By MICHAEL GINGOLD
Get ready to squirm in your theater seat.
Fun City Editions is bringing a fresh 4K restoration, from the original 35mm camera negative, of Eckhart Schmidt’s 1982 film DER FAN to Stateside theaters this year, marking its first-ever U.S. big-screen release. The film will be presented with its original stereo soundtrack for the first time since its initial ’82 German theatrical play. The first announced booking is an exclusive one-week New York City run beginning August 28 at the Metrograph theater (7 Ludlow Street). DER FAN stars Désirée Nosbusch and Bodo Staiger; the synopsis: “Teen runaway Simone [Nosbusch] loves the Neue Deutsche Welle pop singer known only as “R” [Staiger]…loves him so much, in fact, that she could just about eat him alive. And when she finally meets her idol—only to be callously treated by him as a disposable sex object—well, Simone gets the chance to really become one with her beloved forever. A hard, cool-to-the-touch, and utterly riveting slow-burn psychological thriller that speaks to our age of parasocial obsession, featuring a sinister synth-pop soundtrack by Staiger’s own band, Rheingold, and a last act that’s finger-lickin’ good.”
Accompanying DER FAN’s run at the Metrograph, the theater will present a series called “That Most Taboo of Red Meats,” showcasing movies about female cannibals, including HOUSE, IN MY SKIN, JENNIFER’S BODY, RAW and SPIDER BABY. Keep your eye on the Metrograph site linked above for further details; more theatrical bookings for DER FAN will be announced soon. See the age-restricted trailer for DER FAN here.
