Fear of Rain

 

There are films that are based on a true story and then there are films that are fiction, however are based in a story that could easily have happened and the way the film is written would lead one to wonder. "Fear of Rain" is based on the latter, but could've been based on a very believable story. 

Rain Burroughs (Madison Iseman) has early-onset schizophrenia, a condition that not only causes her to see vivid hallucinations but also puts a strain on her parents, Michelle (Katherine Heigl) and John (Harry Connick Jr.). When she meets Caleb (Israel Broussard), a charmingly awkward new student at school, Rain finally feels she has a lifeline to normalcy. But as Rain starts to find clues that her neighbor has kidnapped a child--and Caleb is the only one who believes her--Rain must fight to figure out who and what is real while also battling the overwhelming forces that haunt her daily life. Will anyone believe her...before it's too late?

Others to round out the cast are Eugenie Bondurant as Dani McConnell, Enuka Okuma as Dr. Ellen Pangloss, Julia Vasi as Alexa, Brian Yang as Doctor, Jannette Sepwa as Nurse Rosa, Ashley Abrams as Sylvie and Hudson Rodgers as Malia.

This was directed with just the right amount of creepiness by Castille Landon ("Albion: The Enchanted Stallion" '16, "Apple of My Eye" '17) plus a short. Even though this filmmaker isn't necessarily experienced, her ability to keep her audience on the edge of their seat through the different thrilling scenes has incredible talent. Not to worry if after seeing this you are wanting to see more of her work. Apparently her "After Ever Happy" is in post production and her "After We Fall" is now filming with a 2021 release. This was also creatively written by Landon ("Workers' Comp" (TV movie) '11, "Albion: The Enchanted Stallion" '16, "Apple of My Eye" '17) plus shorts. When a script causes one to be asking questions as the story unfolds, this is truly effective writing, which is what happened to me. There are a few twists in this--one you won't see coming, that also makes the story amazingly interesting--I  was riveted to my seat. If you've known anyone in your life who's been diagnosed with schizophrenia, that will especially make this an intriguing expose of what these people have to endure as they live their day to day lives. I knew someone with this condition, and although he was a kind-hearted soul, he was stricken with this affliction and he truly had a tough life with it. This writer definitely did her homework, and for that, my kudos to her. Other than a couple of very small places that were slow, this script was spot on. Landon is going places in the realm of film. 

If films that focus on the psychological realm, i.e. "A Beautiful Mind", "Sybill", "The Three Faces of Eve", "It's Kind of a Funny Story", "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", and the like, this will resonate with you. The realism is amazing in that it gives the audience an inside look of what it's like to live this life, and it's not pretty. This was released on 2-12-2021 in the theaters, and is probably still there. I live in California where the theaters are still closed, so as this was also available for purchase, I bought it so as to critique it for you.

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                      Rated: PG-13                                                   109mins.