Review by Stephanie Scaife
Jeremy Lovering’s feature film debut In Fear opens in UK cinemas today. It’s an extremely taut little thriller that very efficiently follows the number one rule for effective low-budget horror – keep it simple!
Tom (Iain De Caestecker) and Lucy (Alice Englert) have just started dating; in fact they barely know each other, but she has agreed to go with him to a music festival in Ireland. Perhaps chancing his luck even further Tom has decided to book a romantic evening in a remote country hotel for the pair en-route. Initially reluctant, Lucy agrees and soon our young lovebirds find themselves lost in the countryside, and guess what? They’re not alone. The initial set up harks back to the likes of Straw Dogs or An American Werewolf in London, where our protagonists find themselves amongst some less than hospitable locals, and we’re introduced to poor Lucy as someone eyeballs her through a hole in wall whilst she’s in the bathroom. Tom doesn’t fare much better and ends up having to buy the entire pub a drink to avoid any sort of altercation after spilling his pint. So right from the off, we know something is amiss with this place and it only gets weirder as the pair set off to find a so-called guide who is going to lead them to the hotel, which is conspicuously difficult to find. Of course this doesn’t go to plan and Tom and Lucy find themselves trapped, going around in endless circles, engaged in a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a mysterious assailant.
In Fear is a master class in creating tension. The fact that Tom and Lucy don’t know each other very well creates a strained atmosphere between the two, where they say and do stupid things and increasingly distrust one another; this combined with getting lost in a dark and creepy place. The camera barely lets up giving the viewer a voyeuristic feel as we circle around the two, often in close-up, whilst in the cramped confines of their car adding to the feeling of claustrophobia and increasing panic. The film may borrow recognisable stylistic tropes from other genre films – the creaky abandoned shack, etc. – but by not giving too much away early on, making fantastic use of sound (Roly Porter and Daniel Pemberton‘s score is fantastic), and with the strong central performances it overcomes most of the issues that arise from working within genre confines. It has been widely reported that Lovering shot in sequence, and didn’t let the actors see the script in its entirety; that they were encouraged to improvise and often didn’t know what was going to happen next during filming, meaning that the shock and fear they display on screen is close to genuine. Allen Leach turns up as a mysterious stranger who may or may not be their tormentor, adding some much needed humour and menace to our duo just as we’re starting to tire of their bickering.
With its 85 minute running time, naturalistic performances and white knuckle inducing tension, In Fear is a prime example of how to do a lot with very little, and you’d be hard pressed to find a better British horror movie this year. That’s not to say that it isn’t flawed, with some notable plot holes coming to mind and an ending that teeters on the edge of silliness, but overall In Fear is a pretty commendable achievement for a first feature and it’s a competent, well made, indie British horror film that is an original idea – not something that comes along very often, so when it does it ought to be celebrated.
In Fear is in UK cinemas now, from StudioCanal.