I thought this film was much better than the critics made it out to be at the time. I found it to be an interesting character study of an obsessed fan, played by Michael Biehn. He was a new actor at the time and a total unknown, which helped in this role. He went to star in "The Terminator" and has had a decent career. The other co-star....well, you might have heard of her: Lauren Bacall.

I read a lot of criticism of Bacall for this role, and think it is totally unjustified. She was just fine, thank you, playing a believable character: a veteran actress being talked by some deranged killer.

With Maureen Stapleton, James Garner, Hector Elizondo, some great cinematography with wonderful close-up shots and a good score, what's not to like? It was a good thriller and deserves better ratings.

Hollywood legends in their twilight-years are what lifts this rather sub-standard, but callous thriller out the ho-hum mould. Refined performances by Lauren Bacall (which could be seen as a star vehicle for her),James Garner and Maureen Stapleton go along way and the chemistry they share is a pleasure to behold. That's not taking away from the rest of the cast, because everyone does an outstanding job… more so than the actual gaudy material deserves. A perfectly pitched Michael Biehn convincingly portrays a young lad who's a persistent admirer of an illustrious movie actress Sally Ross (Bacall). He constantly writes to her with each letter getting even more personal and disturbing, in which her long-serving secretary (Stapleton) at first hides from her. Soon enough it's gotten to the point that this fan would do anything to make his fantasy come true. Also showing up is commendable support by Hector Elizondo and Anna Maria Horsford. Watch out for the recognizable faces of Griffin Dunne and Dana Delany in minor parts. The problem mainly lies in its attempts for suspense and drama building, as it's too predictable and dry to be exhaustively effective. The shocks are nasty, but again lacking creditability and the lasting punch due to what characters are attacked or put under threat. The plot progression isn't as riveting. However Biehn's transformation from simple idol obsession to a possessively troubled mind is unnervingly intimate, especially when the narration has him reading out his letters before posting it. Ed Bianchi's black and white direction is technically sound, if mundanely slow-grinding which is bumped up by Pino Donaggio's vividly spiralling instrumental music score and grounded location work. Accessible, but unmemorable thriller.

Douglas Breen (Michael Biehn) is a deranged young man who innundiates Sally Ross (Lauren Bacall) with fan letters.

The letters get increasingly creepy and Sally's secretary Belle (Maureen Stapleton) shields them from her which makes Douglas angrier.

The disturbed Douglas attacks Belle. Later he stalks Sally as she rehearses for a new musical and she get close to her ex husband Jake (James Garner.)

The Fan should had been an exploration of weirdly obsessed celebrity stalkers and the impact it has on the stars. It actually starts out as darkly humorous as Douglas provides the narration via the letters he types.

It becomes a tawdry slasher thriller and is so oddly paced. Apparently the producers decided to make it into a slasher film after the success of movies such as Dressed to Kill.

It ends up as hokey when you add the camp musical scenes. Then there is a bizarre scene where Douglas hooks up with a man in a gay club. He then sets him as the stalker by killing him and burning his body. It gives it a homophobic vibe.

Biehn is effectively freaky as Douglas Breen. Bacall and Garner look miscast and some of the scenes between them seem to belong to another movie altogether.