The Fear

Nice try…but that's about the only positive thing you can say about this lackluster attempt to blend psychological thriller with eerie horror monsters. The script desperately tries to be intelligent and innovating but the result is a very poor and tedious movie, even for the already low 90's standards. The story handles about an overly ambitious psychology student who motivates a clique of people to go on a mountain-weekend where he'll finish his thesis about phobias. The point is that all the participants get over their fears by talking about them and, in the meantime, our college boy can process his own childhood trauma. Upon arrival, everyone's fear comes to life in the shape of a life-size wooden dummy. Of course the puppet means trouble! It's made by Indians…it's always the Indians with their spiritual evils, I tell you!! This movie takes itself way too seriously and the makers actually seem to believe that the subject matter is deep and complex! It's not! It's more than obvious that every character hides one of several dark secrets and the viewer figures them all out long before they reveal the "truth" themselves. I've rarely seen a movie so predictable than "The Fear". The story gets more and more annoying near the end and, the more clever it tries to be, the more ridiculous it all looks. The wooden "evil personified" dummy isn't very impressive and the squeaky stretching-sounds he constantly makes aren't my idea of eerie sound effects. Pinocchio actually was a lot scarier…at least he could do tricks with his nose. The acting performances are forgettable, even though I'm sure the guy who came up with the idea to offer Wes Craven a small role is very proud of himself. In case you're looking for some really unsettling evil-dummy horror movies, check out "Pin" (brilliant but disgracefully underrated 80's thriller) and "Magic" (staring a young Anthony Hopkins".

I popped this DVD into my player with no expectations. I just wanted to see a good horror B movie. The creepy picture of "Morty" (the thoroughly menacing wooden monster on the front cover of the DVD box) made me think this movie could deliver the goods.

I thought it was an interesting premise. I love horror movies where inanimate objects come to life and kill! Kill! KILL!! I love brutal death scenes. I love evil, sickening monsters that commit unspeakable acts on the human form, and I love movies that have the guts (no pun intended!) to show it all in gruesome gory detail.

Despite the interesting premise, the film completely fails to deliver the goods!

First, the characters are absolutely horribly written and completely unlikeable. The actors didn't do that bad of a job, its just the way all these cliched characters were written that makes me not give anything resembling a damn about them. All the cliches are here: the whiny bitch, the new-ager who predicts beforehand that something weird/supernatural is happening, the dirty psycho/sleazebag, and the token black guy (first to get killed of course!). Not helping is this white guy with dreadlocks. I guess he supposed to be comic relief, but he fails so, so badly.

Second, The action is virtually non-existent. Not a one cool death in the whole lame film. No blood, no gore, no nudity, no one-liners, none of the things that make B horror movies fun to watch. Not to mention, the movie is so dark, its nearly impossible too see the pathetic action sequences when they do occur. Morty looks scary but acts stupid and moves like a retarded zombie.

FINAL RATING: 3/10 Bad pacing makes this wholly unscary, and complete lack of violence and nudity make it wholly uncool. Movie takes itself way too seriously! It tires to be deep but comes off boring. Only minimal skill was evident. Not even a decent B horror genre flick...and come on, thats not asking much!

Noob Aalox

A group of college students go on a field trip to help out a fellow student do his psychology major. He studies fear, and it's effect on people. After going to his childhood home/cabin in the woods, he discovers his old "childhood friend" Morty- an old wooden dummy. He uses the dummy in his sessions for his friends to tell their fears to. Twist is, this dummy is alive, and soon kills everyone off using their fears.

I actually enjoyed this film. I first saw it about 8 years ago- after buying it for $10 on video. The first thing I noticed about the film was yes, it is cheesy as hell, but the story and acting made it worth watching. It's one of the better acted B-Grade horror/thriller films out there. It cameos Wes Craven as the professor allowing the whole "field trip".

I particularly liked the soundtrack to the film. Each song is about fears and death. Esham's title track (The Fear (Morty's Theme)) is a great song.

I recommend this film to anyone who likes a good night in with a campy horror flick or two.

7/10

Recently picking up this film on DVD I was disappointed to find the film HEAVILY cut. All the profanity has been cut out, and it looks/sounds terrible. AVOID THE FILM ON DVD.

Group of college students go up to a friends wooden cabin for a weekend of romance and fun. However, they fall prey to a wooden dummy that makes there worst fears come true with deadly consequences. Not nowhere near as bad as I expected. This is decently made flick, but never generates much in the way of suspense and terror. It owes more then its fair share to Sphere however.

Rated R; Rape, Sexual Situations, Violence and Profanity.

I liked "The Fear", but not that much. It seemed to waste the few elements it had that might have made it a better film. It does not deliver many chills, and the opportunities it has slip by in what ultimately comes across as a poorly thought out and chaotic film. I found the best moments took place in Uncle Pete's Christmas Village. This sequence showcases some of the movies only eerie scenes, turning familiar Christmas elements into a strangely spooky backdrop. Nevertheless, one feels that Vincent Robert (making a directorial debut), allows too many chances to develop his story slip away. He fails to make use of the generally interesting masks and tree carvings that plague Richard's (Eddie Bowz) dreams as anything more than dream fluffery. The legend of Black Peter, another interesting idea, also fails to get more attention. One may surmise that this motif somehow has entered Richard's subconscious (thus explaining the similarities between Black Peter's face and those of the masks in Richard's dreams). Instead, the director moves along ploddingly, showcasing characters stumbling along forced conflicts which feel contrived. When Ashley (Heather Medway) decides to call off her engagement to Richard because he tries to help Tanya (Anna Karin) the audience gets left wondering what they missed. Most of the character interactions feel this artificial. Watch this movie as part of horror marathon, or at the very least, with its sequel `The Fear: Halloween Night', but do not expect too much from it.