moonspinner55
A young woman with psychic powers aids the police in tracking down murderers; an expert in psychometry, she makes associations from an object through physical contact. However, the latest serial killer on her radar, a man who feeds on his victims' fear, is also psychic and his power may be greater than hers. A novel spin on "Eyes of Laura Mars" from writer-director Rockne S. O'Bannon, who also co-produced for Vestron Pictures, who released the film to Showtime in place of a theatrical run. Despite some lapses of logic in the plotting, a surprisingly good screamer, a bit over-the-top but still exceptional for the thriller-genre. O'Bannon has given the film a handsome look and his script has smart dialogue. In the lead, Ally Sheedy takes a while to warm up; she looks lovely here, and has a few choice moments of serious acting, but too often she relies on 'cute' or coy mannerisms. Supporting cast including Michael O'Keefe as a bachelor fireman who lives next door and Lauren Hutton as Sheedy's agent are also good. Portions of Henry Mancini's score are curiously reminiscent of his soundtrack for 1967's "Wait Until Dark". O'Bannon, the screenwriter of "Alien Nation" two years prior, continued working as a writer and director in television, and proved here he has keen instincts and a great eye for visuals.
mavtutz
After reading all the wonderful reviews I was really looking forward to watching this movie. Unfortunately I found the movie disappointing to say the least. We are told that Kayce had helped police many times in the past to catch serial killers, consequently she should know the kind of information they hope to get from her. Maybe I missed something here but at no point did I hear her mention the tattoo on his right hand? This could have been a fantastic movie, the storyline was great but too many holes were present. We discover to the end that the killer could not read her mind but that of the fireman who lived next door. How then was he getting inside her head? Remember he was getting inside her head before she met the guy next door? It would have been nice to see her learning to control her gift better too in order to fight him. There were so many possibilities for this movie, it just didn't deliver for me ....
jdollak
I picked up this movie because it was paired with the movie Parents, which is spectacular. I had no particular interest in Fear, but I never turn down a horror movie.The premise of this movie actually makes it sound much more boring than it is. It's handled pretty well, and I never felt like it was dull.But the writing ignores some very basic things. Her abilities seem to vary throughout the movie. This isn't too bad, but her description of her powers does not reflect what she actually does.But the thing that seriously bothered me was how much information she didn't share. She sees the tattoo that the killer has, and she never mentions it. She finds out where the killer is at that moment, and no one bothers to report it to the police? She even saw that a policeman was at that location, and all it would take is a few phone calls.I don't mind these sorts of things, except that by not addressing them, the movie came across sloppy.I have to praise the ending though. It would be typical to make it so the killer is someone we've seen periodically throughout the movie, but this one bucks that.
Vince-6
FEAR isn't the best thriller film around but it sustained my interest and kept me watching till the end.The best thing about the film is the performance of Pruitt Taylor Vince as The Shadow Man. Pruitt Taylor Vince is one the greatest actors around and although this part is not nearly meaty enough for an actor of his talents, it was nonetheless interesting to see one of his earlier roles.
AD
