I was completely unprepared for this surprisingly well made thriller. The films stars Henry Thomas as Nick Parker a struggling painter living in a realistically terrible New York Apartment building. Nick lives at the poverty line, his only income being continuing education classes he teaches at a community college. Early in the film a terrible murder occurs in his building and Nick and the audience spend the rest of the film coming to terms with what may have really happened.The film was written and directed by Alex Winter, most famous as the star of The Bill and Ted films, from this effort he has great promise to become a major director. He works extremely well here with the actors getting good performances from Thomas, Teri Hatcher, Bill Duke and David O'Hara. It is the cinematography by Joe DeSalvo that lifts this film to the level of something truly special. DeSalvo manages to capture shots of the New York skyline that seem unprecedented in American film and his interior work is remarkable evocative and reminiscent of the very best work of Gordon Willis and John Alonzo. Surprisingly this is the last film DeSalvo has made (it is now 2003) I am not sure why this is, but, one hopes he will have a long and prosperous c

I'm quite familiar with the name "Alex Winter," and it actually has very little to do with "Bill and Ted." I remember "The Idiot Box," and I loved "Freaked," although few people I know have ever even heard of it, and I hope that now, with the release of "Fever," more people will remember Mr. Winter for something other than the "Bill and Ted" movies. "Fever" is a haunting film, sparked by excellent performances from Henry Thomas and David O'Hara, as well as by Winter's brilliant direction. The old-fashioned stationary camera shots, together with the powerful (if bleak) cinematography, combine to create an affecting, often unsettling whole. Alex Winter seems to know New York pretty well - and as a native, I should know. For example, the shots of the N.Y.C. skyline looking dusky, seared and ominous rather than, as in so (too) many films, impossibly grand and inspiring, help us to see Nick's surroundings in the same skewed and frightening way he does, which in turn gives us a better understanding of his paranoia.I waited months to see this film, as it was never released in Boulder theaters. I looked up the video release date, made a note of it, and rented it as soon as it was available. I was not disappointed. The only letdown is knowing that I will have to wait awhile for Alex Winter to write and direct another film. For my sake at least, I hope he hurries.

Extremely atmospheric thriller starts out great, as young artist (Thomas) living in hellish urban apartment grows more and more paranoid as other tenants end up dead. The high production value and Thomas' performance maintain the interest, but the script -- reminiscent of other, better pictures -- goes nowhere fast, with a been there, done that "surprize" ending you can predict 20 minutes into the film. Seriously ruined by a slapped on, cop-out finale that leaves you furious and unsatisfied.

This film proves that you don't need a huge budget and a slew of special effects to scare the audience. The film is dark and creepy, very claustrophobic.Nick is an undiscovered artist living in a rundown building in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. He's losing his part time job, and is already so broke that he doesn't have a phone. His life is spiraling downward.Somebody is murdering people in Nick's building. He hears strange noises through the walls. There's a mysterious man in the supposedly empty apartment upstairs, but nobody else seems to know he's there. Nick is not feeling well. He's feverish. He might be imagining all this. Perhaps he's not. Strange things keep happening -- sometimes just little things -- that make everything feel tilted and out of control. The film feels sort of like "Eraserhead" meets the "Sixth Sense". When I came out of the theater I took a big gulp of fresh air and looked all around me to reassure myself that real life was nothing like this movie.