The Fear is far from a great independent horror-thriller but admittedly there are some moments of pure entertainment, mostly for the climax more so than the bulk of the film that don’t make much sense.
The Fear
(1995)
Genre(s): Horror, Fantasy
Vinegar Syndrome| NR – 102 min. – $34.95 | February 9, 2021
Date Published: 03/11/2021 | Author: The Movieman
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Vinegar Syndrome provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 2½/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Richard (EDDIE BOWZ) is a college student who has decided to focus his attention on the study of fear and has invited a group of friends up to his family’s secluded mountain cabin for the weekend, during which they’ve agreed to participate in his project and share what terrifies them. While the experiment seems harmless at first, when it comes time for Richard to reveal what he’s afraid of, the answer comes in the form of a strange, lifelike, wooden carving of a man which has been in the cabin for generations and is named Morty. As the friends attempt to enjoy their wilderness seclusion, Morty comes to life and begins stalking and killing the youngsters in ways that go far beyond their most horrific nightmares. Review: The Fear, released in 1995, was a film I never heard of but the premise at least sounded promising, as I generally like movies that take place in some isolated locale (probably why I enjoy the first few Friday the 13th films), and although I will say the wooden Morty character does have a creepy factor to him it doesn’t exactly all come together. On the plus side, I will say the climax is all kinds of insanity and probably the funniest, and most entertaining part, the rest was a bit on the bland side, at least in terms of horror. One issue is the cast, or maybe how their characters were written, were one-dimensional and outside of maybe Heather Medway, lacked very much charisma, though Darin Heames and Vince Edwards had some fun over-the-top moments at least. In terms of the story, written by Ron Ford from a story by Ford and Executive Producer Greg H. Sims, which on the surface reminded me of the 1999 House on Haunted Hill remake, isn’t the strongest and the somewhat side-story of a serial rapist seemed oddly tacked on, not entirely sure why it was included other than at the time they wrote the script, didn’t really add much except maybe a motivation for one of our characters. In the end, The Fear isn’t all bad and can see why it has a bit of a following. I would say it is worth a watch especially in its uncut, unedited version, available for the first time in the U.S. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 3¾/5 |
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This is the Limited Edition release from Vinegar Syndrome that includes a nice and fairly thick, title-embossed, slip cover. Inside the inner cover has a reversible sleeve with the original poster artwork. Audio Commentaries:
Both tracks are moderated by Brad Henderson from Vinegar Syndrome, both Robert and Sims give some different perspectives of the production, from the filming locations – including the cast staying at the cabin – to the casting. Face to Face with The Fear: The Making of a Cult Classic (50:09) is an extensive retrospective featurette with new interviews by Director Vincent Robert, Executive Producer Greg H. Sims, Writer Ron Ford & Actors Eddie Boyz, Heather Medway, Darin Heames, Ann Turkel and Erick Weiss, plus others on the technical side of the film. |
VIDEO – 4½/5 |
| Vinegar Syndrome releases The Fear for the first time on Blu-ray and at least here the U.S., uncut as the DVD release was apparently heavily edited. This new 1080p transfer was taken from a 4K scan of the original 35mm camera negative, and other than a few very minor specs that I noticed while getting some screen grabs, does look pretty brilliant. Detail is sharp and well defined throughout and colors appear to be nicely balanced without seemingly artificially bolstered. |
AUDIO – 4/5 |
| The disc comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track which wasn’t half bad. The dialogue at times does seem a bit too echo-y but otherwise I found this lossless track to be fairly strong. There’s not a ton of depth that I discerned however there are a few outdoor scenes, such as at the amusement park, where I could hear some ambient or off-screen noises. |
OVERALL – 3/5 |
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Overall, The Fear is far from a great independent horror-thriller but admittedly there are some moments of pure entertainment, mostly for the climax more so than the bulk of the film that don’t make much sense, not to mention bland, one-dimensional, characters. The Blu-ray released by Vinegar Syndrome comes with great transfers and solid bonus features, including a lengthy retrospective documentary. |