Fever
Tags: murder

Plot synopsis:
The movie starts with the protagonist, a man named Armin Salem (Rajeev Khandelwal), recovering in the hospital after a car accident and is diagnosed as suffering from retrograde amnesia. There are only a few things that he remembers - his name, that he is originally from Paris and furthermore that he might have committed the murder of a woman named Rhea Wagner (Gemma Atkinson). He wants to know who he really is and he keeps repeating the same question to different characters. The answers are finally revealed.
He starts getting flashbacks and remembers the identity of a woman identifying herself as Kavya (Gauhar Khan) who keeps reappearing in his hallucinations along with Rhea. She then starts stalking him. Kavya’s role in Armin’s life is quite hazy but eventually the truth is revealed as to why she is too close to Armin.  Things become interesting when Armin meets Rhea, and remembers that he is Karan who is a writer and all the clips that he sees are the hidden shades of the writer himself. After losing the memory of Karan, the writer, he adopted the memory of Armin who used to work as a contract killer in his book. He is shown to be very smooth with the ladies and is also very quick with a gun.
He also finds out that the woman named Kavya is none other than his wife Pooja. When Pooja finds out that Karan has lost his memory, she introduces herself with a fake identity to regain her husband as they were going through a rough patch in their marriage. She ends up killing a woman named Grace Soni (Ankita Makwana), who is revealed to be Karan’s girlfriend. She then manipulates him into thinking that someone is trying to trap him and that she will help him in every way possible. Finally, Pooja's motive is revealed when she helps Armin dump the dead body of Ankita and flee from the scene. Pooja admits that it was the fever of her inner rage that gave her the courage to love someone despite not being loved back.

Review: 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.
Winter doesn't seem to have his head around the screenplay for "Fever", a dark and morose drama about a young, disturbed NYC slum dwelling artist (Thomas) who is caught up in a trio of murders .
Henry Thomas plays a neurotic urban artist, barely eking out a living and refusing the help of friends and family.
A murder in his squalid apartment building knocks the artist off kilter and begins an increasingly paranoid and hallucinatory chain of events.
The film does not set out to ask "whodunnit", rather to make us experience the singular nightmare of a struggling and sensitive young man alone in the modern world..
It took me 14 years since the movie's theatrical release in November 2000 to sit through and watch this film written and directed by Alex Winter (best know for starring as Bill in the two film set Bill& Ted's Excellent Adventure and the movie sequel Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey).
For the greater percentage of films that make it out to a general release if the director is also the primary writer, the film will not do well at the box office, and for good reason.
Quite frankly, the audience does not want to see a unique "artistic perspective", we want to be entertained.I read the majority of complimentary reviews of this film that were written a dozen years or so ago, and they all said how talented Alex Winter was as both a writer and director, some comparing his style to Alfred Hitchcock.
Oh please, were these reviews written by Alex Winters' close friends and family?
If not then roll forward to 14 years later in 2014 and look at Alex winters body of work as either a writer or director and you will see that Hollywood has not been banging down his door with financial backing for any subsequent films.I rated the film as high as a 4 out of 10 only because of the strong performance of the lead actor Henry Thomas.
Unfortunately although Thomas's performance was very real, his face appeared in 95% of the film and his psychotic and delusional behavior was irritating.
I also found the lack of any notable musical score presented the film more as a documentary style (which it was not trying to be) than as a thriller.
Alex Winter kept throwing in scenes that attempted to provide a film noir, "Hitchcock" approach, but in my opinion the film suffered even more so as a result.After 14 years since its release and over 500 viewers scoring this films average rating of 6.1, I believe this is a very generous IMDb score.
I will not be recommending this film to anyone to waste their time watching, even with the attractive Teri Hatcher playing Henry Thomas's sane sister.Some viewers may enjoy this type of film premise of a disturbed young man who experiences dream sequences (or are they real?) and coming in and out of reality but it certainly is not my cup of tea.
I give it a 4 out of 10 and this is generous only due to the good performance of Henry Thomas..
