The Fanatic is a 2019 American psychological thriller film directed and co-written by Fred Durst. It stars John Travolta as Moose, an autistic man who develops an unhealthy obsession with his favorite actor Hunter Dunbar (Devon Sawa) and stalks him. The film was given a limited theatrical and a VOD release, on August 30, 2019 by Quiver Distribution and Redbox Entertainment, and received mainly negative reviews, with some praise towards Travolta s performance.

Plot

Moose is a man with autism who works as a street performer on Hollywood Boulevard. He is also an avid film buff, filling his apartment with memorabilia from various movies, including those of cult horror and action film star Hunter Dunbar, with whom he develops an unhealthy obsession. When Moose finally gets an opportunity to meet him and get an autograph for an expensive jacket he purchased at a fan auction, he loses his chance when Dunbar s ex-wife abruptly comes to see him. Moose is friends with a young paparazzi photographer, Leah, who shows Moose an app that publishes the home addresses of famous celebrities, including his hero.

Moose goes to Dunbar s house and tries to give him a letter while also begging him for an autograph. Dunbar confronts Moose, threatening him with violence, and tells him to stay out of his neighborhood. Moose comes back again and climbs a fence, but is scared off by Dunbar s housekeeper. Moose keeps returning and eventually gains entry to the house after accidentally pushing the housekeeper into a stone fountain, inadvertently killing her. Moose is again rejected by Dunbar, who calls Moose a stalker and says he ll kill him if he sees him again.

The experience causes Moose to suffer a complete mental breakdown, and he returns and ties up Dunbar in his bed. When Dunbar wakes up, he sees Moose lying on the floor, appearing to have killed himself, only for Moose to start laughing and get up. Next, Moose dresses up in a Jason Voorhees mask and pretends to stab Dunbar, but his blade is revealed to be a retractable prop knife. A terrified Dunbar pleads for Moose to untie him with promises of autographs and friendship, and he does. Dunbar attacks and nearly kills Moose, shooting off his fingers with a hidden rifle and stabbing him in the eye. Moose starts to cry hysterically and after a seeming change of heart, Dunbar calmly escorts him out of his home.

Moose wanders the streets of Hollywood, sobbing and passing tourists who request to take photos with him, believing his wounds to be a part of a realistic costume, before Leah finds him and takes him to a hospital. Meanwhile, Dunbar is seen being arrested after police, having been informed of his assault on Moose, find the dead housekeeper and mistakenly assume Dunbar killed her.

Cast

• John Travolta as Moose
• Devon Sawa as Hunter Dunbar
• Ana Golja as Leah
• Jacob Grodnik as Todd
• James Paxton as Slim
• Denny Méndez as Amanda

Production

Pretzel Fang produced the film with VMI Worldwide, Wonderfilm Media, Media Finance Capital, Primal Film LLC and Quiver Distribution funded the film. In March 2018, principal photography began in Birmingham, Alabama. Redbox Entertainment also funded the film in exchange for release via the Redbox kiosks and streaming services.

Reception

Box office

The Fanatic earned $3,153 from 52 theaters in the U.S. on its opening day, making it a US box-office failure.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 16% based on 70 reviews, with an average score of 3.7/10. The website s critical consensus reads: John Travolta gives it his oddly coiffed all, but The Fanatic rings hollow as an examination of the way fan appreciation can curdle into toxic obsession. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 18 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating overwhelming dislike .

NPR s Simon Abrams gave the film a negative review, calling it a noticeable downgrade from director Fred Durst s The Education of Charlie Banks and The Longshots, and labeling the work a miserable psychodrama. Specific elements attracting criticism included the cliché-filled voiceover narration and a bunch of scenes where Travolta zealously overacts . Glenn Kenny of The New York Times also wrote a negative review of the film, arguing that it delineates the border that separates the merely stale from the genuinely rancid.

In a positive review, Josh Millican of Dread Central called the film a riveting indie with genuine suspense , and he praised both Travolta s and Sawa s performances.

Accolades

The film was nominated for three Golden Raspberry Awards, Worst Picture, Worst Director (Fred Durst), and Worst Actor which John Travolta won (also for his performance in Trading Paint).

