Fear (1996)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

James Foley

Writer (WGA):

Christopher Crowe (written by)

Release Date:

12 April 1996 (USA)

Genre:

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:

Obsession | Severed Dog's Head | Thrown Through Window | Villain Played By Lead Actor | Car Chase

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
Tracy Fraim	...	Logan
Gary Riley	...	Hacker
Jason Kristofer	...	Terry
Jed Rees	...	Knobby
Todd Caldecott	...	Gary Rohmer
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 | DTS-Stereo

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #33894) | Netherlands:16 | Philippines:PG-13 | 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: (At 24:00) Nicole and David enter Steve's office when Steve is on the phone, and Steve is wearing a watch. In the next shot of Steve, a few seconds later, he is no longer wearing the watch.

Quotes:

[Nicole doesn't want to attend a James Taylor concert]
Steve Walker: When did you ever see James Taylor?
Nicole Walker: You, me, mom, summer of '85? Does that ring any bells?
Steve Walker: '85? You would have been...
Nicole Walker: Six.
Steve Walker: Well, that doesn't count. I'm surprised you even remember that.

Movie Connections:

References Taxi Driver (1976)

Soundtrack:

Wild Horses

A clever and enthralling discovery into obsession and agression.

FEAR (1996) Rating: 8/10

While this movie had mixed opinions from critics, I thought it was thoroughly underrated. I didn't really see what this movie didn't have to please people around the globe. It had a story, and an intriguing one at that, it had a lot of genres to mix its story up in, it had well-developed characters – especially the character of the father – and it had excellent direction, acting and a great script that explores further into the world of terror. The film succeeds highly because of its characters and the original bunch they are. Reese Witherspoon plays the short-skirt wearing, blonde-haired and extremely family-bound and nice young girl that gets involved with a psychopath and doesn't know how to take it. Mark Wahlberg plays this psychopath excellently, his character is someone obsessed with Witherspoon's character and we will go to any great lengths to protect her and assure that his and her relationship is safe. And then he gets violent, very violent, and the outcome is horrifying. The father is not the most original character in the film, but the most developed. He is the caring, brave and extremely clever dad who wants the best for his daughter but doesn't want to hurt her. Anyway, enough about the characters. The rest of the movie rocks too – the script is surprisingly original for its premise, taking the boy-meets-girl, girl-dumps-boy, boy-gets-angry angle to new areas in psychological horror. The suspense scenes are incredibly tense and the movie has some gut-wrenchingly scary but incredibly good ideas. I really enjoyed the director's point of view and liked the way he built his film as each of the characters slowly drifts off. I appreciated this thriller a lot and think it is worth your time, but beware, you're in for a pretty darn scary and atmospheric ride!