Fear
I remember seeing the ads for Fear when it came out in theaters. It seemed like another pop teen angst thriller, which was popular when I was in school (my group of friends saw movies like The Craft and Disturbing Behavior at Spring Valley Marketplace’s UA Cinemas).
My first thought: it was entertaining enough. The stars looked good, and as a grunge music-loving teen, I dug that it took place in Seattle and had a number of Bush tunes on the soundtrack. And those cool grunge outfits the villains wore!
I saw it had appeared on Netflix, and I thought it would make good background noise while I folded and put away my laundry. As I remembered the plot (charming guy turns menacing), I thought: pro-single flick!
A pre-Legally Blonde Reese Witherspoon plays Nicole, a typical teen at odds with her father, who’s remarried a woman Nicole doesn’t like too much. One afternoon, she cuts classes with her friends Margo and Gary and locks eyes with Mark Wahlberg’s David, who has that bad boy mystique so irresistible to many hetero teenage girls (and some adult women).
At first, things go well, but one day, David sees Gary hugging Nicole outside school. Jealous, he beats the snot out of Gary. Nicole dumps him, David broods, David apologizes, Nicole lets him back in, typical cycle for an abusive relationship. Steven, her father, is the only one who can see the toxic situation for what it is, telling David to stay away. Of course, he doesn’t and even taunts Steven for good measure. Mom is won over by him.
Later on, Nicole pays David a visit and sees what she thinks is Margo about to sleep with David (he’s actually coerced her into going upstairs with him). She breaks up with him again, this time for good.
And David’s not having it. It’s implied he kills the family dog (reminiscent of the boiling bunny in Fatal Attraction, which obviously inspired Fear). He beats Gary to death. Eventually, it ends in a showdown at the family house, as David and his thuggish buddies break into the house. Steven kills David after Nicole impales the latter with a peace pipe, a gift he had gotten her.
Obsession is unhealthy. While we can see why Nicole would fall for David, we see that he’s jealous, obsessive, and psychotic. Many toxic relationships have those dynamics, and Fear takes them to an extreme. Unlike Fatal Attraction, there’s no spouse, so I lump this into the pro-single category: it appears to be a warning to be careful about someone who charms you instantly. Better off single than dead.
My first thought: it was entertaining enough. The stars looked good, and as a grunge music-loving teen, I dug that it took place in Seattle and had a number of Bush tunes on the soundtrack. And those cool grunge outfits the villains wore!
I saw it had appeared on Netflix, and I thought it would make good background noise while I folded and put away my laundry. As I remembered the plot (charming guy turns menacing), I thought: pro-single flick!
A pre-Legally Blonde Reese Witherspoon plays Nicole, a typical teen at odds with her father, who’s remarried a woman Nicole doesn’t like too much. One afternoon, she cuts classes with her friends Margo and Gary and locks eyes with Mark Wahlberg’s David, who has that bad boy mystique so irresistible to many hetero teenage girls (and some adult women).
At first, things go well, but one day, David sees Gary hugging Nicole outside school. Jealous, he beats the snot out of Gary. Nicole dumps him, David broods, David apologizes, Nicole lets him back in, typical cycle for an abusive relationship. Steven, her father, is the only one who can see the toxic situation for what it is, telling David to stay away. Of course, he doesn’t and even taunts Steven for good measure. Mom is won over by him.
Later on, Nicole pays David a visit and sees what she thinks is Margo about to sleep with David (he’s actually coerced her into going upstairs with him). She breaks up with him again, this time for good.
And David’s not having it. It’s implied he kills the family dog (reminiscent of the boiling bunny in Fatal Attraction, which obviously inspired Fear). He beats Gary to death. Eventually, it ends in a showdown at the family house, as David and his thuggish buddies break into the house. Steven kills David after Nicole impales the latter with a peace pipe, a gift he had gotten her.
Obsession is unhealthy. While we can see why Nicole would fall for David, we see that he’s jealous, obsessive, and psychotic. Many toxic relationships have those dynamics, and Fear takes them to an extreme. Unlike Fatal Attraction, there’s no spouse, so I lump this into the pro-single category: it appears to be a warning to be careful about someone who charms you instantly. Better off single than dead.