Year	2019
ReleaseDate	2020-08-05
RuntimeMins	88
RuntimeStr	1h 28min
Plot	A rabid film fan stalks his favorite action hero and destroys the star’s life.
Awards	Awards, 2 wins & 2 nominations
Directors	Fred Durst
Writers	Fred Durst, Dave Bekerman
Stars	John Travolta, Devon Sawa, Ana Golja
Produced by	Jeff Bowler,Randy Charach,Neb Chupin,Charles Dorfman,Fred Durst,Oscar Generale,Naomi George,David Gilbery,Daniel Grodnik,Walter Josten,Bill Kenwright,Oguzhan Koc,Mic Manaras,Berry Meyerowitz,Steve Potts,Jeff Sackman,Richard Salvatore,Bret Saxon,Kirk Shaw,Daniel Shepherd,Sarah Sulick,John Travolta
Music by	Blvck Ceiling,Gary Hickeson,John Swihart
Cinematography by	Conrad W. Hall
Film Editing by	Malcolm Crowe,Nik Voytas
Production Design by	Joe Lemmon
Set Decoration by	Leah Hudspeth,Jen Miller Mishalanie
Costume Design by	Tamika Jackson
Makeup Department	Anthony Canonica,Allyson Carey,Diana Choi,Michael Fontaine,Lindsay Gelfand,Lauren Kelley,Jennifer Kimlin,Michael Marino,David Presto,Mayela Serrano,Joy Travis
Production Management	David E. Ornston,John Schwert,Daniel Voltz
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director	Maggie Ballard,Jared Briley,Julie Johnsen
Art Department	Ivan Corona,Scott Daniel,Steve Moon,Jason O’Brien,Kevin Sappington
Sound Department	Trip Brock,Joshua Crisci,Lorita de la Cerna,Rob Embrey,K. Joshua Fernberg,Alexander Jongbloed,Will Loftin,Noah Mathers,Daniel S. McCoy,Jacob Ortiz,Nigel Squibbs,Bruce Stubblefield,Eliott Taylor,Michael Toji,Kelly Vandever,Patrick Williams Jr.,Amanda Zohar
Visual Effects by	Marc Knapton,Leandro Sarris,Becky Vicars,Morgan Walston
Stunts	Heath Hensley,Ryan Mari,Jessica Medina,Niko Nedyalkov,Paul Andrew O’Connor
Camera and Electrical Department	Stuart Abramson,Jeffrey R. Clark,Michael J. Cohen,Twojay Dhillon,Brian Douglas,Drew Frazier,Drew Gaines,Mike Gipson,Logan Hall,Ashton Hammill,Christopher D. Jones,Kevin Key,Chip Kilpatrick,Kristopher Kimlin,Daniel Thomas King,Erik Loveland,Diego Montiel,Heath Neptune,Patrick Strunk,Geoffrey Waters
Costume and Wardrobe Department	Elizabeth Chapman,Carron Clark,Alesha Mitchell
Editorial Department	Susumu Asano,Luke Davis,Joel Ides,Kevin Key,Eric Lalicata,Karl Rhys,Jack Scott
Location Management	Joshua Cane,Mary E. Fry,Terry Gentry,Steve Moon,Greg Womble
Music Department	David Gonzalez,Thomas Morse
Script and Continuity Department	Kimberley Roper
Transportation Department	Kaylon Damazio,James Quattrochi,Brianna Twilley
Additional Crew	Scott Blackburn,Kathleen Bodle,Alexandra Boyd,Creighton Crump,Frank DeMartini,Rick Eyler,Johanna Hogan,Griffin Holmes,Angie Losito,Alex Michetti,Sheila Fraser Milne,Steve Moon,Kami Naghdi,Jonathan Edward Nichols,Cassius Nielsen,J.J. Nugent,Jennifer Parker,Shubham Patel,Frederic Perrin,Eric Pettway,Lisa Rupprecht,Scott Schaffer,Bill Thrasher,Rob Wolfe,Orneatha Wright
Thanks	Bill Paxton,John Schneider
Genres	Crime, Thriller
Companies	Quiver Distribution, Redbox Entertainment, Pretzel Fang Productions
Countries	USA
Languages	English, Spanish
ContentRating	R
ImDbRating	4.2
ImDbRatingVotes	11981
MetacriticRating	18
Keywords	tied to a bed,fingers shot off,stabbed in the eye,obsessed fan,actor