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DVD Review
FearDotCom
By Lee Tistaert Published March 1, 2003
US Release: August 30, 2002
Directed by: William Malone
Starring: Stephen Dorff , Stephen Rea
R
Running Time: 101 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $13,208,000
Directed by: William Malone
Starring: Stephen Dorff , Stephen Rea
R
Running Time: 101 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $13,208,000
C-
90 of 143
Been-there, done-that
Fear Dot Com could?ve been a nice little spine chiller if operated appropriately enough, but it instead attempts to rip off so many other better films that have come before it that ultimately, it?s been-there, done-that.
What saves the horror thriller from being downright horrible (as many critics branded it as) is that the visual motif occasionally saves the fundamental script and the trash acting by a few co-stars. Director William Malone has really taken a boring screenplay and added a little life to it that many other directors would?ve handled poorly or without any jazz whatsoever. The opening, for instance, as predictable and straightforward as it is actually maintains a level of directorial mood that grasps attention even if we very well know what is to come. Thus, this technique rescues this extremely mediocre (and borderline D+) web-site thriller from crashing soon after load-up.
Fear Dot Com follows what happens when an online web page turns into the killing zone for a round of victims; they log in, agree to the terms, and before they know it are targeted by death. When a man is lured into a deserted subway in the opening, he catches the sight of a little girl playing on the tracks when an oncoming train appears to be coming. Attempting to save her by jumping in front of the train, the little girl vanishes into the air suddenly and the man, well, is soon gone himself?just in a more eternity view. This brings a detective (Mike ? Stephen Dorff) onto the case to investigate the mishaps, along with his partner (Terry - Natascha McElhone).
The problem with Fear Dot Com is that it tries to be a cross of Silence of the Lambs, Seven, and a bunch of other thrillers but it forgets what allowed those classics to be what they were. The screenplay idea behind this adventure is very straightforward and Hollywood-ized, whereas Silence and Seven (as serial killer natured as they were) still had a high level of intelligence wrapped around the ideas both in front and in back of the camera. The characters had depth, and we as the audience were able to connect with the players we were going to spend two hours with.
Fear is loaded with cardboard people we don?t really care too much about regarding whether they live or die in the end. And while the dialogue can be ever so painful at times (if not more often than just "at times"), the director (even though he?s not doing much "directing" in terms of performances) keeps the boat somewhat afloat via his camera skills and the visual effects. This is what you call a bad movie performed (somewhat) decently by the director, but it?s so on the borderline to awfulness that even renting it for some may be a bad move. But given that I received this copy through the wonderful presence of Netflix, no major harm was done in general.
Stephen Dorff could be the best actor in front of the camera here (in terms of the material handed over), but that?s not saying a lot. His character is empty in substance but Dorff carries on a level of coolness that can make watching him easy for a while, but when it comes down to sympathy levels we couldn?t really care less. He?s sort of like Colin Farrell in The Recruit, except not as slick and given far less worthy material to spew.
Natascha McElhone, despite her solid presence in The Truman Show and Solaris, is really a top candidate for Worst Actress of 2002. It seems as though her performances (in films) rely on who the director is, as Malone didn?t appear too acting heavy in his focus with many of the deliveries here in general being far from bright. She has previously worked with Peter Weir and Steven Soderbergh, with the latter standing as one of the finest filmmakers currently in the business. In Fear Dot Com, McElhone is supplied with trash dialogue to deliver and her effortless approach at bringing anything to life only drowns the experience even further. There are occasions where you can literally see the absolute lack of direction with the actress just saying the lines without any heart and soul, and director Malone just letting it go so the hellhole production would come to an end quicker.
The Recruit is one strong example of a film that could?ve been extremely average (C- or C) depending on the cast, as the script was not very intelligent but the performances permitted the dialogue to be rather decent. Except in Fear, Malone doesn?t have a pair-up that understands what acting really is. That?s also his job to pass the wisdom to his players, but then again, I guess there?s a reason he?s directing something like this?
The end result is strictly by the numbers, and the journey itself gives in to no surprises. In the end, this turns out to be one of those flicks you can watch while doing something else. The horror/thriller, Thinner, happens to fall along those lines too, except that is also one of the worst films I?ve ever seen so it?s not quite the same. Fear Dot Com follows upon a formula we?ve seen countless of times before, as it does nothing new we haven?t seen previously in these genre flicks. The visual effects and mood brought on by the director rescue the project from being miserable, but even as it stands there?s not a whole lot to like.
