Line #71 Film/Fear1996


1	[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/a1f373cc_73c9_4b0d_8b06_c5049b2e056d.jpeg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:310:''[[TagLine Together forever. Or else.]]'']]
3
4	''Fear'' is a 1996 PsychologicalHorror/Thriller film directed by James Foley, starring Creator/MarkWahlberg and Creator/ReeseWitherspoon.
5
6	Nicole Walker (Witherspoon) is a teenage girl who, while at a cafe, meets a handsome and mysterious young man named David [=McCall=] (Wahlberg). The two end up together and within a couple of weeks, Nicole realizes that David is becoming possessive of her and ultimately breaks up with him. David tries everything to get Nicole back, but when that doesn't work, he and his group of friends break into Nicole's home by holding her and her family hostage, which leads to some nasty consequences.
7
8	The film costars Creator/WilliamPetersen as Nicole's father Steven, Creator/AmyBrenneman as her stepmother Laura, and Creator/AlyssaMilano as her best friend Margo.
9
10	A TV series adaptation is in the works.
11
12	----
13	!!''Fear'' provides examples of:
14	* ActionDad: [[spoiler:Steven realizes what's going on and eventually has a showdown with David.]]
15	* AndYourLittleDogToo: [[spoiler:David decapitates the family's dog, which just adds more fuel to Nicole's rage.]]
16	* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: {{Deconstructed\|Trope}}. Even though Nicole lusts for David, [[spoiler:it takes her a while to realize that he's a maniacal, aggressive sociopath who isn't even remotely fit to be beside her]].
17	* BadassBoast: David's note to Steven after trashing his car: "[[DoubleEntendre Now I've popped both your cherries!]]"
18	* BadGuysPlayPool: The first time Nicole sees David, he is playing pool.
19	* BarBrawl: The rave party quickly degenerates into a fight scene.
20	* BasementDweller: Logan and his friends live at Logan's dad's house (possibly without permission given comments about how they might get thrown out), while he's out of town.
21	* BeardOfEvil: Logan is just as slimy as David and has a scraggly beard.
22	* BerserkButton: [[spoiler:Margo goes into a frenzy seeing Logan trying to molest Nicole.]]
23	* BloodFromTheMouth: [[spoiler:David is visibly shown with blood trickling out of his mouth after getting thrown through the window.]]
24	* BoomHeadshot: [[spoiler:David shoots Logan at point-blank range in the head.]]
25	* BrattyTeenageDaughter: Nicole begins as one, blithely disobeying her father when it comes to David's behavior and insisting on instant gratification just because [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys he turns her on]]. [[spoiler:Subverted, as she actually comes to her senses later.]]
26	* CarFu: [[spoiler:The youngest member of the family runs over a member of David's gang.]]
27	* CarvedMark: David carves "Nicole 4 Eva" into his chest.
28	* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: David is unnaturally and inexplicably strong, as shown when he [[spoiler:throws Gary several yards before breaking his neck, carries the larger Steven over one shoulder up a flight of stairs, and even holds his own despite being stabbed in the back close to his lungs.]]
29	* ChaseScene: After fighting with Nicole, Margo is driving away when David intercepts her. They drive at high speed for some time before Margo is able to pull over and David throttles her, threatening to hurt her if she fails to get him and Nicole back together.
30	* CheerfulChild: Toby, who is happy to help his mother in the garden, enjoys playing with the family dog and gets along well with Margo and Nicole.
31	* ChekhovsGift: [[spoiler:The PeacePipe David wins for Nicole at a fair is used to stab him in the back.]]
32	* ClockTampering: David moves Nicole's watch back to spend more time with her and later does the same with Steven's desk clock.
33	* CommonalityConnection: Exploited by David, who uses some gardening skills to get Laura to open up to him.
34	* CoolCar: Steven's 1966 Ford Mustang and David's 1965 Chevrolet Corvair.
35	* CrazyJealousGuy: David goes above and beyond this trope.
36	* CutHimselfShaving: Nicole tells her stepmother that she got her black eye in gym class.
37	* CutPhoneLines: [[spoiler:David and his thugs disable all the phone connections-including the alarm system- as part of their attempt to isolate the house.]]
38	* DarkerAndEdgier: This alongside ''Film/CruelIntentions'' are possibly the darker films that Creator/ReeseWitherspoon was in.
39	* DeadlyDodging: [[spoiler:Larry the security guard gets the initial drop on David and Logan when Logan tries to tackle him and misses.]]
40	* DeathGlare: David can give these at a moment's notice, and Gary admits that he has nightmares about him.
