Fear

Play trailer

Fear

R

1996

1h 36m

Mystery & Thriller

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

47%

Tomatometer

38 Reviews

63%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

When 16-year-old Nicole Walker (Reese Witherspoon) meets 23-year-old David McCall (Mark Wahlberg) at a Seattle nightclub, she falls in love. David is exciting and charming, and despite the wide age gap, he wins over Nicole's family -- except for her workaholic father, Steven (William Petersen), who's suspicious of David from the start. His concerns are realized when David turns out to be a violent sociopath who sees Nicole as his possession, and her family home a fortress to be invaded.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

Fear has an appealing young cast, but their efforts aren't enough to consistently distract from an increasingly overblown - and illogical - teen stalker story.

Read Critics Reviews

Susan Wloszczyna

USA Today

01/01/2000

2/4

For a while, the cast is appealing enough, and the design is House Beautiful enough, to camouflage the Fatal flaws that turn the second half into an overblown, predictable snicker-fest.

Go to Full Review

Joe Lipsett

Anatomy of a Scream Podcast Network

02/11/2023

3.5/5

Aside from instigating a sexual awakening for a generation thanks to the rollercoaster scene, this murky, messy erotic thriller features a bad boyfriend AND a bad dad, a madonna/whore complex and a very savvy younger brother.

Go to Full Review

Mal Vincent

The Virginian-Pilot

03/22/2022

2/4

Fear is so bad that it's good. It provides no scares, but quite a few laughs.

Go to Full Review

Leigh Paatsch

Herald Sun (Australia)

07/14/2020

3/5

If there isn't room for a big, dopey teen thriller in your movie-watching life, then the only thing you have to fear is Fear itself.

Go to Full Review

Brandon Collins

Medium Popcorn

05/04/2020

2/5

It's not great. An interesting way to spend an hour-and-a-half, that's for sure. The performances were fine, but it was so twisted.

Go to Full Review

Justin Brown

Medium Popcorn

05/04/2020

3/5

It's well-paced, a little crazy and creepy, but that's how it built up the character and the tension...

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Traci F

@Trace922 Dec 15

Love this movie. If you haven't seen it watch it. It's a great movie. Very well done.

See more

thiago s

@Thiagostone Nov 23

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

See more

Aidan G

Oct 17

This movie had me on the edge of my seat for the first time in a while. While the actors, cinematography, and soundtrack are great. I would love to see more character development such as, why did David go that far towards the end?

See more

Obi-wan K

@Gordon_Freeman Oct 4

Its mid at best bro

See more

Julian S.

@akajulianscott Sep 19

FEAR is glossy ’90s pulp—Wahlberg sells the madness, but the thrills are strictly by the book.

See more

Calvin T

@Calvin504 Jul 30

Wasn't bad.......it kept me interested

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

James Foley

Director

Mark Wahlberg

David McCall

Reese Witherspoon

Nicole Walker

William Petersen

Steve Walker

Amy Brenneman

Laura Walker

Alyssa Milano

Margo Masse

Fear: Official Clip - Wild Roller Coaster Ride

2:09

Fear: Official Clip - All the Time in the World

2:09

Fear: Official Clip - Forever Hold Your Peace!

2:13

Fear: Official Clip - David Apologizes

1:45

Fear: Official Clip - We Have Something That Everybody Wants

2:13

Fear: Official Clip - The Security Guard Is Shot

1:18

Fear: Official Clip - Let Me in the F***in' House!

1:23

Fear: Official Clip - David Kills Gary

2:10

Fear: Official Clip - Nicole 4 Eva

0:37

Fear: Official Clip - Practically Family

1:46

View more videos

A Kiss Before Dying

31%

32%

A Kiss Before Dying

Watchlist

The Watcher

11%

28%

The Watcher

Watchlist

The Trigger Effect

72%

44%

The Trigger Effect

Watchlist

Eye See You

18%

28%

Eye See You

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Eye See You

The Crush

28%

42%

The Crush

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

24 Best-Looking Movie Bad Guys

Comic-Con 2006: Kevin Smith on The Green Hornet and His TV Plans

Willis to Play Berry’s "Perfect Stranger"

View more photos

Synopsis

When 16-year-old Nicole Walker (Reese Witherspoon) meets 23-year-old David McCall (Mark Wahlberg) at a Seattle nightclub, she falls in love. David is exciting and charming, and despite the wide age gap, he wins over Nicole's family -- except for her workaholic father, Steven (William Petersen), who's suspicious of David from the start. His concerns are realized when David turns out to be a violent sociopath who sees Nicole as his possession, and her family home a fortress to be invaded.

Director: James Foley
Producer: Ric Kidney, Karen Snow
Screenwriter: Christopher Crowe
Distributor: Universal Pictures, MCA/Universal Pictures [us], Universal Home Entertainment
Production Co: Universal Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 12, 1996, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 10, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $20.5M
Runtime: 1h 36m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo

Most Popular at Home Now