A Problem with Fear

Laurie Harding, a Calgary mall shop clerk, navigates his daily routines while the city seems haunted by accidental disasters. Everyday life is filmed through a lens of potential catastrophe, blending fear with routine. This sets the mood for how he processes the world around him.

A string of deadly incidents begins to orbit Laurie's days, turning crosswalks, elevators, escalators, and consumer tech into sources of dread. The film crafts a satirical tone by treating ordinary moments as potential disasters. These episodes frame Laurie's perception of danger as inseparable from modern life.

An elevator suddenly plunges thirty stories, jolting viewers and reinforcing the fragility of everyday infrastructure. Laurie processes this event through his anxious lens, foreshadowing further alarms in ordinary settings. The moment anchors the film's blend of dark humor and dread.

A woman’s scarf becomes tangled in an escalator and ends in tragedy, underscoring how small things can trigger catastrophic outcomes. The incident deepens Laurie's fear and pushes the narrative toward absurd, stylized danger. It also comments on how consumer spaces can feel perilous.

A man is struck by a car just before Laurie's premonition not to cross; this sequence reinforces his sense that danger can strike without warning. The moment blends real events with Laurie's predictive fear, shaping his future decisions. It tightens the link between perception and consequence.

Laurie's sister Michelle runs Global Safety Inc., dedicating herself to countering the Fear Storm with technologies like Early Warning 2 Safe System and the Safe Bracelet. Her work introduces a push towards engineered security in daily life. The tech push sets up the tension between protection and intrusion.

As the incidents mount, Laurie's capacity to foresee danger intensifies, shaping his behaviors and worldview. His predictive power isolates him from ordinary social interactions while pulling him deeper into his own fear-driven logic. The growth of this ability fuels the film's spiral into paranoia.

Dot, Laurie's girlfriend, provides a personal counterpoint to his anxiety and anchors the emotional center of the story. Her presence grounds him, even as she pursues her own quirky project. Their relationship highlights the tension between fear and human connection.

Dot conducts a survey on how clothing defines identity, a satirical nod to consumer culture's search for meaning through appearance. The project mirrors the film's broader critique of brands and reassurance in a world craving safety. It adds a personal, intimate layer to the satire.

A mall announcer repeatedly asks for a speaker of a foreign language, a running gag that lands as a surreal commentary on miscommunication and the theater of public spaces. The moment amplifies the film's stylized, absurd humor amid growing unease. It reinforces how language and signage attempt to impose order on chaos.

The mall gradually fades into an almost empty, echoing space, reflecting a city slipping out of balance. This spatial emptiness mirrors Laurie's inner fragility and the broader societal unease. The setting emphasizes the unsettling tone that threads through the narrative.

A classroom full of hiccups becomes a surreal vignette that hints at a city out of balance. The sequence decouples realism from comedy, offering a stylized snapshot of the world's warped normalcy. It deepens the film's satire of everyday life under siege by fear.

Laurie leans on familiar jingles and slogans, such as Rice-A-Roni, to anchor himself amid rising chaos. These refrains act as emotional ballast, offering temporary solace while the surrounding world grows more ridiculous. The device underscores the tension between comfort and fragility.

The ending feels deliberately inconclusive: Laurie's fears may be intensified or redirected, but they are not neatly resolved. The city outside remains a place where danger and comedy coexist in unsettling harmony. The film closes on a quiet meditation about coping with uncertainty.