In Fear

source: In Fear

To be honest, I wasn't at all surprised to find that after viewing Jeremy Lovering's "In Fear" that the hatred for it on internet sites was large. It's that type of film, a film existing in the horror field of things that can cause mass debate, disappointments for those after a jolting or gory shocker, and yet there's also pleasures that some have found in it. If you have seen it and hate it then there's no need to read on, I got nothing for you, this is purely a review by someone who loved it and hopes that anyone who hasn't seen it may just give it a chance. A young couple very early in their courting relationship are driving across rural Ireland to a music festival. After a fraught stop at a local public house, they continue on the journey only to get lost. As night draws in and they appear to go around in circles, they start to get menaced by person or persons unknown and unseen... As anyone who has been in the situation will attest, getting lost in an unfamiliar countryside is no fun, especially when the night falls. "In Fear" pitches two young characters (played superbly by Iain De Caestecker & Alice Englert who are reacting naturally) into one such scenario. This is a couple who are only two weeks into their relationship, they don't really know each other do they? So when things start to get tense and scary they are naturally ill at ease with each other's company, they have no idea how to react to what is happening to them - which is continuously ambiguous. Two people in a car in the countryside shouldn't be scary, but it is because things get tense. Things start to happen to them, simple things that suggest an outside force is at work, all while the once pretty scenery has become a menacing backdrop, with the sound work prodding away at our fretful protagonists. Then a third party enters the fray and things get even more ambiguous, but such is the stripped down nature of the pic the nail-biting tension goes up another notch. This is not new horror cinema, in fact it's a little contrived in places, but all the fears on show here are easy to relate to. Both as regards the scary situation and as an early date experience! It's stylishly filmed by Lovering and his cinematographer David Katznelson, with tight close-ups and nifty use of the dark spaces on the country roads turning the tension screws. All of which just leaves the ending, an ending which will either infuriate or baffle you, or conversely have you nodding in admiration at the bare faced cheek of it. 9/10

I just finished watching this incredible movie and I can't believe the rating is this low. It was absolutely terrifying - I was on the edge of my seat throughout. On top of that, it was very well-acted, shot, scored and edited. All three actors did a very convincing job. The first act provided just the right combination of laughs and suspense needed to hook the audience in and to get them emotionally involved with the characters. What's most incredible to me is that the actors were kept in the dark as to what's going to happen - it's all detailed in the "Making of" feature on the DVD, and it's quite fascinating to watch. Overall, I'd say it's one of the most intriguing, engrossing and enjoyable horror movies I've seen in the past few years. It's very minimalistic in its style and in the types of scares it contains, but that just makes it all the more frightening.

Bringing together elements of, and to varying degrees echoing film such as 'The Blair Witch Project', 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' and the fairly recent British nasties 'Kill List' and 'Eden Lake', director Jeremy Lovering brings us a tale of two people in an early days relationship getting lost in the woods. Relatively speaking, they are stranger to one another as well as to us, and one feels that in another writer/director's hands, this fact could have become more pertinent than it actually does here, which is a shame. They are on their way to a music festival and are trying to find a hotel they are booked in at. Seems straightforward enough, right? Of course things don't go as planned; they find themselves driving in circles with no hotel to be seen. Next thing confusion and concern set in; as dusk draws close, the weather worsens, their fuel runs low, their map proves inaccurate, and the country roads they drive all begin to look the same, we are invited to feel the very real fear most of us can relate to, and it must be said in this at least, the film proves extremely effective. Indeed, the first hour or so of 'In Fear' had me gripped and actually feeling something I don't often have the pleasure of when watching a horror/thriller on my own: Genuinely spooked. The performances are reasonable and the tension nicely handled; Lovering's ability to generate palpable horror from a simple scenario and drag it out for quite so long IS impressive. It is a shame, then, that when the time comes for the film to play its hand a little more, the tension is released and we enter a world of silliness; the reasoning for the situation arising in the first place and its justification seem flimsy. Shattered is the hope that we were going to be dealing with loftier themes of existential fear and relationships, or even something more down to earth and rooted in an important social element, ala 'Eden Lake'; the last twenty minutes takes a direction a lot more simple and I daresay boring, given the promise of the previous acts. This guy will make a better film than this in future, but for now, this is a reasonable shot at something compelling, even if it falters in the last act. Worth a watch for the promise it makes with its fist hour.

This was a film with promise from reading the preview, but sadly the characters in this movie are beyond incredibly stupid. No one would do half the things these two do without checking themselves first. Totally unbelievable. It's boring and predictable. The story needed more work. I am not sure whether it was just the writing itself, or whether the story was amended to fit a low budget. The actors weren't so bad, and tried hard with the material provided. Few twists, and few shocks. I had to wait Zzzzzzzzz. And wait Zzzzzzzz. And wait Zzzzzzz. And wait for the end Zzzzzzz. Zzzzzzzz!!!!!! DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME!!!

