouse Rulez'', and as Mary in the 2020 Sky TV co ...
as Sheena * Jay Taylor as Documentary Maker


Critical reception

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, it has a 34% approval rating based on 32 reviews, with an average rating of 4.50/10. The site's consensus reads: "Aside from a few chuckles and Simon Pegg's reliably affable screen presence, ''A Fantastic Fear of Everything'' has embarrassingly little to offer." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
it has a score of 31% based on reviews from 14 critics, indicating "generally negative reviews".


References


External links


Official Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fantastic Fear of Everything 2012 films British comedy horror films 2012 comedy horror films 2012 comedy films 2010s English-language films 2010s British films