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Fear
Fear
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	James Foley
Written by	Christopher Crowe
Produced by	Brian Grazer
Starring	Mark Wahlberg; Reese Witherspoon; William Petersen; Alyssa Milano; Amy Brenneman;
Cinematography	Thomas Kloss
Edited by	David Brenner
Music by	Carter Burwell
Production; company	Imagine Entertainment
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	April 12, 1996;
Running time	96 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$20.8 million

Fear is a 1996 American psychological thriller film directed by James Foley and written by Christopher Crowe. It stars Mark Wahlberg, Reese Witherspoon, William Petersen, Alyssa Milano and Amy Brenneman.

It revolves around a wealthy family whose seemingly perfect life is threatened when their teenage daughter begins dating an attractive and mysterious young man who turns out to be a violent sociopath.

The film was largely derided by critics upon its release but became a sleeper hit in the spring of 1996, grossing $20 million at the U.S. box office. It has since become a cult film, while at the same time launching teen idol status for its two young leads – Wahlberg and Witherspoon – who were romantically linked at the time of the movie's premiere.^[1] Wahlberg was nominated for the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain.^[2] The film's own producer, Brian Grazer, described it as "Fatal Attraction for teens".^[3]

Plot

Sixteen-year-old Nicole Walker lives in the suburbs of Seattle with her father Steven, his new wife Laura, and Laura's son Toby. While she is at a cafe with her best friend Margo Masse and friend Gary Rohmer, Nicole meets David McCall and instantly falls for his good looks and charm.

Steven dislikes David and grows angry with him when he disregards Nicole's curfew and, eventually, has sex with her. David soon becomes possessive and jealous of Nicole, culminating in attacking Gary when he sees them hugging, beating him up, and giving Nicole a black eye. As a result, she breaks up with him, but they get back together when David apologizes to her for his actions. He later manipulates her into believing her father assaulted him.

David invites Nicole to a party at his friend Logan's house. At first, she declines but then decides to drive to the party, where she witnesses Margo smoking crack and going off to have sex with David, although Nicole does not realize that she gets sexually assaulted by him.

The following day, Nicole confronts David about his infidelity and breaks up with him for good. She also confronts Margo, not believing that David sexually assaulted her. He then threatens Margo so she will convince her friend to take him back. After seeing Gary help Nicole into her stepmom's car, David follows and kills him.

Nicole goes with Laura and Toby to the mall, where David corners her in the women's restroom, vowing to her that he will not let anyone stand in the way of him having Nicole for himself. Meanwhile, Steven finds his car vandalized with an insulting note left by David.

Furious, Steven breaks into the house David shares with Logan and vandalizes it after discovering a shrine David made for Nicole. In retaliation for the vandalism, David heads to the Walkers' residence with his four friends: Logan, Terry, Knobby, and Hacker, aiming to harm Nicole's family and take Nicole for himself.

After Margo informs the Walkers of Gary's death, David and his gang arrive and behead Kaiser, the family dog, then make multiple attempts to break inside. Steven and Laura barricade the doors, and Laura injures Hacker with a drill, leading Knobby to take him him to the hospital. Using a flashlight, Nicole sends an SOS to the Walkers' private security guard Larry, who arrives to confront the situation but is killed by Terry.

David, Logan, and Terry take Steven hostage, forcing Laura to surrender. Toby escapes through a window and gets to Laura's car phone. After Terry finds him in the garage, Toby fatally runs him over with the SUV. Logan forces himself onto Nicole; Margo intervenes but is knocked unconscious.

David shoots Logan dead for attempting to rape Nicole and then tells her that he intends to kill her father so he can finally have her, believing that Nicole will get over it and accept him. After Toby retrieves Larry's keys and releases his parents, Steven rushes at David. However, David takes him down and gets ready to kill him, until Nicole saves her father by impaling David in the back with a peace pipe (a gift from David himself).

As a hurt David looks at Nicole in shock, Steven gets back up and brawls with him. An enraged David attempts to attack Nicole, but Steven furiously throws him to his death through the bedroom window. The family embraces as the police and paramedics arrive.

Cast

Mark Wahlberg as David McCall
Reese Witherspoon as Nicole Walker
William Petersen as Steven Walker
Alyssa Milano as Margo Masse
Amy Brenneman as Laura Walker
Tracy Fraim as Logan
Jason Kristofer as Terry
Jed Rees as Knobby
Gary John Riley as Hacker
Todd Caldecott as Gary Rohmer
David Fredericks as Larry O'Brien
Christopher Gray as Toby Walker
Andrew Airlie as Alex McDowell
Gerry Bean (using the pseudonym John Oliver) as Eddie Clark
Banner (dog) as Kaiser

Production

In March 1994, it was announced that Imagine Entertainment was in the process of putting together a thriller written by Christopher Crowe titled No Fear, with James Foley in negotiations to direct.^[4]

Leonardo DiCaprio was looked at for the role of David McCall (surnamed McNeil prior to production), but did not think he was right for the part. Instead, he put in a good word for Mark Wahlberg (with whom he co-starred on The Basketball Diaries) to director James Foley.^[5]

Reese Witherspoon said she requested a stunt double for the sex scene during the roller coaster sequence, saying:

"I didn't have control over it. It wasn't explicit in the script that that's what was going to happen, so that was something that I think the director [James Foley] thought of on his own and then asked me on set if I would do it, and I said, 'No.' It wasn't a particularly great experience."^[6]

Release

Fear was released on April 12, 1996, in 1,584 theaters. It opened at number four at the box office, making $6.3 million in its opening weekend. By the end of its run, the film earned $20.8 million in the US.^[7]

Soundtrack

"Jessica" by The Allman Brothers Band
"Green Mind" by Dink
"Comedown" by Bush
"Wild Horses" by The Sundays
"Machinehead" by Bush
"Something's Always Wrong" by Toad the Wet Sprocket
"Animal" by Prick
"Stars and Stripes Forever" by C.H.S Municipal Band
"The Illist" by Marky Mark
"Irie Vibe" by One Love.

