Fear (2023)

 

    

In theory, this concept should work. The premise that this movie brings forth, tries to work within its setting. Unfortunately, the whole thing just collapses and falls apart. With the movie “Fear”, we do get an interesting idea, but the whole execution just doesn't work within itself. This horror film is the perfect example of how not to do a horror movie in general. From the fast and rushed execution of the story, to the incredible annoyance of the special effects, this film fails in every sense of the word. And yes, I paid real money to go and see this one. “Fear” tries desperately to go ahead and scare its audience, but the end result is just cheap Halloween trick.

The story involves a group of friends renting out a cabin in the mountains. It also comes at a time after a global pandemic has died down greatly. However, once at the cabin, the friends admit their darkest fears, and throughout the course of the weekend, these fears will play all kinds of tricks on them.

“Fear” botches its premise up pretty badly.

The story itself is rushed and tries to admit the point of fear is bad for you, when in reality, it is something that we all need. There are also plot holes, continuity errors, and more, making the whole thing feel quick, and not grabbing the viewer's attention. This could be due to the fact that the film was shot in about 17 days, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Which brings up the issue of the pacing being incredibly fast.

At roughly an hour and a half, the film tries to blend horror and thrills to captivate its audience. Unfortunately, it doesn't. By using this time mostly as a means to spout exposition, “Fear” just leaves you with more questions than answers. Plus, most of the time, the film relies heavily on jump scares, and enough cuts in the editing room in order to achieve that R rating. Speaking of which, there are numerous edits and cuts throughout the entire production, it almost makes the viewer disoriented. And, on top of all of this, there are lights flickering throughout the entire production. It gets real old, real fast.

Another thing that's irksome about “Fear” are the cast and characters. While watching, you do not have a chance to root for anybody in particular, and with such a limited cast, it's really hard to make some sort of connection. And when these characters announce their personal fears, you can easily predict how they are going to die.

And that brings up the biggest issue which concerns the pacing: the deaths. Most, if not all of the deaths, occur during the last couple of minutes of the movie. That's real nice. With a sense of what you already know, it's not that scary to see these characters die in the slightest. This just goes to show that this is plagued with bad writing.

As for everything else, it's not worth mentioning, but I will try. The direction is not that great, as director Deon Taylor just doesn't give his cast the necessary chance they deserve with their roles. It feels like the cast did at least one take, and that was it. The music is nothing to write home about, as the soundtrack is pretty forgettable. And the special effects, well, they look terrible; it's as if someone made a test footage of a horror themed video game but decided that it should go to this movie instead.

Yet, the biggest crux that “Fear” brings out is its concept. Having to deal with the idea of fear, especially after a really horrible worldwide tragedy, is something to fully consider. The idea is there, but writers Deon Taylor and John Ferry did not plan this through all the way.

The one good thing I can truly say about this feature is that it is fascinatingly bad. You just have to see this film for yourself in order to witness how bad it can truly get.

In conclusion, “Fear” is nothing more than a good idea for a horror film, done incredibly wrong. It could have worked, but the scares fall flat.