Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Fear’ (2021)

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the motion picture, ‘Fear’.
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There was a time, when every American believed wholeheartedly in the safety net the United States created. Because time and time again, when disaster struck, that safety net held and if by chance it was strained in the slightest, volunteers would step up to ensure it wouldn’t break, allowing for any disaster that came our way to be resolved in a beautiful and wholesome manner. But after Hurricane Katrina, when the response by FEMA was lackluster at best, that faith began to wane, and people began to wonder if this country could in fact handle a big disaster. One that required massive mobilization and cooperation and well… in the past year that particular answer came to fruition, and it wasn’t one that anyone liked.
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Because the arrival of Covid on our shores and in our cities, brought about a touch of chaos, one where cases surged around the nation and where cooperation and leadership simply wasn’t present in the slightest and where everyday citizens opted to hoard for themselves and their families. Which really gave us an indicator that a full-scale, super disaster is something that this nation might not be able to handle. But while we try to put that possibility out of mind and forge ahead and put the pieces back together post-pandemic, the possible fallout that surrounds a large disaster is something that entices creative minds. Since they can explore every potential outcome of a worst-case scenario disaster in America, and it just so happens, that a recently released film holds nothing back in its exploration of that in Fear.

Now in this particular film we are transported to the mountains in the dead of winter, to learn more about the difficult journey the Allister family is currently on. For their picture perfect mountain community has been devastated by a horrific disaster. One where toxic waste has created a form of zombie, the kind that can track its prey by heat and well, this poor family is trying their hardest to survive in the midst of what is now a ‘no man’s land’. For the federal government has abandoned everyone in this region and walled it off and now it will be up to Joe and Ethan, the patriarchs of the family, to decide if they should hold on a little longer for help or seek it on their own as their supplies dwindle. And unfortunately for them, the arrival of a new group of scavengers in the area is going to force them to make up their minds… post haste.

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Which at first glance, is a plot that appears to be grounded more in a tribute to The Walking Dead or Night of the Living Dead instead of offering up some kind of examination on what a full-scale disaster might entail for the population of America if the system collapsed. But once you get past the opening zombie fueled sequence of this tale, it quickly transforms itself into a bleak and devastating film. One that showcases how a complete collapse of society as we know it, would likely lead to the chaos that we see play out in this film. Where it is survival of the fittest and where the rules for what’s couth and uncouth are decided in the moment and while that alone could have carried this tale to the finish line by showing us how hard that kind of environment would be to survive in… there’s more darkness waiting for the viewer in this story.
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Because it takes the time to pose the theory that if by chance, everything was to fall apart, that a lot of the good nature that we normally exhibit would likely fade away with our memories of society. Instead, such thoughts would be replaced with the survival instincts we believed we buried deep down when we built our first cities and that in turn… would allow for our savagery to be put on display when necessary. Which allows for the film to offer up moments that leave the viewer quite uncomfortable. Largely because what we see play out on screen feels painfully familiar, as though we are watching footage from grocery stores at the start of the pandemic, all over again and this aspect of the story just serves to remind us of what mankind really is capable of when panic sets in and that is what makes this story genuinely chilling, and supremely bleak. 

But while this is the kind of motion picture that doesn’t leave you feeling good in the slightest when it comes to an end, since there is also little to no hope to be found in the story’s finale, this is still a worthwhile watch when all is said and done. Simply because this is horror in the raw, and its unforgiving and unyielding approach to bringing terror and disaster to the screen really isn’t something you see in the horror landscape these days since so many production companies want to appease the audience and keep this genre as mainstream as can be. So, if you’re looking for a good old-fashioned horror flick, one that takes you on an ugly ride and never lets up, then give this one a shot. Because it really is quite the brave horror flick, one that stays with you, long after its unsettling visuals have faded from your sight.  

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