Rising Fear (2016) User Reviews

Come on tom ...

[salgadojrgil · 3/10 · 27 March 2017]

I want to start with "bravo". The movie wasn't that bad, the beginning absolutely grabs your attention after that, ehhh. The reason why, the acting, directing and graphics. It's obvious that the other reviews here are from people connected to this film. Come on, 10 out of 10? Die hard meets matrix? This movie is no where near those, it can't be without a bigger load of cash. That begin said, I have no doubt, with bigger money, better actors and perhaps directing it would've been a blockbuster - well, maybe. I have to mention that Tom seems a bit full of himself. I say that not because I have anything against him, it just shows when looking over it all. He should've focused on the directing rather than trying to be a leading man in the film. He is not a believable hot shot. The look, doesn't say ex marine. I know, let's not take the path all others have taken, a muscular tough guy, but they should've gone with some else more fitting. There has to be a believable 'look' to him. The other guy, the main fbi guy seems to be trying to pull off a Tom Cruise impersonation. It just really comes down to the acting - not good. The directing wasn't great but wasn't that awful. Just needs a little more work and thought. The graphics, again, eh. I can't say they were terrible. I would say 50/50, at times they looked decent, other times they looked absolutely horrible. Some of the lines in the movie make you say "what!?! Did they really say that? Are they kidding?". Overall it's a 3 or 4 star film(out of 10). The acting kills it. The unrealistic Lead hot shot, kills it. At times the graphics and directing kill it. It's a hell of an effort, especially considering the cash used to do it all. The story seems great and this could've been huge if done differently..(actors directing graphics and so on..).

No demands. No ransom. Fear is the one true God

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 25 July 2017]

Ryan Taylor (Tom Getty) former Marine special ops gets tricked into dialing a phone number that blows up a building in Pittsburgh because they give tax breaks for filming there. He is captured and the truth doesn't work so he escapes from the CIA? and is on a quest to save the President and Pittsburgh from an Al Qaeda Darth Vader looking bad guy from Chechnya who spouts corny recycled lines from a Uwe Boll film. This is all the while avoiding CG rockets launched from helicopters in downtown Pittsburgh. Cool, if you're 12.

The film lacked character build up and the necessary love story in lieu of a slightly twisty plot that wasn't that good. Didn't really care if Ryan Taylor lived or died. There was nothing special about him.

Guide: No swearing sex or nudity.

Ever see Threat Level Midnight?

[jmrro · 4/10 · 12 October 2020]

This movie is the sequel to that Michael Scarn blockbuster. The guy with the mask is Goldenface. The president is...well, the president. Won't win any awards, but hey, it's better than I could do. I think.

My Eyes! My Ears!

[dcreed · 2/10 · 28 August 2017]

Some movies are bad in such a way that they're entertaining or amusing. This is not such a movie. This one is just painful to watch and painful to listen to because the directing, editing, and acting is all so bad. At one point early on the doughy, half-dimensional "star" was being tortured and I actually envied him because he wasn't sitting on my couch watching this movie.

I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 because it obeyed my commands and stopped when I pressed the Stop button.

Bane! They call me Bane!

[Nomad007 · 1/10 · 30 November 2020]

Ok first off the main bad guy is an obvious rip of Bane from Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy.

The CG is horrible. I mean horrible.

The casting was a joke. The actors don't fit the characters. The acting is even worse.

The "script" if you can call is one is just cut and paste from numerous big budget releases.

The end of the just drones on and on and one.

Best to stay away.

I went in with an open mind

[saltdog-81625 · 11 March 2019]

I've been putting off seeing this because it seemed like a cheap cash grab on Olympics Has Fallen. And wow! I'm 10 minutes in the film and I want to watch it with an open mind, but boy does Tom Getty makes it really hard. First off, you cast yourself as the lead and direct the film? That is a big red flag unless you've has years of experience on either end of the camera, and then it's not always a good idea! The dialogue is forced, the effects are just as bad as a high schooler making a file with his friends on youtube with photoshop, the plot seemed interesting but the execution just ruined it. This is another film where the writers hoped on Google for acronyms that military and law enforcement use and picked the ones they thought sounded cool. Everyone is now dumber for watching this film. I award it no stars, and may God have mercy on Tom Gettys soul.

Terrible

[jonelberg-465-237879 · 1/10 · 12 February 2020]

Don't waste your time. Helicopter chase with a helicopter that looks like it was taken from a video game. Don't say I didn't warn you if you go ahead & watch it.

