Recently I've been revisiting the movies I was obsessed with as a tween/teen. Fear was one of those movies. It was the kind that was whispered about amongst friends, that you watched sneakily when your parents weren't in the room. Next to Cruel Intentions, Fear was, without a doubt, one of the movies that played the biggest part in my ~awakening~. Here's how the experience of rewatching it went down...
1. This opening, with Reese Witherspoon in the shower, is very Carrie.
2. “Save some hot water for your dad.” Suddenly I feel 12 again.
3. Do they…do they have their OWN security guard? How rich are they???
4. The dog! Oh shit, I just remembered what happens to the dog.
5. I forgot Amy Brenneman is the step-mother in this! Remember when she was the dead mother in Casper? Sad.
6. I definitely tried to copy Reese’s outfit here, right down to the frilly socks. Remember when frilly socks were ~cool~?
7. Alyssa Milano!
8. I don’t remember the guy friend at all.
9. Baby Reese looks SO MUCH like her daughter Ava. Or, er, I guess that should be the other way around.
10. That guy Alyssa Milano is perving on is so gross. I remember even at the time being like "HIM?!?".
11. Hello, Mark Wahlberg.
12. I'm obsessed with the LOVE t-shirt Nicole (Reese Witherspoon) is wearing. I can’t remember if I actually owned one like that or if I just wanted one so badly I’ve conjured it in my mind.
13. What does her dad even do? They’re throwing around ~business~ terms and it all means absolutely nothing to me.
14. Here we go, the first official meeting.
15. Mark Wahlberg is VERY handsome here but he’s definitely giving me creepy vibes already.
16. No Margo (Alyssa Milano), don’t leave with that gross guy!
17. I am officially an old lady because I’m just worried about these girls’ safety, being out late at night with strange men.
18. “It’s not her fault they didn’t put her together right.” Is this supposed to be romantic? I feel like I maybe thought this was romantic at the time. Oh dear.
19. I forgot she only moved in with her dad a year earlier.
20. I know we find out he’s lying later on, but it is also incredibly obvious right now that he’s lying about his family.
21. He turned back the time on her watch so she had a legitimate excuse for being late home. That would NOT work now, lmao.
22. There is so much tongue in that kiss. He is basically eating her face.
23. This dialogue about her virginity makes me want to gag. But as a teen I was like “whoa”.
24. “Take off your makeup, you look like a slut”. Great parenting, Laura (Amy Brenneman).
25. “Is he a good guy?” “He’s good to his car.” That is very much NOT how you can tell if someone is a good guy or not.
26. The dad is not impressed his wife using the word “slut”. I like this dad.
27. I love Nicole’s red jacket.
28. How old is David (Mark Wahlberg) actually supposed to be??
29. Ooh he’s leaning behind her to teach her how to play pool. When I was a teen I thought that was the HEIGHT of romance.
30. “You know every part of you tastes so good.” My ovaries just shrivelled up and died.
31. David’s really turning on the charm with Nicole’s family.
32. Okay, he does look pretty cute in this scene.
33. “Nicole, get me a coke.” I’m side-eyeing David as much as the dad is right now.
34. This scene with Margot, David, and Mr Walker is…weird.
35. Those short skirts with the knee-high boots and crop tops are peak ‘90s ~sexy~.
36. David is up to his old clock trick again. Like that’s the only clock in the house??
37. Omg “Wild Horses” is playing!!!
38. Here we go, the rollercoaster scene.
39. Boom, there’s my sexual awakening right there.
40. “Have you see Fear? He FINGERS her on the rollercoaster!” – literally everyone in Year 8 at school.
41. This is such an awkward angle for his hand, though.
42. And, like, rollercoaster rides do not last long enough for her to get any actual pleasure from this.
43. You know, between this scene and Buffy, “Wild Horses” elicits quite conflicting emotions within me to this day.
44. David’s friend Logan, the guy who Margo hooks up with, is really freaking creepy.
45. “Rent some videos, call Dominoes, and try not to kill each other.” Laura just summed up every slumber party in the ‘90s.
46. Lmao @ Nicole promising not to invite anyone over while her parents are gone, only to IMMEDIATELY call David.
47. He and his friends are definitely doing something criminal.
48. DON’T TELL HIM THE KEYPAD CODE, NICOLE.
49. David sneaking into Nicole’s room while she sleeps is giving me such Twilight vibes.
50. The way he’s stroking that bracelet with “Daddy’s Girl” written on it makes me go hmmmmm. It feels like so much of this is about the tension between him and the dad over who owns Nicole.
51. He’s got his shirt off. This movie really was a confusing sexual awakening. Like, I didn’t have a crush on him AT ALL, but I definitely felt things I’d never felt before. In my pants.
52. Oh shit, I remember the guy friend now. Because I just remembered what happens to him.
53. David could have killed him with that punch! And he hit Nicole, too. Eek.
54. She’s telling him to GTFO. Good.
55. Laura accepting this BS story about Nicole getting a black eye in PE is pretty bad. And she’s teaching her how to cover it up with makeup, instead of asking her more questions? Jeez.
56. I’m so glad Nicole isn’t buying David’s apology, and she’s not going to go meet him. Go Nicole!
57. Why is his bed so tiny, he’s literally hanging off the edge?
58. All those photos on his wall are creepy.
59. Yes, Nicole! Put his flowers in the bin! And him along with them.
60. Oh YAY she’s finally telling Laura the truth.
61. “He’s always so polite and considerate…then all of a sudden he turns into a monster.” This movie is actually really good at portraying how seemingly “nice” guys can turn out to be abusers.