Reception

Fear holds a 46% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 39 reviews, with an average rating of 5.20/10. The site's consensus reads: "Fear has an appealing young cast, but their efforts aren't enough to consistently distract from an increasingly overblown – and illogical – teen stalker story".^[8] On Metacritic it has a score of 51% based on reviews from 16 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[9] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.^[10]

Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle said, "Fear is hard to resist. On one hand, it's a shameless thriller that makes up for the inevitability of its story by consistently being bigger, faster, and more appalling than you might expect. On the other hand, it contains enough truth about fathers, teenage daughters, and young lust to distinguish it from most thrillers and ground it in vivid emotion. It is a nightmare fantasy for fathers. Director James Foley and screenwriter Christopher Crowe keep raising the stakes all the way to a finish that's something out of The Straw Dogs. It's a maddening, satisfying, junky, enjoyable picture."^[11]

Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a positive review, further accrediting the comparisons to Fatal Attraction. According to him, "Fear is a teen Fatal Attraction, with Mark Wahlberg and Reese Witherspoon in the Glenn Close and (respectively) Michael Douglas roles, and with William Petersen in Anne Archer's. And – surprise – it isn't bad." He did, however, criticize the finale: "[Director] James Foley does a fine job evoking the sexual tensions between father, daughter, and rogue suitor. Yet he has less luck with the (inevitable) garish climax, which is unconvincingly staged... never even making it over the top".^[12]

Gene Siskel gave the film a thumbs-down while Roger Ebert gave it a thumbs-up. Siskel called the picture "Predictable trash with an 'inspired' title, and with a third act which nosedives into pure mayhem... It's shocking that such a film was made by the same director who gave us At Close Range, Glengary Glen Ross, and After Dark, My Sweet; this one is not worthy of his talent. It should have been titled Who's That Boy." Ebert claimed the movie "generates genuine psychological interest, with an effective and suspenseful portrait of a family under siege."^[13]

Movie historian Leonard Maltin gave the picture two out of four stars: "This passable slasher epic benefits from taut, stylish direction and from decent performances; still, it's awfully derivative – especially the climactic showdown. Mark Wahlberg is menacing as the lovestruck hood, but he could benefit from diction lessons."^[14]

Critical revaluation of the film has proved more positive than its initial reception, with Carter Burwell's score being especially well received.^[15] One critic has since stated that "although dismissed by some reviewers upon its release as a sensationalist, hysterical, formulaic piece, Fear has improved with age".^[16] The film was placed as No. 19 on Bravo TV's "30 Even Scarier Movie Moments".^[17]

Adaptations

On May 23, 2019, it was announced that Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment would produce a remake of the film with Brian Grazer again producing, along with Karen Lunder as co-producer. Jonathan Herman was reported to adapt Crowe's script for a modern audience and Amandla Stenberg was in talks to star.^[18]^[19]

In October 2022, it was reported that a television series adaptation of the film is in development at Peacock.^[20]

References

^ Vena, Jocelyn (December 29, 2010). "Reese Witherspoon's Love Life: From Ryan Phillippe To Jim Toth". MTV. Archived from the original on August 15, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
^ "Mark Wahlberg movies, ranked from worst to best". Boston.com. June 23, 2015. Archived from the original on March 13, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
^ Washington, Arlene (September 13, 2015). "5 Portrayals of Obsessive Lovers in Film". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 21, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
^ "'Chamber' commerce expected". Variety. Archived from the original on September 10, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
^ "Mark Wahlberg Was Cast in 'Fear' Thanks to Former Rival Leonardo DiCaprio". www.cheatsheet.com. July 23, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
^ Chernikoff, Leah (July 12, 2023). "Reese Witherspoon Is Starting a New Chapter". Harper’s Bazaar. Archived from the original on July 13, 2023. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
^ "Fear (1996)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on April 30, 2009. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
^ "Fear (1996)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on November 20, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
^ "Fear". Metacritic. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
^ "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
^ LaSalle, Mick (April 12, 1996). "Chilling 'Fear' Finds Its Mark". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
^ Gleiberman, Owen (September 7, 2011). "Movie Review: Fear". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
^ "Fear". At the Movies. April 21, 1996. Buena Vista Television. Archived from the original on July 17, 2023. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
^ Maltin, Leonard (1997). Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide 1998. Penguin Group. p. 428. ISBN 978-0452279148.
^ Romanek, Neal. "The Top 5 Carter Burwell Film Scores". nealromanek.com. Archived from the original on March 31, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
^ Silver, Alain; Ward, Elizabeth; Ursini, James; Porfirio, Robert (2010). Film Noir: The Encyclopaedia. New York City: Overlook Duckworth. ISBN 978-1-59020-144-2.
^ 30 Even Scarier Movie Moments. Sharp Entertainment. 2006.
^ "Amandla Stenberg to Star in Fear Remake for Universal". ComingSoon.net. May 23, 2019. Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 23, 2019). "'The Hate U Give' Star Amandla Stenberg Joins Universal's 'Fear' Reboot". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
^ Petski, Denise (October 10, 2022). "'Fear' Series Based On 1996 Film In Works At Peacock From 'The Path' Creator Jessica Goldberg". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 11, 2022. Retrieved October 11, 2022.