41	-->'''Gary''': Did you see the look in his eye? Can't get it out of my head, gave me goddamn nightmares.
42	* DecoyProtagonist: While the movie initially focuses on Nicole, [[spoiler:by the end of it, the real battle is between David and Steven, with Nicole as the prize]].
43	* DefrostingTheIceQueen: Laura starts out feuding with Nicole as much as the average WickedStepmother, but warms up to her a lot after the first twenty or thirty minutes.
44	* DestinationDefenestration: [[spoiler:At the end of the climactic home invasion, David is [[DisneyVillainDeath fatally]] thrown out of a window by Nicole's father Steven.]]
45	* DidNotDieThatWay: Margo shows up at Nicole's house to break the news that [[spoiler:Gary was murdered. However for some unknown reason she says he was beaten to death, which clearly wasn't the case since the injuries Gary suffered are concentrated at his wrists and right leg where he hit the ground before David broke his neck.]]
46	* DisappearedDad: Toby's biological father never appears and apparently blows off the opportunity to spend time with his son to chase girls, with Toby seeming to view Steven as his real dad. Margo's father also isn't in the picture.
47	* DrugsAreBad: David and his cronies do crack in several scenes and are fairly sinister people.
48	* EpicHail: Toby getting outside to get at the car phone.
49	* EvilDetectingDog: Averted. Kaiser the family pet likes David and licks him from the first time they meet. [[spoiler:Before the home invasion, David lures Kaiser to him and his group decapitate the dog.]]
50	* EvilOrphan: [[spoiler:It's eventually explained that David was an orphan who went from home to home and shelter to shelter because he was too crazy to take care of.]]
51	* FailedASpotCheck: Steven misses an important work deadline because David tampered with his desk clock. He apparently never looked at his wristwatch once, [[IdiotBall so he should know better]].
52	* FalseReassurance: Rather than simply apologizing to Nicole for what he did to Gary to restart their relationship, it's obvious that David is really just lying through his teeth so she can fool her while not being honest about his intentions, rather than simply getting her back.
53	* FanService: Reese Witherspoon and Alyssa Milano wear revealing clothes for a good portion of the movie; Milano is seen in a thong at one point.
54	* FauxAffablyEvil: David sure knows how to win people over. He doesn't even display any animosity towards Nicole [[spoiler:while he's trying to rape her or murder her family]].
55	* FlippingTheBird: Margo gives David the finger during the CarChase when he tries to talk to her.
56	%%* ForeignRemake: Of ''Film/{{Darr}}''.
57	* FromTheMouthsOfBabes: Nicole's stepbrother Toby has a line of this about his real dad.
58	--> '''Toby:''' He doesn't really watch the games. He's too busy trying to pick up chicks.
59	* GenderFlip: One of the few ''Film/FatalAttraction'' knock-offs where the psycho lover is male.
60	* GoldDigger: Margo implies that her mother is this, commenting that she's seeing an unattractive man who promised to buy her a Ferrari.
61	* GoodBadGirl: Margo, who seems to be an honest friend and confidant to Nicole despite her hard-partying attitude.
62	* GoodParents: Steven is a devoted, reasonable, and loving father to Nicole. He's also willing to call her out on her nonsense and take steps to protect her if she gets out of line. [[spoiler:This also gets deconstructed during the midway point, as even Laura makes clear that he can't break up David and Nicole all by himself. And sadly, even when Nicole finally understands what an untrustworthy scumbag David is, he ends up going off the deep end and nearly murders her entire family.]]
63	* GutPunch: The film starts off as a typical teen romantic drama. Then David sees Nicole hugging Gary and David reveals his true colors, after which the tone just keeps getting darker.
64	* HateSink: David [=McCall=] is an AxCrazy sociopath who believes himself deserving of total ownership of Nicole. He starts out engaging in relatively minor rebellious behaviors, but escalates when he beats up Gary for hugging Nicole and hits her in the process. Once he wins her back over, [[spoiler:he proves himself to be just as detestable as ever, stealing Margo away from her boyfriend to rape her and threatening her when he suspects she told Nicole. Later, he murders Gary, and he and his gang break into Nicole's house with the intention of killing her entire family and Margo, then taking Nicole with him]].
65	* IGaveMyWord: Earlier, David told Nicole that he'd kill any guy who'd dare touch her when he was explaining to her why he went crazy over her and Gary hugging. [[spoiler:He keeps his word and kills Logan when Logan tried to rape Nicole.]]
66	* InTheBack:
67	** [[spoiler:Terry shoots Larry the security guard from behind while he holds David and Logan at gunpoint.]]
