9. Der Fan (1982)
Simone is a young teenage girl in Germany. She goes through her days like an automaton. No expression, no feeling except for 'R' a German pop singer with whom she is obsessed, and whose music continually plays on her walkman. She goes to a show of R's and is so overcome with coming so close to her idol that she faints. R takes an interest in Simone and he takes her back to a house where he solemnly seduces her. He then coolly dismisses her which provokes a very bad reaction in Simone who will not give up her recalcitrant lover so easily... Desiree Nosbusch, who would go on to host The Eurovision Song Contest, puts in an impressively blank performance as Simone who listens to the dreadful sound of 'R' over and over again. No wonder she's a head-case listening to that tripe. The film is slow moving in its horror with not much action before the final 15 minutes. It is however, a compelling study of the phenomenon of teenage girl pop-star adulation. It is very normal to get a crush on a singer, a movie star etc when you are a teenage girl, but R is the only thing that seems to have any meaning for Simone. School, parents, friends go out of the window in favour of 'R'. It also posits an interesting scenario - what happens when you meet your idol and they turn out to be a jackass? I won't spoil it for you. A very sombre and morbid viewing experience.