Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Beulah Bram A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Jerrie It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Aspen Orson There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

lost-in-limbo Since it's fallen into the cracks it's not to be confused with the more popular mid-nineties teen thriller of the same title starring Reese Witherspoon and Mark Wahlberg. Director Rockne. S O'Bannon's 1990 'Fear" is a by-the-numbers, but highly intriguing and low-key psychic / detective thriller with a maturely inspired and gallant lead performance by 80s brat pack star Ally Sheedy. There's no denying it's systematic with its developments, but the escalating psychological tension that's brewing between the two psychics' (the psychotic killer and the renowned tracker) unsettling connection is impulsively gripping and disorienting. The telepathic communication between the two is mentally nail-biting, and so is the linking POV imagery (blue tinting) of seeing what each other is doing. The harrowing material really does toy us around, drawing upon the threatening nature and adrenaline rush of creating a real sense of fear. Henry Macini's stomping, but eerie score truly gets under the skin and Robert Stevens' cinematography is sharply shot. O'Bannon keeps it sure-footed and taut; as he lets the story leisurely unfolds (giving time to explore the characters) to only break the ice with hysterically intense and twisted short pockets. Pruitt Taylor Vince's unnervingly immoral performance as the psychic murderer is nothing but convincingly good. The supporting cast featuring Michael O'Keefe, Lauren Hutton and Stan Shaw give collected and likable portrayals. Occupying an interesting cameo role at the beginning is the iconic John Agar.

eagleye_25 At first I felt this movie might be a disappointment. There are so many movies out there that look good, seem to have a cool premise, actors, etc. but never deliver. This movie had all those hints of greatness but in the back of my mind, despite what I read about it on here and other discussion boards(which was all very positive) I still had my reservations. Eventually I took the plunge and let me tell you friends "the water's fine!" This was great. Ally Sheedy was great. (smartly typecast for her own personal quirkiness). I couldn't ask for a better director (whomever he is...sorry bub, I'll look you up after this.) I thought I had the killers identity figured out right off the bat but turns out I was wrong, wrong, wrong. This was such a refreshing experience in the thriller genre. I know I will continue to enjoy this movie for years to come.

The_Void The thriller genre isn't exactly short of films that feature a psychic tapping in to the mind of a serial killer, and to be honest; I find them rather boring, but Fear isn't too bad as it makes up for it's overused plot with some fairly original ideas. The lead character is not your usual thriller protagonist, due to the fact that Ally Sheedy is not stunningly beautiful. This gives the film something in the originality department...although it loses a lot in the 'eye candy' department, especially since the cinematography isn't all that nice to look at either. The plot focuses on Cayce Bridges; a psychic who helps the police look for serial murderers. When she is brought in to a new case, there is scepticism at first; but after she reveals some intimate details about the detectives, they start to believe her. She does her usual thing with giving them crime scene and evidence details, but the killer 'links' to her without her linking to him. It becomes obvious that Cayce isn't the only one with psychic powers - and pretty soon the killer won't let her go...The film never really tries to be brilliant, and so what we end up with is a merely decent thriller that is happy to play out along the same lines as similar films. This does, however, allow the film concentrate on its own strengths. Director Rockne O'Bannon does a good job of building the suspense, and the fact that the murderer is portrayed through a gritty, sleazy voice makes sure that the film is always creepy and foreboding. The acting is nothing special, Ally Sheedy going through the motions alongside a support cast without a standout performance. The cinematography is nothing special either, and Rockne O'Bannon doesn't really seem to care about the look and feel of the film as the locations don't add anything, and the film doesn't have much in the way of atmosphere when the killer isn't on screen. Overall, Fear isn't terrible in spite of the fact that most of it is lacklustre. There are too many films like this already, so this one was always going to have a hard time standing out. However, there are worse films out there and Fear is almost worth watching.

manuel-pestalozzi Movies like this one are sold here as German-dubbed video cassettes so cheap you practically can't refuse to buy them. „Fear" was a pleasant surprise, a psycho (or rather psychic) thriller with clear references to several Hitchcock movies and also reminiscent of Italian giallos. All the elements are there: the suspense, dream sequences, absurd humorous situations, innocent victims and many people who don't believe what you tell them, however hard you try. The story is simple but it works. And there is an excellent, beautifully filmed finale on a fairground (remember „Strangers on a Train?"). The biggest treat is Pruitt Taylor Vince as the psychopath killer who sees the tables turned on him. What a talent! Why, why, why doesn't he get more and bigger roles??