Fear (1996)

March 9, 2024 2:05 PM

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.

(Rotten Tomatoes, trailer, review)

Producer Brian Grazer called it 'Fatal Attraction for teens. A Reddit user says 'You know how some movies just scream 'Oscar bait'? This movie felt 'MTV Movie Award bait' in the same way.’ Mark Wahlberg was nominated for the 1997 MTV Movie Award for Best Villain, but lost to Jim Carrey in The Cable Guy.

In a 2023 Harper's Bazaar interview, Reese Witherspoon said that she 'didn't have control' over one scene, and that the experience made her want to be 'an agent for change and someone who maybe can be in a better leadership position to tell stories from a female perspective instead of from the male gaze.'

Streaming in the US on Netflix, for rent or sale in various places.

posted by box (3 comments total)

I'm not really an MST3K/Rifftrax kind of guy, but if ever a movie deserved that treatment, it's this one. Jesus. I will say it's a fascinating time capsule: in 1997, a millionaire just had to hang back and deal with it when a white trash kid put the moves on his underage daughter. I'm pretty sure now that dude would just have to point at Marky Mark and the cops would instantly shoot him six hundred times.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 6:30 PM on March 9

For some reason, my sister loved this movie back in the day. (She would have been 17 at the time.) I thought it was horrible. It's not my story to share in full, but looking back, this movie became a reality for her best friend, and it didn't end well. I think this is why this movie gives me the shivers all these years later if I think about it.
posted by Kitteh at 4:45 AM on March 10

The only thing I know about this movie is when It's Always Sunny did a bit with one character hitting herself in the chest the way Marky Mark does. I want to see the movie just so I can see the pay-off of that ridiculous behavior.
posted by Saxon Kane at 1:23 PM on March 10