Rating: ***
Review Date: 2/18/24
Special Effects: Derek Meddings
Cast: Barry Newman, Suzy Kendall, John Vernon, Ben Kingsley
Here's a forgotten gem from the 70's, and based on the underwhelming and frankly bewildering movie poster, I would have never bothered watching it. For the Blu-ray release, the folks at Arrow Video wisely chose to put a picture of the movie's REAL star on the cover, which is a 1972 Ford Gran Torino. The film opens with a rugged looking John Talbot (Barry Newman) holding up a gas station and getting arrested by local police. A daring escape from a courtroom with an unwitting Suzy Kendall as a hostage leads to an incredible 20-minute car chase in the aforementioned car. Kendall eventually leads Talbot into the company of an oil tycoon and a violent crime boss who wants to employ Talbot's talents as a deep sea salvager. But what's really going on?
Writer Alistair MacLean's thrillers were the source of numerous films in the 60's and 70's, which are disparagingly dismissed these days as "dad movies." And to be fair, some of the film's attitudes haven't aged well, but action, violence, greed, betrayal, and revenge never go out of style. Barry Newman gives an excellent performance as the ruthless and mysterious Talbot, while everyone else just sort of takes up space. John Vernon as a cruel villain is a no-brainer and a young Ben Kingsley makes his film debut as an assassin. Suzy Kendall has little to do other than scream and look scared, but she does that quite well.
The car chase at the beginning of the movie really is the highlight of the film, which was orchestrated by some of the same people who worked on "Bullitt" (1968), "Vanishing Point" (1971), and "Diamonds Are Forever" (1971). What makes this chase stand out even more is the complete lack of context. Here we have a desperate and violent criminal who we know absolutely nothing about, trying to escape from the police with a beautiful blonde hostage in a hot red muscle car. Do we cheer him on, or do we hope that the police catch him? And does it really matter? What's more important (to me, at least) is seeing the sheer skill, precision, craftsmanship, and out-of-control danger of these chase scenes, and the vehicular mayhem that they create. Dad movies, indeed... I only noticed a couple of continuity errors where the damage on the hero car didn't match up, but otherwise, it's a flawless and breathtaking chase.
It's worth noting that it takes literally thirty minutes before any sort of plot emerges, and at the forty-five minute mark, the film takes a radical turn. To be honest, I really enjoyed the complete lack of narrative in the first half of the film, as the action spoke for itself and painted an effective picture of the kind of man Talbot is, even if his motives aren't clear. It's just raw emotion - a desperate man with nothing to lose, fleeing from persecution and not afraid to do whatever is necessary to escape. It's lean, bleak, and nihilistic, and eerily reminiscent of Newman's character in "Vanishing Point." But then you learn there's a lot more to Talbot than meets the eye, and the stakes are unimaginably high. The second half relies more on stealth, deception, and suspense, as Talbot takes a bathyscaphe into a deep hole in the Gulf of Mexico looking for treasure (among other things). The underwater miniatures and effects provided by Derek Meddings look fantastic, and the only place where the film falters is in the blue screen composites shot inside the submersible.
Sadly, the film fizzles out once the primary objective is achieved and ends surprisingly abruptly. I suppose this wasn't unusual for the time period, since it wasn't until the 80's that you couldn't trust a villain to be truly dead until they exploded or were mutilated beyond recognition. While there may be closure for Talbot, there's no epilogue or closure for the audience. Apart from the lackluster ending, I found "Fear Is The Key" to be an extremely gripping and enjoyable thriller with excellent action scenes and fantastic location shooting. It's a product of its time, and they literally don't (and can't) make films like this anymore. Definitely recommended if you like gritty and twisty tales of male-centric danger and suspense.