Event

DER FAN

aka Trance
Dir. Eckhart Schmidt, 1982
Germany, 89 min.
In German with English subtitles

Special thanks to Pete Tombs and Mondo Macabro

In the wake of films like CHRISTIANE F., studies of displaced, dysfunctional German youth were a dime a dozen. However, the forerunner in the sweepstakes for the most memorable and disturbing entry would have to be DER FAN.

Like every other teenager in school, Simone has a crush on a rock star. When her idol, the lead singer 'R', comes to town to make a television appearance Simone is gripped by a trance-like state, leaving school, friends and parents behind her. However, when Simone comes to realize the shallow nature of the 'glamorous' music industry and of 'R' himself, she plans a calculated, ritualistic and bloody revenge on her obsession.

An unsettling blend of new wave pop culture, adolescent angst, and full-blooded horror, this nasty little art house shocker caught more than a few unsuspecting viewers off guard and earned a bit of a cult following in the process. Imagine a John Hughes film with Michael Haneke in the driver's seat and you're getting close