In Fear

Coming out of the United Kingdom, In Fear is a horror film that works to up the level of claustrophobia and anxiety of the audience by placing us in an all too familiar fear of being lost.  Director Jeremy Lovering does well to create an environmental stress by placing a young couple in a labyrinth of wooded, narrow roads in Ireland.  As the couple seeks their destination, they become more and more confused and anxious as they begin to realize that unknown people are tormenting them while they try to keep their calm and find their way back out.

The film stars Iain De Caestecker as Tom, and Alice Englert as Lucy, his girlfriend of only two weeks.  On their way to a weekend festival, Tom surprises Lucy with a night at a secluded hotel that should provide them some romance to kick off the weekend.  However, as they find themselves becoming more and more lost their new courtship faces strains and pressures as Lucy begins feeling quite panicked by the situation.  This element of the film was a very neat addition, as it is easily understandable how it would be hard to try and keep your own sanity while still dealing with the emotional issues that are arising in someone who you do not fully know yet, and all under the pressures of a new relationship.

Another benefit the film had was during the first part of the movie where there was a lot of mystery surrounding what was happening.  There were a few breadcrumbs to follow, but also enough other plot elements that kept me from being able to settle in on a conclusion as to the foundation of the situation they were in.  Adding to that was the wonderful location that they found, which provided winding narrow roads that were completely closed in by the woods around them.

Unfortunately, and as seems to be the case with a lot of films, the movie just did not seem to be able to keep its momentum through the second and third acts.  The slow subtlety that it started out with was then replaced with revelations of the situation that lead to me having a lot of questions about the plot, and not the good type of questions where there is an unsolvable mystery, but more of logic and the realm of reality.  It came down to the sorts of issues that are easily brushed off in supernatural horrors or stock slasher flicks, but this movie does not so much get an exemption from this as it worked to ground itself as a real world scenario.

As I had mentioned about the ‘bread crumbs,’ which were nice little tidbits of intrigue at the beginning of the film, they soon became so big and blatant that there was absolutely no surprise at all when we were given new facts about the happenings that our couple were plunged into.  And, because these clues were so obvious, they gave a view of the larger picture well ahead of time, which allowed me to start really scrutinizing just how these people ended up where they were.  It became a mess of a convoluted plot that was so abrasive to the wonderful atmospheric and personal feel that the film started out with.

Where other films with similar negatives would end up being a very low rated and forgettable film, In Fear still provides the audience with some great moments throughout before it resorts to typical horror scares and scenarios.  When the pacing is right in this film, it is absolutely amazing and a treat to watch.  It is just too bad that it became overshadowed for me by the types of traps that other films seem so easily to fall into.  For a fan of horror films, this is one that is definitely worth checking out because I am sure you will be able to find a level of appreciation for this close quarters thriller.

Rating – 2.5 out or 4 stars

Credited cast:
	Iain De Caestecker	...	Tom
	Alice Englert	...	Lucy
	Allen Leech	...	Max