Referred to by its own producer, Brian Grazer, as a "Fatal Attraction" for teens, this slick thriller holds no surprises but is still reasonably good visceral entertainment. Reese Witherspoon plays Nicole, a Typical Teen with an Overprotective Dad, Steve (William Petersen). Nicole chances to meet a hunky stranger named David (Mark Wahlberg, in one of his earliest starring gigs) and they enter into a passionate relationship, only for Nicole to realize that every suspicion that her dad has about her boyfriend is correct: the guy's a brutal, controlling thug. And he naturally doesn't take kindly to being dumped. Simply put, this is the kind of cretin who simply won't be denied what he wants. And he'll kill anybody to get it. "Fear" does benefit from very capable direction by James Foley ("Glengarry Glen Ross"), and impressive widescreen photography. This story does move along quite well without getting bogged down in any sort of filler. It's also quite sexy, to boot: Nicole and David have some steamy couplings along the way. The action gravitates right toward the kind of final showdown that we know from the start is going to be inevitable. As it happens, Steve foolishly gives Davids' equally seedy goon friends all the motivation they need to launch an assault on the family home. The movie is certainly well cast and all of the performances are effective. Also among the actors are Alyssa Milano as Witherspoons' friend and Amy Brenneman as the dads' new lady friend. Witherspoon is appealing and Wahlberg is convincing as the lovestruck antagonist. Overall this works pretty well at manipulating its audience and getting them all cranked up. The big finale is reasonably exciting and has some brutal moments. While this might not be innovative stuff in any way, it does do its job, and delivers the expected thrills. Seven out of 10.
Review of Fear
