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| Paul Michael Glaser |
Dr. Peter Ross (Paul Michael Glaser) is giving unconventional therapy to a group of patients on parole. He uses videos to expose his patients to their various phobias, everything from snakes to high heights. When a bomb goes off in his townhouse and one of those patients is killed, the police eventually figure that he was the target. Ross not only seems unconcerned with that, but with the fact that more of his patients are getting knocked off. Inspector Barnes (John Colicos) zeroes in on one of the patients with a violent history, but the killer could be anyone.
Phobia is not badly done on some levels, but it is sadly forgettable. Even when one considers that Glaser is playing a self-absorbed, egotistical, and unlikable psychiatrist, his performance is still pretty awful. Other cast members make a better impression: Susan Hogan as Ross' gal pal Jenny; Patricia Collins as his associate Dr. Toland; and especially Robert O'Ree as patient Bubba King. Andre Gagnon's score is also helpful. This is the type of twisty psychological plot that would have worked much better as a Dario Argento-type giallo film, with more violence and more elan to the murder sequences. Huston is simply the wrong director for this type of movie.
Glaser with Patricia Collins
Verdict: Watch out for those headshrinkers! **1/2.
Is the director THE John Huston? I dimly remember hearing about this one, and I was a big Starsky & Hutch fan at the time. Might be worth a look...
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Yes, this is the real, one and only, original John Huston, who made a few stinkers in his later years.
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