68	** [[spoiler:David gets stabbed with a peace pipe in that area.]]
69	* ImpliedDeathThreat: David's speech to Gary comparing him to a wall (since Gary's standing between Nicole and himself). [[spoiler:He makes good on it.]]
70	-->'''David:''' Did you know I grew up in a lot of different places?
71	-->'''Gary:''' Uh, no. Actually, Nicole told me that…
72	-->'''David:''' Oh, yeah. Bridgewater, Spaford, Rikers, you name it. You know what they have in common?
73	-->'''Gary:''' No.
74	-->'''David:''' Weak walls. Actually, that's why they moved me around so much. I'd pound on the wall, it'd break. They'd move me to the next one and the next one… until finally they got sick of buildin' walls and showed me the door. Pretty useful upbringing it turned out, though, Gar. There's always walls. Usually the moist, fleshy kind that try to get in the way of me and it, whatever it may be. Silly, silly people, though. They're only to be knocked down. ''(knocks Gary to the ground, who runs away from him)'' Gary!
75	* MidlifeCrisisCar: Steven's Cherry Red Mustang.
76	* MissingMom: Nicole's biological mother is out of the picture.
77	* TheModestOrgasm: Nicole has one while getting fingered by David on a roller coaster.
78	* MoralMyopia: Oh, sure David, you [[spoiler:rape your girlfriend's best friend thinking she won't find out, but when she rejects you, it's perfectly acceptable to kill her friend and try to murder her family]].
79	* MrFanservice: David being shirtless before sexing it up with Nicole.
80	* NeckSnap: David does this to [[spoiler:Gary]] after the aforementioned ImpliedDeathThreat.
81	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:Steven vandalizing David's house in revenge for his attacks motivates David's housemates to help him attack the family.]]
82	* NotGoodWithRejection: David, to say the ''very'' least. The entire climax of the film is a consequence of Nicole telling David off.
83	* NotIfTheyEnjoyedItRationalization: David completely brushes off how much he hurt Margo when he sexually assaulted her at the party and claims to her face she wanted it to happen.
84	* OhCrap: Steven when he looks at his watch and realizes that David sabotaged his clock.
85	* PapaWolf: Steven never forgives David for his violent attack on Gary during which he also gave Nicole a black eye. [[spoiler:And he turns out to be right, as David's apologies and attempts at making up with Nicole are shown to be patently insincere.]]
86	* PoliceAreUseless: Played with; the security guard for the Walker family is smart enough to stop the thugs and disarm them, but one sneaks up behind him.
87	* ThePreciousPreciousCar: Steven's cherry red Mustang gets absolutely trashed by David.
88	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: David's friends Nobby and Hacker take off after Hacker gets his hand hurt and they lose their nerve.
89	* SlutShaming: Early in the film, Laura comments that Nicole looks like a slut with all the makeup she's wearing for her date with David.
90	* TheSociopath: David, unsurprisingly. Superficially charming, frequent liar and manipulator for personal gain, affiliated with criminal behavior, complete lack of guilt and self-doubt for doing wrong or harming others, a large capacity for self-interest, lack of stable work or family history, etc... He pretty much checks all the marks.
91	* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler:Toby. While the thugs are distracted downstairs, he sneaks outside to the garage, kills Terry by running him over, and retrieves the keys to the cuffs which he uses to free Laura who frees Steven, allowing him to fight and kill David.]]
92	* StalkerWithACrush: David, to a horrifying level.
93	* ThisIsADrill: [[spoiler:One of the thugs attacking the house gets drilled in the hand and immediately leaves for the hospital.]]
94	* TooDumbToLive: [[spoiler:Logan defies David's command not to mess with Nicole and ends up getting killed for it.]]
95	* WhenSheSmiles: Laura has some moments of smiling dazzlingly considering how serious or irritated she usually is. Such moments include when she and Steven talk about going to their honeymoon hotel or she's having fun by the pool.
96	* WouldHurtAChild: [[spoiler:David's lackey Terry attempts to kill Nicole's little brother Toby during the climactic house attack.]]
97	* WoundedGazelleGambit: After Steven angrily confronts David, jabbing his finger into David's chest, David repeatedly punches himself in the chest to make a bruise he can show Nicole. When Nicole confronts Steven about hitting him and Steven claims he "barely touched" him, she completely believes David's version of the story.
98	* {{Yandere}}: David is ''seriously'' possessive of Nicole, and follows the archetype of starting out as a sweet guy before revealing how unhinged he truly is to the letter.
99	* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler:David shoots his friend Logan in the head right before the final battle due to him trying to rape Nicole.]]

Context Film / Fear1996