To put it plainly, the movie revolves around this artist, who is so deeply disturbed by the gruesome murders of his landlord and his (landlord's) mother, that he becomes pallid and starts hallucinating.
Much of the credit for what the movie is, should be given to the acting, mainly of the prime two characters, Nick' and Will', played by Henry Thomas and David O'Hara respectively.
While Henry Thomas does a pretty good job of a person spooked' by the murders in the movie, it is David O'Hara, who puts up a splendid performance, by acting as a mentally deranged, psycho' Irishman, who is a sailor, and is a staunch believer of Nazism.
Along with good acting, the direction is pretty decent, too, maintaining just the right amount of the funereal atmosphere throughout, without going overboard with gory details.
Either this scene should have had more attention paid to the minor details, which are seriously flawed, (and do much damage to it) or else, it could've done without the backdrop of an underground train-ride, and could have done with a much less complicated backdrop.The movie has all the elements of a spook-thriller, and is scary from the beginning to the end, building up to a good suspense.
The overall feel of the movie is also well maintained, without trying to give too much detail to gore, and primarily paying attention to maintain the stolid and chilling atmosphere, in a very subtle manner.
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.
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.
Anyone who imagined Alex Winter to be as dull-witted as Excellent Adventure's Bill (or Keanu Reeves for that matter) is in for a surprise.
He has created a film that is incredibly haunting and disturbing, and this is his directing debut.
**SPOILERS** Deep psychological suspense/drama set in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn with a murder of a landlord that later escalates into a world of insanity as well as the unknown for one of the tenant's in the building.
One of the tenants in the building art teacher Nick Parker, Henry Thomas, was a witness to the fight between Sidney and Wooley and is later called by the police as their star witness in the murder.
At first you think your watching a murder/police drama until Nick goes upstairs to talk to his new neighbor Will, David O'Hera.
Nick asks Will, the night of the murder, that he's disturbing him in doing his work by making load noises and to please stop.
Later that morning when the police are called to investigate Sidney's murder Nick tells NYPD Det. Glass, Bill Duke, about Will living upstairs and being a possible suspect and is shocked to find that Will doesn't live there and In fact the upstairs apartment is empty!
We keep seeing Nick go upstairs and talk to Will, who supposedly is not there, and Will comes across as a man totally out of touch with reality.Will feels that the Nazis are in control of the world and that the ancient Gnostics are the real power behind every government on earth.
This makes Nick, like those of us watching, feel that this guy is a can or two short of a six-pack when it comes to his mental reasoning.
As the movie goes on it becomes apparent that Nick is suffering from some kind of breakdown but what exactly is causing it?
Later Mrs. Miskowitz, Sidney's 80 year-old mom, is also found dead by Nick who's now sure that Will murdered her just like her son Sidney.
Nick is now certain that he must have murdered Mrs. Miskowitz, as well as her son Sidney, and is trying to escape from being arrested by the police.
Scared almost to death himself Nick thinks that he was seen by a witness in the adjoining subway car stabbing Will and then makes his way outside on the street only to be picked up by the police!
It's not until the very last few minutes in the film that you realize just what's wrong with Nick; His past has finally caught up with him.
It was that dark and deadly secret that Nick kept hidden so deeply from himself all that time that in the end, when it finally resurfaced, drove Nick to lose not only his mind but later even his life..
The films stars Henry Thomas as Nick Parker a struggling painter living in a realistically terrible New York Apartment building.
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.
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.
A young artist, Nick Parker, (an excellent, sensitive Henry Thomas)  teaches drawing  in a run-down area of the Bronx.
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.
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 really impressed with the way the film looked, and the quality of the acting.
Alex Winter is from my home town (St. Louis) and I was surprised by how different this film was from his older comedy work.
It's a deeply thought-out film, different in a lot of ways from everything else that's out there in the indie scene right now.
Alex Winter has come a long way....
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.
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.
The only letdown is knowing that I will have to wait awhile for Alex Winter to write and direct another film.
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.
