Appointment with Fear 1985
Directed by
Alan Smithee
Made by
Manson International
Appointment with Fear Plot Summary
Read the complete plot summary and ending explained for Appointment with Fear (1985). From turning points to emotional moments, uncover what really happened and why it matters.
A mysterious and unidentified man in a white Ford van steps from the shadowy edge of a home and ambushes the wife on the portico, setting off a chain of fear that spirals into a cursed pursuit. Before she dies, she entrusts her infant son to Heather, urging her to keep him safe because his father will stop at nothing to kill him.
Kowalski, an off-beat, seedy-looking detective, takes on the case and follows a trail that grows stranger by the moment. He soon discovers the killer is not merely confined in a state mental facility but can leave his body in spirit, tethered to an Ancient Egyptian curse that drives him to murder his own son in order to become the King of the Forest for another year. To understand and confront this supernatural force, Kowalski seeks help from a specialist who studies such strange, otherworldly phenomena.
Carol, Heather’s friend who loves recording sounds, spots the white van tailing her in a pickup and grows increasingly suspicious. She confides her fears to her partner, Bobby, who dismisses them and even punctures the van’s tire when it sits nearby, a moment that foreshadows the danger creeping closer to their circle.
Heather takes the baby to a luxurious mansion, where she and Carol care for him under a tense cloud of dread. A vivid dream convinces Heather that the boy is in mortal danger, intensifying her anxiety as the threat feels close at hand. Meanwhile, Kowalski’s investigation takes a brutal turn when the killer’s spirit hijacks the detective’s car in a wilderness confrontation and destroys it, a fiery setback that leaves Kowalski reeling but more determined.
As the killer learns where the baby has gone, he strips away the illusion of safety for Carol’s circle. He murders another of Carol’s friends and a homeless man who had taken shelter in the back of her truck, then follows with a chilling strike in a jacuzzi that claims Samantha, one of Carol’s closest companions. The house erupts into panic as Carol rushes outside with a shotgun, firing at the white van even though the killer isn’t visible at that moment.
After discovering the body of yet another friend, Carol becomes convinced the killer is targeting the baby. She orders Bobby to hurry upstairs and protect Heather and the infant, and she makes a vow that cuts through the fear: to “kill the bastard.”
Bobby locates Kowalski and the two race back to protect Heather. The killer forces an entry, and Carol fights back, setting the moment ablaze with a desperate stand that ends with the killer’s fire-triggered spirit leaving the burning body only to reappear again. The killer escapes the house carrying the baby, and Carol’s shotgun stands as her last, loud warning.
The dramatic confrontation intensifies as Carol points the weapon and shouts for him to relinquish the child. He refuses and places the baby down by a tree to perform a ritual, but Carol’s relentless firing has no effect on him. Kowalski and Bobby arrive as the tension snaps toward a decisive action: the detective urges Carol to strike with a nearby pole, a choice that shifts the balance of power in a moment that blurs the line between earthly danger and spectral force.
What follows is a pulse-pounding sequence that cuts to a vision of the body in the mental ward exploding, followed by a fierce wind that seems to sweep away the haunting presence. Bobby then places the baby safely back into Heather’s arms, and she gazes at the child with a tender, awed smile.
Isn’t he beautiful?
As the credits roll, the film lingers on a final, eerie note: green lights glow in the baby’s eyes, hinting that the chain of fear, fate, and the uncanny may endure beyond the screen.
Appointment with Fear Timeline
Follow the complete movie timeline of Appointment with Fear (1985) with every major event in chronological order. Great for understanding complex plots and story progression.
Infant saved on the portico
A mysterious man in a white Ford van stabs his wife on the portico of a house. Before she dies, she entrusts her infant son to Heather, urging her to keep him safe because his father will try to kill him. The sudden murder sets off the central mystery of a vulnerable child targeted by a vengeful force.