I pressed play and the movie began, it seemed a simply beginning where the scenario was a boy wishing to take a female friend to a festival.. I was excited as it started to roll along that the storyline was totally On its own, when the viewer got a feel of the one of many stereotypical themes that exist in Horror Genre It was different New, Fresh, and i was thinking " This movie is probably going to be the substance of depth, atmosphere, and a story written by some passionate,writer, that had a moment of passion and self belief and take the viewer into unknown territory in this Horror/Thriller.. It wasn't long before i started to notice the two main characters, although good actors, considering the developing situation lacked emotional expression, and passion. The scenario began to annoy me.. and where in certain given circumstances that something was seriously wrong...both characters showed little or no believable reaction, or which any average person would show.. Maybe at one point when they seemed a marked change in behaviour of the boy.. it only resulted me into being more confused because his facial expressions were giving off the sense of guilt Anyway... what could have been a good quality thriller with atmosphere and suspense be something of substance that attained that subconscious effect upon each viewer who fall into the whole plot, and psychologically influencing someone to readily open the door to their inner mind and expose it to the unknown.

In Ireland, Tom (Iain De Caestecker) and Lucy (Alice Englert) are traveling for a music festival. They have been together for a couple of weeks only and Tom decides to make a surprise to Lucy and spend the night with her in a remote hotel in the woods. They follow the signs on the narrow and winding road and soon they realize that they are lost and the backwoods road is a maze. Soon they are frightened by a stranger that threatens them and Tom realizes that their car is running out of gas. While escaping from the stranger, they hit a man on the road and they bring him to their car. The stranger is called Max (Allen Leech) and soon they discover that he is the man that is tormenting them along the night. What is the motive for Max to torture them? "In Fear" is a tense thriller with good performances. Unfortunately the good acting is wasted by a terrible story full of holes and awful conclusion. Who would go to a remote place without filling the tank of the car? How could one guy bring so many people to a derelict hotel in the middle of nowhere without any investigation from the police? The plot has a promising beginning but in a certain moment it becomes annoying. My vote is three. Title (Brazil): "Uma Noite Para Esquecer" ("One Night to Forget")

i think this will be one of my favorite horror movies. it is absolutely uncanny, sharp, fast and just full of 'fear'. there are so many movies made in this genre and almost on same theme - but it will definitely stand tall. maybe the conversations and ending could be made more intimidating. and couple of twists about the toilet-writing, pub and the resort. it does lose a huge momentum when the mystery is revealed. it gets kinda pointless and drag. but still i enjoyed the movie. it shows you don't have to have violence, gore, ghosts, rotten flesh/ face to scare people. watch it.

Summary: In Fear is a horrendously underrated horror film that deserves more recognition for its superb performances and cleverly disturbing moments. 100/100 (A+) Tom and Lucy are both happy young adults eager to set out on their first weekend getaway as a couple. They set off for a planned stay at a remote hotel but quickly find themselves getting lost in a maze of backwoods roads. However they soon discover that they are at the mercies of an unknown tormentor that is eager to take advantage of their vulnerability and distance from civilization. I hate to give perfect ratings, I'm not lying, check out my user profile. This astonishing film deserves it. Such a disturbing ride! In Fear is awesome because most of the shocking scenes came from just inside of a car. It is a very well done low-budget film, that doesn't even look like a low-budget flick. In Fear proves that horror films don't need a big cast or an expensive budget, they just need the right director, a talented cast, and a smart script. It is a slow ride, but it kept me entertained and interested all time. The characters are likable and they also have some Irish charisma. Iain De Caestecker (Tom) and Alice Englert (Lucy) are two wonderful actors, they were excellent in the whole movie and they gave their best, especially Alice Englert, her screams made me have chills; I dare to say that her performance is Oscar-worthy. It's sad that a huge part of the audience bashed this gem. Maybe it was too different for them. Audiences nowadays want to jump out of their seats by cheap jump-scares and they are starving for lots of gore and violence. In Fear is not this type of horror film at all. It is just a strange, well-acted and painfully disturbing movie, without any significant flaws in my opinion. That's why I gave it a perfect score, it delivers what it promises. This movie freaked me out so much. I saw it a year ago and I still remember every frame of it. I will remember this little flick for years, it affected me so much, seriously. As I said, most of the memorable scenes set place into a car. It's awesome how the director takes advantage of his small cast and budget to create an absolute masterpiece. Once you read the plot synopsis of the film, you may think that it is a boring movie, (Two people in a car, being scared) but it wasn't boring at all, it surprised me so much. I also love it because it doesn't show too much of the violent scenes, the scariest moment in the film (near the end) was a completely unseen scene, but it proves that imagination can be as scary as anything on screen. In Fear is just my type of horror movie. Jeremy Lovering has just made an instant classic. Some people complain about the lack of an ending, but I really don't care, you can make your own ending! That's why I love this film. It's hard to say that you will enjoy it, but please give it a chance. You may love it as much as me. Do not expect lots of gore and jump-scares. Just expect excellent performances, disturbing moments and screams out loud. In Fear is an effective and quite disturbing ride, an instant classic to me. I hope you like it! It's the best horror film of 2014 for me, above The Babadook, Under the Skin and Oculus. Such a terrific piece of work. (A+)

The movie set out to do a job it was to scare you and for me it did just that. There are to many films no a days calling themselves horror films that are just plan stupid with bad acting no story and as a matter of fact you can't sit through the whole thing. In fear is not one of them. This movie had great acting and about 90 minutes of biting your nails. This is not the type of movie that needs some dramatic story to be worth while. I read some of non plot remarks which was unfair. Its been a long time since a couldn't watch movie by myself which is a good thing. In fear had a plot and was an enjoyable movie from start to finish.