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Fear

Fear

Thriller · Horror · 1996

Nicole Walker always dreamed of being swept away by someone special — someone strong, sexy and sensitive who would care for her more than anything else in the world. David is all that and more: a modern-day knight who charms and seduces her, body and soul. But her perfect boyfriend is not all he seems to be. His sweet facade masks a savage, dark side that will soon transform Nicole's dream into a nightmare.

Movie details

Fear

“Together forever. Or else.”

1996 Thriller · Horror 1h 37m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

6.2 / 10

61.6K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

47 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

51 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

6.6 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

Nicole Walker always dreamed of being swept away by someone special — someone strong, sexy and sensitive who would care for her more than anything else in the world. David is all that and more: a modern-day knight who charms and seduces her, body and soul. But her perfect boyfriend is not all he seems to be. His sweet facade masks a savage, dark side that will soon transform Nicole's dream into a nightmare.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Fear?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

James Foley

Written by

Christopher Crowe

Mark Wahlberg

Mark Wahlberg

David McCall

Reese Witherspoon

Reese Witherspoon

Nicole Walker

William L. Petersen

William L. Petersen

Steve Walker

Alyssa Milano

Alyssa Milano

Margo Masse

Amy Brenneman

Amy Brenneman

Laura Walker

Tracy Fraim

Tracy Fraim

Logan

Jason Kristofer

Jason Kristofer

Terry

Court is in session

Put Fear on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Sentimental Softie

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.