One of the worst movies I've ever seen

[delaitken · 1/10 · 8 February 2019]

This has to be one of the worst movies I've ever seen. In fact I'm so sick of it I almost couldn't face it all. Ridiculous plot with a terror suspect escaping so easily and then conducting his own investigation with 3 FBI agents trying to catch up. Awful acting, awful fake accents, awful flow to the movie and truly awful computer graphics. Camera work is awful, regularly focusing on laptops, Computer screens and TVs. How something like this made it to my TV is beyond me. Must have had a budget of about $1000 and looks ever cent of it. I think I could have shot a better movie with a GoPro.

Pile of Crap

[neil-43355 · 2/10 · 20 December 2018]

Come on, get real - anybody voting this pile of rubbish any more than a 3 or 4 is seriously delusional or has something to do with the movie / related to somebody involved in the film. Everything about it screams cheap - dodgy acting, rubbish story and special effects that make the original Star Trek look like Terminator 2, this is one to avoid.

Not the best movie but it's entertaining.

[marjanssen-83103 · 6/10 · 24 October 2020]

The special effects look like someone made them with Adobe After Effects or Blender on a rainy Sunday afternoon but the acting is not too bad and there are some nice plot twists. It's a decent action movie if you are not expecting much.

And I read it had a budget of $6000, which is amazing. I have seen way worse movies that cost millions (someone mentioned Independence Day Resurgence, that movie was one of them, see The Critical Drinker's takedown of it on YouTube.

Oh and I want the bad guy's mask. I saw it was a MSA mask in the close-up so it should be available on Amazon. When you're forced to wear a face mask because of the Wu Flu you could make the best of it and wear the most awesome one you can find.

The worst female actress

[carti41 · 1/10 · 2 June 2019]

They should have found a female that could act! Made the movie would have been better.

I actually liked this movie

[RMNavy · 10/10 · 13 March 2022]

I thought it was exciting. I enjoyed watching it. Action packed. Ok, some of the special effects weren't that great, but hey, the movie kept me entertained. Not to mention, Tom Getty is pretty HOT!

What if it was Tom Cruise

[cb-64378 · 7/10 · 19 October 2020]

If Tom Cruise, instead of Tom Getty, played the lead in this movie it would be a block buster! We're not used to see normal looking actors in action movies. This low budget movie has a nice story and if you give it a try you will not be disappointed (and try not to laugh at the poor cgi, it is low budget). Just enjoy the movie and forget the poor numbers given by millenials :)

Is Bain back???

[laurent-philippebourgeois · 1/10 · 2 August 2020]

Poor movie!!! "Retired" agent looks like a 20 year-old just like the FBI guy chasing him. So bad I forgot the names of the characters.....bad bad bad!!! Copy/paste of "Bain" in The Dark Knight Rises!!! A real joke movie. Had a lot of fun watching it because it was sooooo baaaadddd!!!

Very bad movie ... poor story ...

[ydelplanque-73771 · 1/10 · 16 January 2022]

Terrible camera work. I had to switch it of after 5 minutes because it gave me headache. The special effects in the movie are from a very poor quality.

Poor production quality

[dylandaye · 1/10 · 31 March 2019]

This movie has poor effects, acting, and plot development 1/10 would not recommend

Don't waste your time!!

[blinkie1969 · 1/10 · 19 August 2021]

It's terrible terrible terrible. With very unpleasant actors. Lead rol has a babyface so I can't take him seriously.

Big up for a no budget film

[rcowles0324 · 7/10 · 14 October 2017]

This genre of movie (apocalyptic, end of the world) are a dime a dozen. Most aren't worth the time invested. I have no idea who in the world Tom Getty is, but him and his family, who got 90% of the credits, hit a home run on a $6K budget. I can't imagine how they did it.

Let me give you a hint. Prior to putting this movie in the DVD player, I was re-watching huge budget ID2 on HBO.

Rising Fear / America Has Fallen kicked ID2's butt. Yeah, there were some lame parts to the film, but overall, it held together until the final frame. There are not a lot of movies that can claim such an accomplishment.

Tom, if you're reading this: Hope you get a nice deal for your next film. You and your crew deserve it.

Tense and gripping thriller

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 9 November 2021]

Rogue marine Ryan Taylor (a fine and credible performance by Tom Getty) goes after the terrorist group who set him up for bombing a downtown Pittsburgh office building.

