Bollywood films are often patterned on/ripped off from successful Hollywood releases, and on occasion Hollywood returns the favor. The Bollywood thriller DARR (1993) provided the uncredited source for FEAR, a 1996 thriller starring a young Reese Witherspoon (already a Hollywood veteran in ‘96 but not yet a star) and her then-boyfriend Mark Wahlberg (better known back then as Marky Mark). The director was James Foley, whose checkered filmography includes heavy-hitters like AT CLOSE RANGE (1986) and GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS (1992) and the not-so-heavy likes of WHO’S THAT GIRL (1987) and FIFTY SHADES DARKER (2017), and the “original script” was by Christopher Crowe, himself a storied director (with OFF LIMITS and WHISPERS IN THE DARK to his credit).
Notable Bollywood rips-offs include the 1984 film SHARAABI, which fashioned a three hour melodrama from the Dudley Moore comedy ARTHUR (1981). In the case of FEAR, the opposite was true, with the epically scaled DARR boiled down to a slick and simple thriller that (mostly) works.
Reese W. plays Nicole Walker, a virginal teen living in a seaside house in Seattle (actually British Columbia) with her father Steve (William Peterson) and stepmother Laura (Amy Brenneman). Upon spotting the good looking David McCall (Wahlberg), Nicole is immediately besotted, and the feeling is mutual. The two commence a romance that culminates with Mark taking Nicole’s virginity, much to the consternation of Steve.
But then things turn dark, with David flying into a jealous rage upon seeing Nicole’s friend Gary (Todd Caldecott) hug her. She elects to sever all ties with David but unwisely takes him back, with his behavior growing increasingly unhinged. He taunts and threatens Steve, vandalizes his car and poisons Nicole against him. Steve retaliates by trashing the house where David lives with some punk friends, leading to a STRAW DOGS Inspired climax in which David and his pals launch an all-out assault against Nicole’s home, with she and her parents doing what they can to protect their property.
A predictable story, to be sure, that producer Brian Grazer adequately summed up as “FATAL ATTRACTION for teens.” The script contains some interesting elements, including a sexual angle that’s blunt (unusually so for a 1990s Hollywood production), particularly in an early scene in which David fingers Nicole on a rollercoaster, which she not only allows but encourages. The dynamic between Nicole and her father also goes a bit farther than expected, with his feelings for her appearing to stretch beyond parental affection.
James Foley did nothing to elevate the material thematically, but made sure to turn out as sleek and exciting a film as he possibly could. FEAR is trash, but it’s good trash that boasts something integral to any psychothriller: a great villain. David isn’t a novel or complex character by any means, but Mark Wahlberg proves extremely menacing in the role (it helps that Foley gives him several CLOCKWORK ORANGE-inspired glaring-up-from-under-lowered-eyebrows close-ups). Reese Witherspoon as the pure-hearted heroine is adequate, as are William Peterson as her father, Amy Breneman as her stepmother and Alyssa Milano as her slutty best friend (a performance best remembered, as with most 1990s Milano turns, for the fact that she shows a great deal of skin).
Another plus is the grunge tune-packed soundtrack, which in 1996 seemed an annoyance but now gives off pleasingly nostalgic vibes.
Vital Statistics
FEAR
Imagine Entertainment/Universal Pictures
Director: James Foley
Producers: Brian Glazer, Ric Kidney
Screenplay: Christopher Crowe
Cinematography: Thomas Kloss
Editing: David Brenner
Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Mark Wahlberg, William Peterson, Alyssa Milano, Amy Brenneman, Christopher Gray, Tracy Fraim, Gary Riley, Jason Kristofer, Jed Rees, Tood Caldecott, John Oliver, David Fredericks, Ravinder Toor, Andrew Airlie, Jo Bates, Will Sengotta, L. Harvey Gold