Quiver DistributionJohn Travolta is completely unrecognisable in upcoming film Fanatic, where he plays a violent mulleted stalker – and it looks intense.
In the trailer, which dropped yesterday (July 24), the legendary actor is transformed into an awkward, uncharacteristically nervous fanboy named Moose, who wears dorky shorts, a flowery shirt and a God-awful mullet (and we thought his role as Hairspray’s Edna Turnblad was a character stretch).
The film, which is set to be released on August 30, will see Moose, ‘a rabid movie fan’, attempt to meet his celebrity action hero, Hunter Dunbar, played by Devon Sawa. The plot takes a sinister turn as an obsessed Moose learns how to find the actor’s home and becomes a violent, hockey-mask-wearing stalker.
Watch the full trailer here:
With Travolta’s strange, nervous affectations and, the Freddy vs Jason style hockey mask, Fanatic has, as AV World suggests, ‘direct-to-VHS sleaziness’, and yet we still want to watch. The film has ‘heavy throwback thriller vibes: think Fear, or One Hour Photo‘, said Vice, ‘and frankly, it rules’.
As if all of this wasn’t bizarre enough, the movie is directed and co-written by Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst, a third film in the rap-rock star’s film roster. According to TMZ, the inspiration for the film came from ‘an incident the singer-director experienced in his own life’ – which, by the looks of the movie, must have been terrifying.
In an interview with TMZ, John Travolta hailed Durst’s directing skills:
‘It may be my favorite experience I’ve had. [Fred] was so generous. He’s such an artist and he allowed me to create a character that nobody else would allow. I mean it’s really a wild character and I felt very free to do that.’
Fanatic is Fred Durst’s first full-length feature film since 2008. He previously directed comedy-drama movie The Longshots starring rapper-cum-actor, Ice Cube.
Other film credits include 2007’s The Education of Charlie Banks starring Jesse Eisenburg.
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L’Oréal Blackett is a freelance journalist, broadcaster, and presenter with a lot of hair and a lot to say. A former digital magazine editor covering women’s issues and local news, she now works for a range of media publications including BBC Radio Manchester, Bumble and of course, UNILAD.