'' Appointment with Fear'', also known as ''Deadly Presence'', is a 1985 American

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

directed by Ramsey Thomas for

Moustapha Akkad Moustapha Al Akkad ( ar, مصطفى العقاد; July 1, 1930 – November 11, 2005) was a Syrian-American film producer and director, best known for producing the original series of ''Halloween'' films and directing '' The Message'' and ' ...

and Moviestore Entertainment. The film stars

Michele Little Michele Little (born c. 1960) is an American former actress, best known for her appearances in the 1980s and early 1990s. She retired in 1995 to raise a family after giving birth to a daughter with husband Brett Cullen. Filmography *''Radioactiv ...

Douglas Rowe Douglas Rowe (born 1938) was an American actor. Career Rowe is mostly a character and supporting actor, he has appeared in films such as '' The Incident'' (1990) and '' Appointment with Fear'' (1985), his character as the off-beat, seedy looking ...

, Garrick Dowhen, and

Kerry Remsen Kerry Remsen is an American actress. She is the daughter of actor Bert Remsen and casting director Barbara Joyce Dodd, sister of Ann Remsen Manners and has been married to Ron Cates since 2006. She attended the U.S. Grant High School in Van Nuys ...

. The film had theatrical release in 1985 by Galaxy International Pictures and release on VHS in October 1987 by

International Video Entertainment Artisan Entertainment (formerly known as U.S.A. Home Video, International Video Entertainment (IVE) and LIVE Entertainment) was an American film studio and home video company. It was considered one of the largest mini-major film studios until ...

, followed in 1991 by

Live Entertainment Artisan Entertainment (formerly known as U.S.A. Home Video, International Video Entertainment (IVE) and LIVE Entertainment) was an American film studio and home video company. It was considered one of the largest mini-major film studios until ...

. Ramsey Thomas had his name removed from the project, replacing it with the pseudonym

Alan Smithee Alan Smithee (also Allen Smithee) is an official pseudonym used by film directors who wish to disown a project. Coined in 1968 and used until it was formally discontinued in 2000, it was the sole pseudonym used by members of the Directors Guild o ...

Plot

A mysterious and unidentified man ( Garrick Dowhen) in a white Ford van gets out and stabs his wife on the

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

of a house. Before she dies, she gives her infant son to Heather (

) and urges her that he must be kept safe, knowing that his father will try to kill him. The case is followed by Detective Kowalski (

), an off-beat, seedy looking detective. Kowalski later finds out the killer is in

solitary confinement Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which the inmate lives in a single cell with little or no meaningful contact with other people. A prison may enforce stricter measures to control contraband on a solitary prisoner and use additi ...

in the state mental facility but is somehow leaving his body in spirit and is under an Ancient Egyptian curse which gives him a need to kill his son to be "King of the Forest" for another year. Kowalski later visits a specialist seeking advice on how to confront the Ancient Egyptian spirit and curse. Carol (

), a friend of Heather with a love of recording sounds, spots the white van following her in her pickup truck and becomes suspicious. She informs her love interest Bobby ( Michael Wyle) of her fears and he dismisses them and punctures the tire of the van which is parked nearby. Heather takes the baby to a luxury

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...

house, where she takes care of him with Carol. She has a dream in which she predicts the murder of the boy and becomes extremely anxious. Detective Kowalski meanwhile has his car hijacked in the wilderness by the killer’s spirit and blown to smithereens. The killer learns of his son's whereabouts and unknown initially to Carol, kills another of her friends and an old vagrant who lives in the back of her truck at the house. He then murders Samantha (

Pamela Bach Pamela Bach (born Pamela Ann Weissenbach), also known as Pamela Bach-Hasselhoff, is an American actress. Early life Bach is from Tulsa, Oklahoma, the second of three daughters. Her mother was a model, and she also modeled as a teenager. She atte ...

), another of Carol's friends in the

jacuzzi Jacuzzi Brands LLC (; ), through its subsidiaries, is a global manufacturer and distributor of branded baths, hot tubs, pools, saunas and, formerly, aircraft. Founded in 1915 by the Italian family of the same name, Jacuzzi is a federally regist ...

. After discovering Samantha, Carol runs outside with a shotgun and shoots at the white van, although the killer is not present. Then, after discovering the body of her other friend, Carol remarks that she thinks the killer is trying to kill the baby. Carol orders Bobby to go upstairs and to protect Heather and the baby and vows to "kill the bastard". Bobby discovers that Heather is missing and the baby is alone and then departs on his bike/side car and finds the detective. The killer breaks in through a window and is set on fire by Carol, prompting the spirit to leave the burning body and manifest himself again. The killer is then seen leaving the house with the baby in his arms and is confronted by Carol with a shot gun and orders him to give up the child. When he refuses and lays the baby down by a tree and attempts to perform a ritual, Carol shoots him several times, with no effect. Bobby and the detective arrive on the scene and the detective urges her to pierce the killer with a nearby pole. As she does so a dramatic scene occurs with a flash to the body in the mental ward and it explodes and is followed by a strong wind where the spirit had been. Bobby presents the baby in safe arms to Heather who remarks "Isn't he beautiful". As she looks away, supernatural green lights appear in the baby's eyes as the credits roll.

Partial cast

as Detective Kowalski *

as Carol *

as Heather * Garrick Dowhen as The Man *

as Samantha *

James Avery James La Rue Avery (November 27, 1945 – December 31, 2013) was an American actor. He was best known for his roles as Philip Banks in ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'', Shredder in ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'', Judge Michael Conover on ''L. ...

as Connors *

Danny Dayton Danny Dayton (born Daniel David Segall, November 20, 1923 – February 6, 1999) was an American actor and television director. Beginning in the 1950s, he played many roles in film and on TV. He had a recurring role as Hank Pivnik on ''All i ...

as Norman * Mike Gomez as Joe "Little Joe" * Debi Sue Voorhees as Ruth * Peter Griffin as George * Michael Wyle as Bobby * Vincent Barbour as The Cowboy * Gertrude Clement as Old Woman * Nick Conti as Young Detective * Brioni Farrell as Mrs. Sorenson * Kathi Gibbs as Cleo * Charlotte Speer as Mrs. Pierce

References

External links

* * {{Alan Smithee 1985 films 1980s English-language films 1985 horror films Films credited to Alan Smithee American supernatural horror films 1980s American films