Cineplex Theatres across Canada as part of their Sinister Cinema Series in collaboration with Raven Banner Entertainment and Anchor Bay Entertainment Canada held a VIP screening of the Sundance horror sensation, IN FEAR, just after its debut on DVD, VOD and Blu-ray and T-Mak World was there.
March 17th, 2014: Quoting from the celebrated Scottish poet and lyricist Robert Burns, ‘The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.’ Truer words were never said as Director, Jeremy Lovering ushers in a nightmarish psychological turn with devastating consequences in his debut thriller, IN FEAR.
Weekend getaways are always so ripe with possibilities. New beginnings and new traditions creating so many memorable stories to savour and enjoy for the long ride home. A young couple on a weekend getaway trying to find their own slice of paradise on the Emerald Isle are doing just that. Tom (Iain De Caestecker) and Lucy (Alice Englert) are celebrating their two week courtship with giddy anticipation as they hit the road to join friends at an outdoor music festival in the countryside. As plans slowly come into form, Tom goes off script and surprises Lucy by booking a one night stay at Kilairney House, a quaint secluded hotel miles away from anywhere. With a full tank of gas, an on board navigation system and clearly delineated road signs to the hotel, their journey begins.
Light playful banter slowly gives way to pensive exchanges between Tom and Lucy as the labyrinth of country roads choked thick with walls of forest fails to give up the long awaited hotel retreat at the journey’s end. Lucy’s situational awareness must have her questioning her finely tuned relationship skills (or lack thereof) as questions of, Who really is this guy? and What have I gotten myself into? start swirling through her subconscious. The classic visual devise of darkness and unfamiliar surroundings riddles Tom to no end as undulating country roads forked in confusion with overgrown brush play heavy with his mind. Cinematography David Katznelson strikes a successful balance of travelling trepidation by capturing the suffocating nature of constricting car interiors as the only respite from the torrents of rain soaking hostility just outside their window. Lovering real-time narrative is amps up with guillotine-like trees, Le Mans course pursuits, piercing car alarms and darting images of someone or something forever omnipresent in Lucy’s line of sight.
With an unseen predator stalking our panic-stricken couple, nothing confounds audiences’ more than seemingly astute protagonists making doom inspired choices à la Friday the 13th slasher films of yesteryear. IN FEAR doesn’t disappoint in this regard. But, Lovering gets back on track by stealthily weaving in confrontational conversations of a cryptic altercation Tom had at the pub in act one that slowly plays out through the journey. Devoid of all trust issues, actors Iain De Caestecker and Alice Englert’s convincing distress and disorientation combined with a crisp cavernous echoing score of dread by Daniel Pemberton and Roly Porter provides the bonafide head trip into cerebral phobias one expects.
Verdict: 4.0 out of 5: Fear of the unknown has always been an ample and free-wheeling playground for the thriller genre since time immemorial. Harvesting classic disquieting elements of aversion with a foreboding narrative and fluid pacing can channel the staunchest among us to vice grip the arm rests and seat slide like a pro. Lovering strips down IN FEAR to its most elemental components by investing wisely in characters that must genuinely fight to survive through this tension twisting drive. With few false notes or CGI chicanery to ponder, this British thrillers diabolical final act is worthy of every hairpin turn along the way.
This journey is not the reward.
Genre: Thriller
Cast: Iain De Caestecker, Alice Englert, Allen Leech
Country: UK
Language: English
Director / Writer: Jeremy Lovering
Producers: James Biddle, Nira Park
Music: Daniel Pemberton, Roly Porter
Cinematography: David Katznelson
DVD, VOD & Blu-ray Release Date: March 11, 2014
Runtime: 85 minutes