Writer/director Getty relates the riveting story at a breathless brisk pace, generates a substantial amount of suspense, maintains a tough gritty tone throughout, and stages the exciting action with rip-roaring aplomb. The solid acting from the capable no-name cast keeps this movie humming: Curtis Caldwell as hard-nosed fed Agent Ron Carter, Phil Lewis as the ruthless Mikel S. Razanov, Kirsten Meenan as the deceitful Oskana Rowan, Michael Hoover as huffy superior Bannings, and Chuck Getty as the gruff President Collins. An on the money nail-biter.

No Budget One man swiss army knife thriller

[lohrer-23028 · 7/10 · 17 October 2022]

I was scrolling thru the free movie site FREEVEE, and noticed a movie shot in my hometown of Pittsburgh that I never heard of before.

Being a Pittsburgh theatre tech and having worked on many film productions myself (Silence of the Lambs, Hoffa, etc) I decided to give it a shot.

I could tell that this was low budget, but the photography and editing was very good and amped the tension. The two lead actors were convincing. My only complaint was the sound quality. The story is good and deserves a big budget treatment.

After viewing I gave it 4 stars, but when I found out that Tom Getty was responsible for EVERYTHING! Writer, director, editor, sound, composer, lead actor, breakfast burritos :-) on a $6000 budget, I bumped it to 6 stars.

Cheers.

Really? You think that was bad?

[carlman-98246 · 7/10 · 20 December 2017]

A $6000 budget (ok, estimated. I'm sure it would've been a lot more than that had it had real actors) and you're going to snark about it? The story is good. The twists are good. The acting is, ok, wearing a mask is good. You can get an Oscar by painting your face. Just ask what's-his-name the drug addict in the Batman movies.

Ok, yeah, it needs real special effects. And real actors. But on a $6k budget? I think some costs were under reported. Maybe financed by the CIA or something. Enjoy the movie. Have a couple drinks and enjoy the movie. Give this kid some $$ to do a real film and you'll find something good.

6000 dollar review

[roybrenkman · 6/10 · 3 December 2020]

If it's really that 6000 dollar was the budget. It's okay!

The story is good and refreshing. The special effects are very bad.

But whow, 6000 dollar? Really, that's nota fraction a movie will cost.

Deserves a higher rating

[maartenavontuur-77504 · 7/10 · 22 November 2020]

I have been using IMDB since, well, since the 90's when you could still download it on floppies and i've never put a review up until now because this movie deserves a higher rating. For an (estimated) Usd 6000,- budget movie it is not bad at all. I sure liked the story, some nice twists and the ending was very decent. Yes, the cgi is not up to Hollywood standards but try to look through that, the acting is not all that great, some plotholes but which movie does not have those these days, but just enjoy the story as it unfolds. I sure liked the beginning which i thought was very original. I've watched 10 million budget blockbusters that were a waste of my time, but this one hour and a half was well spent. I like to think that this movie was a labour of love by Tom Getty, who wrote, directed, played the lead, produced and much more in this movie.

A Sleeper! Worth Seeing!

[lavatch · 7/10 · 23 August 2017]

This film originally called "Rising Fear" was subsequently released under the title of "America Has Fallen." It is well worth the price of a rental or a streaming, due to the fast-paced action and suspense.

The DVD version of the film includes a commentary track in which Tom Getty describes how his film was made on a shoestring budge of $6,000. (That figure is correct--not $6 million, but $6,000!) Getty also discusses how he wore different hats of writer, producer, director, actor, editor, visual effects designer, and musical composer. In short, the film was his baby.

The film's concept sought to go beyond a simplistic "man-on-the-run" action film to make a statement about the nature of modern terrorism. Out of the chaos of the bombing of the Snyder Building in Pittsburgh comes the dictum that "fear is the one true God." In turn, Franklin D. Roosevelt's famous speech suggesting that "there is nothing to fear but fear itself" is invoked in the film.

Much thought and creativity are apparent in the film, including the portrayal of narcissism, grandiosity, and megalomania, as opposed to religious belief, as the salient characteristic of the terrorist. The hero named Ryan, who is played by Getty, is not a superhero, but closer to an anti-hero. Early in the film, he is taken for a sucker by the character Amanda, who gives Ryan her phone number, which is instantly used by Ryan to ignite the bomb at the Snyder Building. The protagonist then gets deeper and deeper into the vortex of chaos as he attempt to clear his name.

The technique of the film was far from perfect, as is acknowledged by the director in the commentary track. A number of the scenes were poorly edited, leading to confusing moments in the convoluted plot. Still, one has to admire the effort and inventiveness of the film artists, a number of whom were amateurs, in realizing a project that eventually found its way into Redbox machines. Kudos to Tom Getty and his crew!