A detective thriller about a destructive cult starring the 'Stranger Things' star, directed by Ridley Scott's daughter, has been released in Russian theaters. Why, despite all its rough edges, 'City of Fear' is still worth attention — read on in the...
The plot centers on a social psychologist (Eric Bana) who, after divorcing his wife, moved from the US to Germany to teach at a Berlin university. His ex-wife sends their mutual daughter Mazzy (Sadie Sink) to live with him for six months as agreed. At the airport, she meets a young man (Jonas Dassler) who belongs to a radical environmental cult.
In a well-established tradition, Russian distributors have once again tinkered with the title translation, dubbing the film 'City of Fear,' apparently hoping to ride on the coattails of the 'City of Secrets' franchise, also starring Eric Bana. Well, thank goodness they didn't call it 'Insidious'!
The film is based on the novel Nicholas Hogg 'Tokyo,' which, as the title suggests, is set in Japan's capital. The plot is the same, except that the cult itself receives far less attention than in the 2024 American-German adaptation.
Interestingly, in the new film, the cult has a well-defined ideological orientation — green radicalism, a wild mix of ideas from Greta Thunberg blended with Zen esotericism and apocalyptic predictions from Ted Kaczynski. Such communities rightly identify climate change, overpopulation, and environmental pollution as problems, but in the rhetoric of their speeches and methods of struggle, one can often discern open misanthropy and an unhealthy deification of Mother Nature. Obviously, this is a jab at the younger generation, especially those concerned with waste recycling and renewable energy. The film is interesting even for the reason that it delivers a verdict that goes against public opinion and current trends.
In her film, Jordan Scott, daughter of the great and terrible, clearly demonstrates the mechanism of a totalitarian sect and the recruitment of new members: how they gain trust, detach them from family, give them purpose and promise salvation, and how, ultimately, the collective devours the individual. 'City of Fear' works excellently as a guide on how to avoid being enslaved by a cult.
On November 22, the world saw the new historical epic 'Napoleon' by Ridley Scott, starring Joaquin Phoenix. And while the renowned director fends off criticism with the techniques of the original
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However, on the other hand, 'City of Fear' cannot be called either a twisty detective story or a tense thriller. The main plot twist is incredibly easy to spot, as if the creators never intended to hide it, and the intrigue is too weak to build suspense. Also, from the first act, there's a huge 'Chekhov's gun' hanging on the wall, so obvious that you don't even need a minimal understanding of dramatic laws to know when it will go off.
However, an undeniable merit of the film is the father-daughter duo played by Eric Bana and Sadie Sink, respectively. Despite the fact that their characters were forgotten at the script stage and given only a couple of one-dimensional traits, the actors are quite convincing in these roles. Sadie Sink once again plays a complex heroine: a lonely young girl who blames herself for her parents' divorce and becomes an easy target for the cult and more. Eric Bana, on the other hand, appears in his usual role. If I didn't know that this film is not connected to the 'City of Secrets' duology, and if I hadn't noticed the differences in names and biographical details, I would easily have taken this film as its sequel.
To summarize, 'City of Fear' is far from perfect, but at the same time it is an engaging, bold, and even somewhat provocative sketch on the theme of modern sects and the currently popular environmental activism.
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