Review of Relative Fear

This little known film which I caught by channel surfing in 1995 and taped and later bought has turned out to be one of my all time favorite thrillers. It stars mostly little known actors other than James Brolin and M. Emmett Walsh. The movie begins with 2 babies being born at the same hospital one night, one from a lady in restraints who is screaming that they can't take her baby from her, and the other from a married couple who seem very happy and normal. Of course the viewer realizes there's going to be a baby switch. That's a given. The focus is henceforth on the normal couple. The mother, Darlene Fluegel, senses something is wrong before leaving the hospital. The movie then shifts to 4 years later (It should have been 5 or 6 as the excellent Michael DuPuis is way too big to be 4) and "Adam" is mute, and fascinated by watching a cable crime channel that covers mainly murder cases live or re-enactments. He has a talent for drawing but never speaks. They are told he is autistic, though his behavior is not typical of autistic children. Then again, the movie is a whodunit, not a study of autism. Soon, strange happenings begin to occur. Adam's Grandfather's dog is lured out and not seen again. A neighbor's child who teases Adam when no adults are around gets shot and killed. Then the Grandfather dies when someone disconnects his oxygen. Adam is always present at these events. Is he a bad seed? The parents hire a professional tutor to try to get Adam to speak from a well known Child Help Foundation. The rest of the film has many twists and turns and a very powerful climax, with a few chills along the way. It was written by Kurt Wimmer, who just this year (2010) wrote "Law Abiding Citizen" starring Gerard Butler. Some may figure out the ending early on, but the scene where Adam's mother finds her biological child is a winner, and all the characters are intelligent people. The film is "R" rated for violence, though by today's standards it should be PG-13 at worst. No gore. Most of the deaths occur off screen. It is more suspense than horror. I know most don't think this is a great film judging from critics and viewers reviews, but it is one of my 20 favorite movies ever (I am nearly 70 and have seen nearly 3000 films, some as many as 40 times), and everyone I have shown this has at least liked it. Some similarity to the original "Stepfather".