What saves the horror thriller from being downright horrible (as many critics branded it as) is that the visual motif occasionally saves the fundamental script and the trash acting by a few co-stars. Director William Malone has really taken a boring screenplay and added a little life to it that many other directors would?ve handled poorly or without any jazz whatsoever. The opening, for instance, as predictable and straightforward as it is actually maintains a level of directorial mood that grasps attention even if we very well know what is to come. Thus, this technique rescues this extremely mediocre (and borderline D+) web-site thriller from crashing soon after load-up.
Fear Dot Com follows what happens when an online web page turns into the killing zone for a round of victims; they log in, agree to the terms, and before they know it are targeted by death. When a man is lured into a deserted subway in the opening, he catches the sight of a little girl playing on the tracks when an oncoming train appears to be coming. Attempting to save her by jumping in front of the train, the little girl vanishes into the air suddenly and the man, well, is soon gone himself?just in a more eternity view. This brings a detective (Mike ? Stephen Dorff) onto the case to investigate the mishaps, along with his partner (Terry - Natascha McElhone).
The problem with Fear Dot Com is that it tries to be a cross of Silence of the Lambs, Seven, and a bunch of other thrillers but it forgets what allowed those classics to be what they were. The screenplay idea behind this adventure is very straightforward and Hollywood-ized, whereas Silence and Seven (as serial killer natured as they were) still had a high level of intelligence wrapped around the ideas both in front and in back of the camera. The characters had depth, and we as the audience were able to connect with the players we were going to spend two hours with.
Fear is loaded with cardboard people we don?t really care too much about regarding whether they live or die in the end. And while the dialogue can be ever so painful at times (if not more often than just "at times"), the director (even though he?s not doing much "directing" in terms of performances) keeps the boat somewhat afloat via his camera skills and the visual effects. This is what you call a bad movie performed (somewhat) decently by the director, but it?s so on the borderline to awfulness that even renting it for some may be a bad move. But given that I received this copy through the wonderful presence of Netflix, no major harm was done in general.
Stephen Dorff could be the best actor in front of the camera here (in terms of the material handed over), but that?s not saying a lot. His character is empty in substance but Dorff carries on a level of coolness that can make watching him easy for a while, but when it comes down to sympathy levels we couldn?t really care less. He?s sort of like Colin Farrell in The Recruit, except not as slick and given far less worthy material to spew.
Natascha McElhone, despite her solid presence in The Truman Show and Solaris, is really a top candidate for Worst Actress of 2002. It seems as though her performances (in films) rely on who the director is, as Malone didn?t appear too acting heavy in his focus with many of the deliveries here in general being far from bright. She has previously worked with Peter Weir and Steven Soderbergh, with the latter standing as one of the finest filmmakers currently in the business. In Fear Dot Com, McElhone is supplied with trash dialogue to deliver and her effortless approach at bringing anything to life only drowns the experience even further. There are occasions where you can literally see the absolute lack of direction with the actress just saying the lines without any heart and soul, and director Malone just letting it go so the hellhole production would come to an end quicker.
The Recruit is one strong example of a film that could?ve been extremely average (C- or C) depending on the cast, as the script was not very intelligent but the performances permitted the dialogue to be rather decent. Except in Fear, Malone doesn?t have a pair-up that understands what acting really is. That?s also his job to pass the wisdom to his players, but then again, I guess there?s a reason he?s directing something like this?
The end result is strictly by the numbers, and the journey itself gives in to no surprises. In the end, this turns out to be one of those flicks you can watch while doing something else. The horror/thriller, Thinner, happens to fall along those lines too, except that is also one of the worst films I?ve ever seen so it?s not quite the same. Fear Dot Com follows upon a formula we?ve seen countless of times before, as it does nothing new we haven?t seen previously in these genre flicks. The visual effects and mood brought on by the director rescue the project from being miserable, but even as it stands there?s not a whole lot to like.
Lee's Grade: C-
Ranked #90 of 143 between Life or Something... (#89) and Blade 2 (#91) for 2002 movies.
Ranked #90 of 143 between Life or Something... (#89) and Blade 2 (#91) for 2002 movies.
Lee's Overall Grading: 3025 graded movies
| A | 0.4% | |
| B | 30.0% | |
| C | 61.7% | |
| D | 8.0% | |
| F | 0.0% |
