In Stalker Thriller 'The Fanatic,' Travolta Stalks, But Never Thrills
In Fred Durst's third feature, based loosely on his experience with an overzealous fan, the director lectures the audience while star John Travolta flails away at a one-note performance.
Halfway through the miserable psychodrama The Fanatic, Dick (Kenneth Farmer, playing a minor character with only a few lines), asks a couple of aggressive panhandlers to stop harassing his buddy Moose (John Travolta): "Why can't you leave this guy alone, huh?" You won't find any good answers in the movie, an ugly character study about Moose, an emotionally unstable cinephile who stalks Hunter Dunbar (Devon Sawa), his favorite horror movie star.
Moose is such an underdeveloped character that one can't help but wonder whycan't stop picking on Travolta's character, though is supposedly based (in part) on Durst's real-life encounters with a starstruck harasser. (Durst shares screenplay credit with Dave Bekerman.)
