Who doesn’t like a good anthology film? It gives directors a chance to try out new things in a short timeframe, and it gives viewers a chance to discover the work of someone they might have otherwise missed out on. Technically, it’s win-win scenario, and even with segments of varying quality, they’re almost always worth watching; if one episode isn’t working, then a better one might be right around the corner.
Phobias is a respectable addition to this increasingly rare genre and as far as hooks go, it has a good one: short stories based around real human phobias. And it’s not the typical fear of heights or fear of water, either; this one digs a little deeper and finds fears one never knew existed.
Every anthology has a connective tissue that binds all the stories together; usually, it’s quickly put together and forgettable. This is one of the rare times where the wraparound is equally or more compelling than everything else; patients at a shadowy medical facility being treated by a mad scientist conducting experiments in order to weaponize their fears.
Said fears form the basis for each tale, as the quintet deals with their trauma: a lonely computer geek who finds an unlikely ally in technology (Robophobia, or fear of artificial intelligence); a thief who has visions while on the road (Vehophobia, fear of driving); a teacher attacked by her own students (Ephepiphobia, fear of youth); a cop traumatized after a raid gone wrong (Hoplophobia, fear of weapons); and a businesswoman obsessed with perfection (Atelophobia, fear of imperfections).
Each one of these tales could have worked as a film on their own; however, as presented here, they all feel truncated, cut short before having a chance to breathe. This also applies to its intriguing main story, which ends abruptly just as it’s gaining steam. This is an anthology that could have benefited from an extra runtime, to have these ideas go further than the planning stage.
However, as brief as they are, these shorts give their directors leeway to try out some things. Chris von Hoffmann’s Ephebiphobia is a to-the-point, brief home invasion thriller and definitely the best out of the five; Joe Sill’s Robophobia and Maritte Go’s Vehophobia, are the two all-too-rare films with Asian leads; Westworld’s Leonardo Nam is instantly sympathetic as the put-upon protagonist of the former.
Elsewhere, Jess Varley’s Atelophobia hits some effective psychological thriller notes as we see the extent of Macy Gray’s breakdown; and finally, Hoplophobia marks actress Camilla Belle’s directorial debut and even manages to work in a brief The Raid-style fight scene. There’s something to recommend each segment, even if they fall short of their potential in various ways.
Phobias won’t reinvent the anthology format, but there’s so few of these made nowadays that getting one is never a bad thing. And with the neverending amount of things one can be deadly afraid of (there’s probably a phobia against phobias), there’s enough material to continue this as a series if one were so inclined, hopefully giving resolution to its cliffhanging main story.
Phobias is On Demand and Digital on March 19, 2021, via Vertical Entertainment.