Phobia (2014) | Film Review

Agoraphobia has been examined many times in film and with increasing paranoia delivered daily through multiple media sources, the fear may not seem as unfathomable as in the past. PHOBIA is a dark psychological thriller from director/editor Rory Abel that follows an agoraphobic man as guilt and fear overwhelm his grip on sanity.

Jonathan MacKinlay (Michael Jefferson) lives a monotonous routine alone in his home that he hasn’t left in over a year since he lost his wife in a car accident. His only connections to the outside world are his friend, Taylor (Andrew Ruth), his therapist Dr. Edmondson (Peter Gregus), and the new woman who brings him groceries, Bree (Emma Dubery). Haunted by his dead wife, Jane (Sarah Schoofs), Jonathan falls prey to his anxiety and begins seeing visions of her still in their home. While everyone tries to encourage him to overcome his fears, Jonathan hallucinates other people haunting him at night, including an unknown home intruder and a ghostlike woman. As other things in his life seem to improve, including a new love interest in Bree, when he’s alone Jonathan fights to understand what these visions mean and what is real.

PHOBIA is a small film that is confined mostly to one single location and has a small cast, yet primarily focuses on the one character, Jonathan. It is a slow burn that does have a few sluggish moments but for the most part, it is short and straight to the point. The filmmakers had a small budget and worked with their limitations to create a professional production that may not be a great film but far from a bad one. While I may not highly recommend this movie, there is still skill and potential all around that for a feature debut, Rory Abel and his crew should feel very proud of their work.

Production-wise, the movie has a nice, consistent murky look that compliments the cramped setting. The majority of the film only takes place in a few rooms so you may get a little claustrophobic yourself and beg for Jonathan to just get out of the damned house. This helps add a little to the overall tension, especially towards the last fifteen minutes of the film.

As for the acting, this is where it was a little hit or miss for me. This is an indie film and some of the delivery was a little stiff at times but no one was horrible here. Emma Dubery who played Jonathan’s love interest was decent at points but the love story in general felt a little rushed so the actors really didn’t have the time to present a believable chemistry. The vast majority of the film follows one actor, Michael Jefferson, so the film really rests on his shoulders with this type of movie. To be brutally honest, I wasn’t a big fan of his performance at first. Some of his lines didn’t feel natural in the beginning and he wasn’t showing much of a presence, but as the movie went on and he had to physically convey more and more emotion as his character descended towards madness, Michael Jefferson really shined.

The script and story, written by Matthew Barnes and director Abel, are fine; this is a simple movie with no tricks or flash and there is nothing wrong with that. Some of the promo material for PHOBIA may make it seem like a horror movie but this is more of a psychological drama with a few dark moments. At the end, I was satisfied even if I may have had a few questions.

Though I found PHOBIA a little flawed, it is a decent indie thriller that had a little more going for it than against it.

Brad Peterson
The Hollywood Outsider Contributor