Detective Kowalski opens the case
Detective Kowalski arrives at the crime scene with his peculiar, seedy demeanor, following the trail of eerie clues. He begins to suspect a supernatural thread behind the husband’s murder and the infant’s protection. The investigation will pull him into a dangerous confrontation with a cursed force.
The killer’s supernatural curse revealed
Kowalski learns that the killer is confined to a state mental facility yet can leave his body as a spirit. An Ancient Egyptian curse drives the killer to murder his own son in a bid to become King of the Forest for another year. The revelation reframes the case as a supernatural threat rather than a typical murder.
A specialist counsels confrontation
Kowalski seeks guidance from a specialist on how to confront the vengeful spirit and its curse. The session outlines uneasy possibilities for battling a supernatural force that operates beyond ordinary crime-fighting. The plan blends forensic insight with the occult.
The van stalks Carol
Carol notices the white van stalking her in her pickup, increasing the tension around the baby’s safety. She informs her love interest, Bobby, who responds with skepticism and even sabotages the threat by puncturing the van’s tire. The chase tightens as the killer’s reach appears wider.
A new refuge for the infant
Heather takes the baby to a luxury mansion where she and Carol look after him, trying to keep him safe from the killer. Heather experiences a nightmare-vision predicting the infant’s murder, which heightens her anxiety and sense of danger. The house becomes a focal point for the creeping threat.
Kowalski’s car is hijacked by a spirit
In the wilderness, the killer’s spirit hijacks Kowalski’s car and blows it up, taking the chase into a deadly, surreal confrontation. The detective’s vehicle is destroyed, intensifying the peril for everyone connected to the baby. The stormy chase underscores the supernatural scale of the threat.
A vagrant and a back-of-truck murder
The killer learns the infant’s whereabouts and kills an old vagrant who lives in the back of Heather’s truck at the house. The body count rises as the supernatural killer shows no mercy. The danger now directly threatens those around Heather and Carol.
Samantha dies in the jacuzzi
The killer murders Samantha, one of Carol’s friends, in the house’s jacuzzi, further closing in on Heather and the baby. The poolside murder heightens the sense that no one is safe. Carol’s friends become casualties in the supernatural affair.
Carol confronts the threat with a shotgun
Carol bursts outside and fires at the white van, only to find the killer absent. The attempt shows her resolve to protect the infant, while Bobby is forced into action to safeguard Heather. The confrontation shifts to a direct effort to end the threat at the house.
Bobby finds Heather missing
Bobby discovers Heather is missing and the baby is alone, prompting him to ride off on his bike with a sidecar to find Kowalski and get help. The search escalates as each character scrambles to locate the infant before the killer returns. Tension spikes as the family unit is split and endangered.
The break-in and the fire
The killer breaks in through a window and Carol sets him on fire, igniting the spirit-binding inferno. The burning body seems to activate the spirit, which briefly leaves and then reforms, returning the fight to its dark origins. The scene marks a dramatic turning point toward the final confrontation.
Pole strike and the ward’s reveal
As the final standoff unfolds, Carol pierces the killer with a nearby pole, delivering a decisive blow. A cutaway flash to the killer’s body in the mental ward explodes, followed by a strong wind where the spirit had been. The ritual violence suggests the curse is breaking.
The baby’s eyes glow and the ending
Bobby returns the infant to Heather, who holds him and asks, ‘Isn’t he beautiful?’ Supernatural green lights shimmer in the baby’s eyes as the credits roll, signaling that the curse may still be watching. The scene closes on the eerie, unresolved note of the newborn’s gaze.
Appointment with Fear Characters
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Heather (Kerry Remsen)
Heather is a devoted caretaker who must shield the infant as danger closes in. She experiences vivid premonitions and grows increasingly anxious, yet stays resourceful and determined to keep the child safe. Her maternal drive becomes the film's emotional core as the supernatural threat closes in.
Detective Kowalski (Douglas Rowe)
An offbeat, seedy detective who pursues the killer and questions the nature of the crime. He navigates a path between standard police procedure and encounters with the supernatural that push him toward desperate solutions.