His life is spiraling downward.Somebody is murdering people in Nick's building.
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..
This film rocked like Elvis and David Bowie rockin' in New Orleans!
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.
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..
Being a big fan of bill and ted back in my teen years, I was very interested to see what sort of writer/director Alex winter had become.
While this wasn't brilliant, this was a very atmospheric dark film about a guy trying to make ends meet and living in a slumflat.
Henry Thomas was great in the lead role ably directed by Winter who keeps the suspense for the whole movie so that even when the credits roll, many questions still remain.
Fever is an exceptionally well-crafted film which creates its own, dream-like world.
The story is sparse, but revolves around a struggling young painter who lives in a run-down apartment building in New York City.
He is already suffering from many anxieties and hardships, and when a murder occurs in his building, he begins to come completely unhinged.
The other actors are excellent as well, particularly David O' Hara as an enigmatic drifter and Teri Hatcher as the artist's sympathetic sister.
The look and sound of the film are totally unique.
I don't know when this film is going on general release, but I hope it's given a good distribution because it's a powerful, uncommonly sophisticated little gem of a movie..
Alex Winter's "Fever" is one of the creepiest independent thrillers I have ever seen.Nick Parker,a struggling young painter,is suffering a mental and physical breakdown.When a violent murder occurs in his apartment building,Nick begins to suspect that he may have committed the crime himself.From this event begins the downward spiral of paranoia and illness that ends in the horrifying climax.The film is extremely atmospheric as it looks almost like painting.The hallucinations of Nick are undeniably creepy.The photography by Joe DeSalvo is excellent and the production design adds a lot to the atmosphere.The film is pretty tough to find,but if you get a chance watch it.Highly recommended..
The acting is very good on Henry Thomas' part as well as the direction by Alex Winter (Bill from the infamous Bill & Ted films) but the storyline has a few out-of-place moments and enough awkwardness to make even the sleepiest of viewers cringe.
Pro's & con's:+ Henry Thomas' performance (you'll have trouble believing that it's the kid from E.T.)+ Alex Winter's high quality and sometimes colorful directing style (including some nice, steady camera work which was more fitting for a film like this)Very cheap visual effectsBy the time it ends you'll feel like you've wasted your time.
Man this movie is a great ride.
The man behind Bill from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure steps behind the camera for the second time and offers us Fever.
Now Nick Parter (Thomas) must prove that he is not the killer before he loses his freedom and sanity.
A great film all the way around.
Fever is a movie that appears very shallow at first glance, but is actually quite complex.The plot is a little confusing, but after a close look; not all that difficult to get.
An artist (Nick Parker) is struggling to keep his job as an art instructor.
After a grisly murder at his apartment, he begins to slip slowly into insanity.Henry Thomas was OK as Nick Parker.
David O'Hara (The Departed) was really good as Will, Nick's neighbor and new slightly insane, creepy friend.
Teri Hatcher was very good as Charlotte Parker, Nick's worried, caring sister.
Bill Duke (Predator) was also very good as Detective Glass.The lighting was what really set the mood for the film.
This is an amazing little film.
Now we are trying to find other films from this director.
A great, dark thriller in the Hitchcock style.
Alex Winter has done a fantastic job portraying real life characters, and weaving a dark, intriguing plot.
This film is far from average- and quite shocking, when you realize it comes from the mind of Alex Winter.
Especially gripping are his "sleepwalking sessions"  in which you wake up right along with him- a bit in shock as to the new surroundings & sensations.Our little boy has grown up, Henry Thomas' performance as a grown man, dealing with deep seeded emotional issues, far surpasses any role he has played thus far.
He surrounds our main character in darkness as if he is incapable of creating even a glimmer of light in his world.
We will never know.I was intrigued by the murder plot of course, but at times I found myself wondering if the ending would prove it all to be a "dream" in the mind of our lost confused teacher.
Wake up & smell that audiences are screaming for some creativity in movie making and new stories to enjoy!
FEVER is certainly a new albeit "surreal" movie experience.