Fear can hold you prisoner…

Fear is directed by James Foley and written by Christopher Crowe. It stars Mark Wahlberg, Reese Witherspoon, William Petesen, Alyssa Milano and Amy Brenneman. Music is by Carter Burwell and cinematography by Thomas Kloss.

One of the number of psycho-sexual thrillers that surfaced in the 80s and 90s, Fear has the narrative hook that it involves teenagers. Witherspoon is the girl who invites drifter David McCall (Wahlberg) into her life, only to find he’s as unstable as unstable can be. Director Foley and his team then produce a film that pretty much cribs from a number of other similar themed movies. All of the key scenes will be instantly familiar to genre film watchers, and unfortunately the plot twists and turns come as no surprise.

However, in spite of the lack of originality in structure and narrative thrust, Fear is never dull, not even when Wahlberg is wistfully looking into Witherspoon’s eyes like a love sick puppy. Suspense is on hand for the big finale, which unfolds with kinetic brutality, and it’s also nice here to find that some thought has gone into the characterisations of those in peril. Kloss’ photography around the various Seattle locales is vividly appealing, as is Burwell’s music compositions, while the acting performances are all on the good side of good, with nobody harming the balance of the piece.

A teenage Cape Fear – cum – Straw Dogs - cum – Fatal Attraction, but good with it regardless. 7/10

Probably shouldn't have watched this after seeing 'Wild Things'... It was a bit of a let down.
So this movie popped up in a list of movies to watch after you've seen Wild Things and thus I did... expecting some of the same.
This one is a classic tale of 'should've listened to dad'. A quality cast with a thin story.
[spoiler] David is the mystery boy who says all the right things and it is no wonder Nicole falls fast and hard for him... Dad has his doubts from the start which he has every reason too as it turns out. Amy Brenneman portrays the 'evil' turned good stepmom Laura, who does a full 180 when Nicole suffers from her first heartbreak and comes home with a black eye that David caused after battling her bestie (who I know in modern day would've been written as the gay bestie) whom he thinks puts a move on his girl. [/spoiler]
[spoiler] The story progresses too slow for my taste. We see David get progressively more aggressive but most of it is dirty looks and the occasional words with Nicole's dad. When he finally hits full creep mode he rapes Margo (who we get to know as a flirt and is therefore not believed by Nicole... they are both bad friends in my opinion) and kills the other bestie and gets a homemade tattoo??? [/spoiler]
[spoiler] Nicole's dad makes the dumbest mistake to trash David and his creepy friends place which leads to them wanting revenge on the whole family. It all escalates in hyperspeed with a lot of violence and a mediocre conclusion. [/spoiler]
Okay-ish movie but I wouldn't recommend it, definitely not after watching Wild Things. There are better movies in the genre.