One of the joys of buying two dollar DVDs in trash and treasure stores is that now and then you hit on something really good. That's how I came across "Fever". This is a compelling movie on just about every level. Although some of the elements have cropped up in other movies, "Fever" is original enough to make it quite unique.The film is set in New York. Nick Parker played by Henry Thomas, an art instructor at a local community centre, lives in a run down apartment block. We learn that Nick is a troubled man, haunted by events from his past. Nick becomes more unhinged when the old landlady of his apartment block and her janitor husband are brutally murdered. A detective questions Nick, because he had witnessed a fight between another resident and the murdered couple the day of the murders.Nick also encounters Will, who has moved into the apartment above him. Will seems to have insights into Nick's character and challenges him intellectually. Although Nick tells the police that Will also witnessed the fight between the other resident and the janitor, there is no sign that anyone lives in the apartment above him.Nick seems to be losing his grip on reality. Nick's family, especially his sister Charlotte, played by Teri Hatcher, is concerned about him, but he resents their intrusion. When Nick becomes more agitated and encounters Will on an eerie train ride, it precipitates the climax of the film where some, but not all the questions are answered."Fever" has a great story, convincing performances and no shortage of style. There seems to be some interesting influences: the death of the old Polish landlady smacks of Dostoyevsky's "Crime and Punishment", while the beautifully shot scenes of New York with cityscapes contrasted with the dilapidated interiors of Nick's apartment block, have the same mysterious, static quality as Edward Hopper's paintings - the exterior of the apartment block has a character all it's own.Interestingly, the relationship between Nick and Will, although treated with a certain amount of ambiguity until the end, has similarities with the Russell Crow and Paul Bettany characters from "A Beautiful Mind", made a couple of years later.As for the cast, Teri Hatcher lights up any movie she is in and gives this one a touch of class. Henry Thomas is fine as the troubled Nick, and David O'Hara is unsettling as Will.Although Hitchcock and Polanski come to mind, "Fever" is its own movie, and for those who like a thriller that is edgy, with heaps of atmosphere, then go no further than this stylish film.

Fever is a difficult film, and I mean that in a good way. I think the director is creating a story about the raw emotions and desires in a young man caught in the modern world. We follow a painter in New York City who is not able to achieve his goals and dreams, and as a result, escapes into an alternate reality. However, this reality is as much of nightmare as his waking life. If not worse. Like Lynch and Cocteau, Winter forces us into this man's subconcious, and asks us to feel the terror and despair that affects this confused mind. I really enjoyed the trip.

Alex Winter has done a fantastic job portraying real life characters, and weaving a dark, intriguing plot. His use of camera angles and stark imagery add to its psychological depth: is this the nightmares of a sick guy, or reality? what is real and what is surreal or imagined.....Overall: hard to find, but not to be missed.

I saw this most unusual and moving film at the Raindance festival in London last year. Slow paced, yes. Boring? For me, no. A young artist, Nick Parker, (an excellent, sensitive Henry Thomas) teaches drawing in a run-down area of the Bronx. and his surroundings are depressing him to the point of nervous breakdown, or worse! A murder in his apartment affects him deeply and attempts by his sister (a well-judged performance by Teri Hatcher) to communicate with him are offset by his growing mistrust of his own senses. This film has qualities that repay the patience needed to appreciate them. The cinematography is responsible for much of the film's impact and the high level of acting all round builds the tension nicely, together with Alex Winter's splendid screenplay. I was impressed by it's intelligent and realistic portrayal of a descent into insanity.