Carol (Michele Little)
Heather's friend who loves recording sounds and becomes suspicious of the white van's activity. She acts as a protective ally, guiding Bobby to safeguard Heather and the baby while pursuing the truth.
Bobby (Michael Wyle)
Heather's love interest who initially dismisses fears but ultimately fights to protect the infant. He aids in the attempt to secure the child and supports Carol's efforts to confront the killer.
Samantha (Pamela Bach-Hasselhoff)
A friend of Carol who becomes a victim of the killer in a brutal sequence, underscoring the danger that hinges on protecting the child.
Baby
The infant entrusted to Heather at the start, whose safety becomes the central mission for the protagonists as the killer pursues him.
Killer
A mysterious figure whose body is supposedly left by a spirit from within a solitary confinement, driven by an Ancient Egyptian curse to claim the child as 'King of the Forest' for another year.
Old Man
An elderly vagrant who inhabits the back of a truck at the house and whose presence adds mystery and a vulnerable witness to the unfolding events.
Appointment with Fear Settings
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Location
Portico of a house, Luxury mansion, State mental facility, Wilderness, Back of truck
The story pivots around a suburban home with a grand portico and a later luxury mansion where Heather and the infant hide. The investigation extends to a state mental facility tied to the killer's legend, hinting at an Ancient Egyptian curse. Some scenes unfold in the wilderness and around the back of Carol's truck, emphasizing isolation and danger.
Appointment with Fear Themes
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🔮
Supernatural
An Ancient Egyptian curse resurfaces through a spirit that can inhabit bodies and move unseen. The killer's phantom returns to pursue the child, unleashing eerie phenomena like green-lit eyes in the baby. The climax hinges on crossing between the living world and a spectral domain.
🍼
Protection
Heather and Carol form a protective circle around the infant, risking themselves to shield the child from the killer's reach. The mothers' vigilance drives the action, turning fear into resolve. The home becomes a battleground where safeguarding life supersedes personal safety.
🕵️
Investigation
Detective Kowalski drives the pursuit, chasing clues from a crime scene to a mental facility and beyond. The case blends crime noir with supernatural threats, forcing him to confront a killer who can vanish and reappear. The pursuit culminates in a tense, ritual-fracturing confrontation that ties the spirit to the fate of the child.
Appointment with Fear Spoiler-Free Summary
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In a world where the boundary between life and death blurs, an ancient spirit known as Attis—once called the King of the Woods—lurks beyond the veil, bound by a dark Egyptian curse that refuses death its finality. His mythic hunger for a particular lineage drives a relentless pursuit that slips silently into the modern landscape, turning ordinary streets and quiet homes into extensions of an age‑old forest. The film immerses the audience in a contemporary setting haunted by timeless folklore, suggesting that even today the echo of forgotten rituals can reach into the lives of the unsuspecting.
The story ignites when a woman on the brink of death entrusts her newborn to Heather, a caretaker whose resolve is tested by the looming threat. Heather is soon joined by her close friend Carol, a sound‑obsessed free spirit, and Carol’s partner Bobby, whose skepticism masks a deep loyalty. Together they form an unlikely band of teenagers whose camaraderie and youthful daring contrast sharply with the gravity of the danger. Adding a more measured perspective is Kowalski, an inquisitive detective drawn into the case by the unexplainable, whose methodical mind seeks a rational foothold amid the supernatural.
The tone balances an atmospheric dread with a pulse‑quickening urgency, letting the fear of an unseen predator seep through every shadow while the characters’ relationships provide a grounding humanity. As the ancient evil inches closer, the alliance of teens and the detective must navigate both the ordinary world and the uncanny realm that Attis commands, melding street‑wise ingenuity with scholarly curiosity. The film’s relentless suspense is amplified by its moody cinematography and a score that whispers of both forest myth and urban pulse, hinting that the battle for the infant’s fate will test each character’s courage and belief in what lies beyond death.
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