Fear (1996)

Director:

James Foley

Writer (WGA):

Christopher Crowe (written by)

Release Date:

12 April 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

With boyfriends like this, who needs enemies? Not you.

Plot:

A 16 year old girl takes up with a charming young man who quickly shows his colors when he beats a friend simply for walking with her and then goes totally ballistic after she tries to break up with him.

Plot Keywords:

Teen Angst | Drug Dealer | Lolita | Father | Lurid

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Mark Wahlberg	...	David McCall
Reese Witherspoon	...	Nicole Walker
William Petersen	...	Steve Walker
Amy Brenneman	...	Laura Walker
Alyssa Milano	...	Margo Masse
Christopher Gray	...	Toby Walker
Tracy Fraim	...	Logan
Gary Riley	...	Hacker
Jason Kristofer	...	Terry
Jed Rees	...	Knobby
Todd Caldecott	...	Gary Rohmer (as Todd Shaffer)
John Oliver	...	Eddie Clark
David Fredericks	...	Larry O'Brien
Ravinder Toor	...	Counterman
Andrew Airlie	...	Alex McDowell

Also Known As:

No Fear

MPAA:

Rated R for strong graphic violence and terror, sexuality, language and drug use.

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #33894) | Philippines:PG-13 | Netherlands:16 | UK:18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:18A | Chile:18 | France:-16 | Germany:18 (w) | Iceland:16 | Norway:15 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Mercer Island, Washington, USA

Company:

Imagine Entertainment

Trivia:

The rollercoaster featured in Fear is called " The Coaster ". It is one of the biggest attractions at Playland, in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Goofs:

Continuity: The note that Nicole writes, and the note that David writes, both have the same handwriting.

Quotes:

David McCall: Daddy, you will forever hold your peace.

Movie Connections:

Features "Married with Children: Dances with Weezy (#8.10)" (1993)

Soundtrack:

Wild Horses

Not as bad as you might expect...

"Fear" is a teen thriller with no intentions others than entertain the audience and show good looking teen stars like Mark Wahlberg, Reese Whiterspoon, and the always lovely Alyssa Milano. This is not a good movie by any means but it has positive things to underline. First, Wahlberg and Whiterspoon can act and their performances are the best thing about the movie. Milano is a delight to watch even that she's not very required in the movie but still shines in the few minutes she appears. Second and best of all; "Fear" goes directly to the point and makes it very easy to watch.

*SPOILERS* There's nothing much to comment about "Fear" except for some infamous scenes like the dog's head, the drilling in the hand, and the three sex scenes.

There are some Slasher elements a la Scream in this movie that in the time were very effective (stabbing, dog's head cut off, minimal gore, and a psycho killer) and worked very well in order to create a tense atmosphere. The ending is quite predictable and expected. The actors they chose perform surprisingly good. If the plot is not very interesting then the least you can expect is to feel some sympathy for the characters. Whiterspoon is tender and beautiful and you totally believe her when she has different feelings for her boyfriend. Wahlberg delivers a good performance as a crazed angry boyfriend. Come on, everybody feels anger jealous acts... this is exactly where I think that "Fear" succeeds. The movie is directed to a teenager audience that immediately feels similarities in their personal life with the events of it. The movie works in that aspect and there's no question about it.

Watch it with minimal expectations and you will be surprised maybe a little.

6/10