After meeting a girl that he’s interested in, Tom (Iian de Caestecker) invites Lucy (Alice Englert) to a music festival to camp out with his and her friends. On the way he decides to surprise her by booking a hotel for them to have some fun at before hitting the festival and joining the rest of the group. After an odd incident in a pub where they were instructed to meet their guide, they follow a truck which is supposed to lead them to the hotel. The truck waves them on to follow the signs, but as they continue to follow the signs they realize they are stuck in a maze, going around in circles. As darkness begins to fall they begin to see and hear strange things, as if someone is out in the woods watching them. With a finite amount of gas, Tom and Lucy attempt to make it to dawn hoping to stay alive and not let their fear get the best of them.
Directed by Jeremy Lovering, In Fear is a nifty little thriller that does a solid job of showcasing how people react to situations they have no control over. Do they let fear get the best of them and turn to their violent primal instincts or do they stay sane, act rationally and make smart decisions. This film showcases a bit of both and uses suspense and the unknown to pull the audience in. Lovering is able to take a premise so simple and keep the audience interested for a solid 50 minutes without having much occur, which is what I really respected about the film.
In Fear was well acted for what was basically a two man/woman show and Iian and Alice were able to keep me captivated for nearly the entire 85 minute duration. It wasn’t until the third primary character entered the picture where I found the film lost a bit of its edge. Allen Leech, who plays Max, attempts to be this twisted and cunning guy but his acting wasn’t that strong and you could start to read him like a book the more he spoke. Part of this was intentional in an attempt to drop hints about who he is while other parts were the result of not being the strongest actor. In fact, his dialogue and situation made me angry because it proved that Tom and Lucy weren’t as smart as them seemed, diminishing my investment in the film.
I thought In Fear was a moderately effective thriller that had its merits and detractions, but it wasn’t until I watched the behind-the-scenes bonus feature that I was then able to truly appreciate the film for what it was. In the 16 minute special feature, I learned that there was no script, that Iian and Alice improvised the whole thing. They were kept in the dark until the day of, being told what they had to do, but there was a tension constantly in the air because they didn’t know if/when something or someone would attack them, kill them, and more. It’s for this reason the audience is able to be on edge because, while the actors are acting, you know you are also getting real reactions in certain situations because they themselves don’t know what to expect. It’s a big risk to shoot a film like this and I think they did a solid job now knowing this.
On the whole, In Fear is a thriller worth checking out if you like suspense and one location/one-man show type of films like Buried, Locke, Devil or Brake. It isn’t revolutionary by any means but when you find out how it was shot it makes you appreciate it a lot more than if you didn’t. It’s got some very suspenseful scenes but as the film heads towards the finish line it becomes a bit more entertaining yet loses the tension and effectiveness that it had built up throughout the rest of the picture.
Movie Rating: A simple and semi-effective thriller that loses its tension during the entertaining climax (5.9/10)
Blu-ray Rating: The Blu-ray looks fine but skimps on the bonus features (2.5/10)
In Fear is now available on Blu-ray and DVD from Anchor Bay Films
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