Fear of Rain - A Hulu Movie Review

You have to believe me. There’s something weird going on at my neighbor’s house.

Released to Hulu in 2021, Fear of Rain is about a teenage girl living with schizophrenia. Trying to live a normal life, Rain suspects that her neighbor kidnapped a small child. Struggling between fantasy and reality, Rain tracks down the clues.

While I found Fear of Rain to be a visual lesson into the world of schizophrenia, the film could have been better. Aside from tremendous acting, the pace of the story was slow. Fear of Rain missed an opportunity for character development along with a concise story.

Madison Iseman is wonderful in her performance. Studying everything about schizophrenia, she stands out as a figure to anyone who is currently fighting this disease. Iseman surpassed difficult emotions, refusing to stand down. She did an amazing job connecting to this character.

I have never seen Henry Connick Jr. in a role like this. As Rain’s loyal father, her disease has taken a toll on the family. While I thought that some of his character choices were out of character, there is a whole new meaning once you understand.

The dynamic between Rain and her parents was worked on very closely. Katherine Heigl was excellent as Rain’s mother. Again, you have to pay close attention to every interaction in the film. Heigl studied her character very well. I adored the mother-daughter interactions.

After seeing him in Happy Death Day, I was excited to see Isreal Broussard. Iseman and Broussard did a fantastic job in their interactions. It just goes to show that anybody can be friends, despite unique qualities.

Recently, I saw Eugenie Bondurant in the third Conjuring film. More could have been built up with her character. She immediately comes off as suspicious in her behavior. I would have liked to have seen more with her character, specifically the relationship she had with Rain.

There were a couple of missed opportunities with the ensemble. Writers should have incorporated more of a dynamic played out with Rain and her friends. To me, this scenario had no closure. I know that it would have been a fun ‘what if’ if Rain got one of her friends to help in the situation. Rain’s therapist also could have had more to do with the story.

Castile Landon embarked on an exciting idea. She gave center attention to a disease that he not been given the right focus in the film world. Camera angles were most notable in Rain’s perspective. No mental illness can stop you from living life.

Other than Landon’s wonderful direction to the cast, it could have been a stronger story. It was a slow build-up right from the start. Even in the climax, it takes too long to solve the mystery. Landon didn’t go into depth with other characters, specifically Bondurant who I wanted to know more about.

The editing for this film was given a creative touch. To get inside a character’s head, the text is shown on the screen. Viewers are given the unique opportunity to see the world from Rain’s perspective, seeing and hearing strange things. Editing and direction are duly noted for one element in the film that really surprised me.

Not only is it important to look after yourself, but take care of other people’s mental health. We are all fighting different battles, but never alone. Never give up on battles.

Still, I recommend that you watch Fear of Rain on Hulu. It kept me guessing until the end. If you are looking for a new mystery/thriller, I recommend Fear of Rain.