62. Oh shit, the dad found the condom wrapper.
63. DAD, I know you’re weirdly freaking out that your daughter is sexually active, but this is not the time to yell at her about following rules, pal.
64. Like, she’s literally crying because this guy is such a deadshit? You don’t need to warn her off him.
65. Now she’s defending him! Way to make everything worse, you fool.
66. “Sometimes that's just their asshole way of showing you they love you.” Oh, Margo, honey, no.
67. “You’ll always remember your first.” I know Margo is not a reliable narrator here, but I think I internalised a lot of this shit.
68. Noooo Nicole, don’t listen to David’s toxic garbage.
69. Laura being so buddy-buddy with David is truly bad parenting.
70. Meanwhile this creepy stare-off between David and the dad is next level ick.
71. There was definitely something cut in that phone conversation between Mr Walker and Laura. That was not a smooth edit.
72. “You’re going to stop seeing Nicole.” Great plan, Mr Walker, this is totally going to work.
73. Rewatching these ‘90s movies, it's pretty jarring to see how casually and frequently homophobic slurs were used.
74. “I licked her sweet tears.” “She wouldn’t be all over my stick.” I think I just vomited a little bit in my mouth.
75. Mark Wahlberg was punching his own chest way before Wolf of Wall St made it cool.
76. I was so confused about why he was doing it the first time I watched this. I don’t think I understood at then just how evil David was.
77. “Wild Horses” is playing again?! Funny, I only remember it in the rollercoaster scene.
78. I remember asking my friend what was happening in this scene, like, “They LOOK like they’re having sex, but Alyssa Milano still has her underwear on???” And that, folks, is how I learned about dry humping.
79. Holy fuck, David is actually about to rape Margo. This is much worse than I remember.
80. Good on Gary for stepping in to help Nicole when David already nearly beat him to death.
81. It’s not going to end well for him.
82. I feel ill at this scene with Nicole yelling at Margo. All she sees is that her friend betrayed her? When she was actually raped?! This is heartbreaking.
83. “I was high. He forced me. He made me do it.” I really didn’t pick up on all this when I was younger. It’s awful.
84. "You’re my only friend!” Nicole is being so shitty right now.
85. And the dad watching everything on the security cam is pretty creepy.
86. Omg, this car scene is freaking scary! I JUST WANT TO PROTECT MARGO.
87. I am so uncomfortable.
88. “You fucking liked it.” FUCK. How horrible.
89. This is incredibly distressing.
90. Now David’s gone crawling to the dad. Who is just loving being able to shut the door in his face.
91. Okay, not I’m actually laughing at this “Nicole 4 eva” tattoo David just DIYed with a razor and a ballpoint pen.
92. “Everything copacetic?” The most ‘90s line of this whole movie.
93. I am very worried about Gary right now.
94. RUN GARY RUN.
95. FUCK HE SNAPPED HIS NECK ARRRGGH.
96. :(
97. “Now I’ve popped both your cherries.” That is gross and disturbing on so many levels.
98. Omg remember car phones?
99. Why doesn’t he call the cops?!?!
100. David attacking Nicole in the bathroom is making me so uncomfortable.
101. Yeah, great idea, Dad. Break into the place where all these criminals live. Brilliant.
102. Omg that shrine to Nicole, complete with a Chucky doll (??!!?!) is low-key hilarious.
103. David is pretty good at photoshop.
104. And there’s that “Daddy’s Girl” bracelet again, except he’s changed it to “David’s Girl”. This whole movie really is about a father’s fear over losing ownership of his daughter to another man. Gross.
105. The dad trashed the whole house? What a mature adult.
106. Now he’s angered ALL the criminals. Nice move, dickhead.
107. Yes, Laura, you really did let Nicole down.
108. “I’m not worried about tonight.” YOU SHOULD BE, PAL.
109. The dog noooooooooooooo.
110. I’m actually crying right now.
111. How did I watch this movie so many times when I was younger? The dog head has fucked me up.
112. The bit where Nicole’s like, “David’s got the code” is terrifying.
113. Mark Wahlberg did a great job yelling into that peephole.
114. That scary guy pointing at them is very unsettling.
115. Little Toby is in shock.
116. YES NICOLE STAB THAT GUY WITH AN UMBRELLA.
117. This security guard is truly very bad at his job.
118. Omg Laura just drilled that guy’s hand! I almost forgive her for her earlier shittiness.
119. RIP terrible security guard.
120. The dad is really doing very stupid things.
121. This plot hinges on a CAR PHONE. Wild.
122. “I can fit through my bathroom window.” Toby, you little sneak.
123. I am so stressed right now.
124. Margo protecting Nicole is gonna make me cry again.
125. IS SHE OKAY?!?!
126. NO TOBY ARGH.
127. Omg Toby just ran over that guy like it was NOTHING.
128. This kid is gonna be traumatised FOR LIFE.
129. Oh phew, he called 911.
130. “Time to give away the bride.” This is fucked.
131. Now Toby is getting the handcuff keys off the dead security guard’s body. What a little boss.
132. I totally forgot David shoots his creepy friend like it’s nothing.
133. Margo is okay, thank god.
134. “All girls cry at their weddings.” So messed up.
135. SHE STABBED HIM. GO NICOLE.
136. The way the dad launched him out the window is pretty laughable.
137. I'm surprised they didn’t have him opening his eyes at the last minute, tbh.
138. That was one hell of a ride.