Fear

Released Apr 12, 1996

1h 36m

Mystery & Thriller

List

46%

Tomatometer

39 Reviews

63%

Audience Score

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.

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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.

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Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: B

Sep 7, 2011

Full Review

Susan Wloszczyna

USA Today

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.

Rated: 2/4

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Joey O'Bryan

Austin Chronicle

Rated: 1/5

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Joe Lipsett

Anatomy of a Scream Podcast Network

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.

Rated: 3.5/5

Feb 11, 2023

Full Review

Mal Vincent

The Virginian-Pilot

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

Rated: 2/4

Mar 22, 2022

Full Review

Leigh Paatsch

Herald Sun (Australia)

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.

Rated: 3/5

Jul 14, 2020

Full Review

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Tony B

Really bad. Underdeveloped characters. Non believable decision making. A good Director could’ve taken the story and cleaned it up and made a decent movie out of it.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

06/08/24

Full Review

Jonathan O

A pretty decent teen stalker home invasion thriller both Mark and Reese are both great younger performance but there's no backstory of why David goes crazy and why he's doing this however really great killer songs including wild horses.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/16/24

Full Review

Crystal S

This is a 90s classic! Reese Witherspoon and Mark Wahlberg play a young couple experiencing first love but when one gets possessive and the other leaves things turn deadly. It’s worth watching.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/22/24

Full Review

Mary S

Loved it!!! Well written, well acted and good story.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/09/24

Full Review

Michael S

This film was pretty frustrating and had a ton of moments that made no sense. It isn't terrible though. Mark Wahlberg was pretty decent as a villian and Reese Witherspoon was fine so hey, there was some effort there.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

04/01/24

Full Review

J M

Great film from the 90's.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/15/24

Full Review

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James Foley

Director

Mark Wahlberg

David McCall

Reese Witherspoon

Nicole Walker

William Petersen

Steve Walker

Amy Brenneman

Laura Walker

Alyssa Milano

Margo Masse

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Fear: Official Clip - Wild Roller Coaster Ride