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 wasn't really expecting much from this low budget horror movie, especially considering how cheap it is to buy and the numerous negative comments on IMDb about it, but in all honesty I was pleasantly surprised by ‘The Fear'.

Richard (Eddie Bowz), a psychology student, decides to conduct a group experiment in controlled fear for the purposes of his thesis. After this idea is approved by Dr. Arnold (one of two brief appearances from Wes Craven) he organises a weekend away with his `subjects' at his childhood home. Richard is haunted by nightmares which go back to his childhood, but he is unable to think of what it is that bothers him so much….and what does this wooden mannequin named Morty have to do with his fears?

The first half of this movie is almost like a psychological thriller with a few unnerving parts and some eerie sequences but mainly concentrating on introducing us to the characters. Throughout the first half of movie the viewer learns more about each character as the story progresses but we are also treated to some rather interesting and occasionally dramatic moments. The second half of the film is more like a straight horror film and unfortunately loses some of its appeal due to some rather confusing sequences and unexplained happenings.

The acting was fairly good from all the cast, particularly from Heather Medway who played Ashley and Darin Heames who played Troy. Heames previously played Z-Boy in ‘Night of the Demons 2' and for those who have seen that movie his character was very similar in ‘The Fear'. Also worthy of comment was the direction from Vince Robert which was of fairly good quality and created a certain dark atmosphere to the movie.

It's probably not everyone's cup of tea and the ending left a lot to be desired, including the answers to many important questions but ‘The Fear' is still fairly entertaining in my opinion. There is a distinct lack of action and no real gore to speak of which is why I consider this a fairly adept thriller. My rating for ‘The Fear' – 6.5/10

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

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.