Fear, Inc. (2016) User Reviews

A Refreshing Horror

[shawnblackman · 6/10 · 17 November 2016]

A cool horror that that has a company that caters pure horror to paying customers who like to be scared. This off the grid company goes all out creating your ultimate nightmare. A horror movie buff and his friends sign up and have their lives changed forever.

This was awesome. It felt like The Game (1997) on steroids with some April Fool's Day (1986) mixed in brought to a whole new level. Slick writing as well which kept the film interesting. Twist after twist kept you wondering what was real and what wasn't.

Don't miss this one. It was a change from the zombies, ghosts, vampires and any found footage film.

Yes, Lost of Twists

[klooney88 · 7/10 · 16 November 2016]

So, this guy is a horror film fan, an adrenaline junkie. He really wants a real feel of the true horror feeling. They give it to him and then some! The actors are really good, actually. I thought for a moment that it was bad acting, but really, it was good acting OF bad acting. If that makes any sense.

I was hesitant to watch it because it is also categorized as "Comedy" in the genre, but now I get it. Some parts will make you laugh because of the actor Lucas Neff! He is just a great actor, funny or serious!!

I read other reviews that say there are twists, after twists, after twists.... so that prepared me for 3 twists. I was not prepared for the 4th! It is worth watching! Very entertaining! Enjoy :)

What's that stink? It's "Fear, Inc."

[jtncsmistad · 5/10 · 14 April 2016]

Pretty lame. Kept waiting for this oddball horror/thriller/comedy hybrid (woulda helped to pick a genre already) to fully engage and take off. But "Fear, Inc." simply stayed stuck in a virtual holding pattern up to and including it's pointless and gruesome conclusion.

There are a few occasions where you may well find yourself going "Hey, THAT guy" and one particularly notable instance during the movie's opening sequence where you'll almost assuredly be like, "THIS chick is in this?". Yet alas, and most unfortunately, we're saddled with main characters with whom we are inspired to neither sympathize with nor care about.

The only fear here lies in the potentiality that you will choose not to heed fair warning and subject yourself to the feckless and feeble "Fear, Inc.".

Maybe if the lead character wasn't so annoying it would have been better

[Seth_Rogue_One · 4/10 · 18 November 2016]

I don't really know what to say about this movie as there is not a whole lot to say.

It's a horror-comedy, packed with jokes that 99% of them fall flat to the ground as they aren't funny at all.

Our lead man is incredibly obnoxious and annoying and often ruins scenes that could have been somewhat suspenseful by cracking various jokes etc and being over-enthustiastic about everything.

There are some semi-clever homages to other horror films, the Saw one had a great set up but again slightly ruined by the lead character's personality.

But none of the cast really impresses if I'm gonna be honest, not even Chris Marquette whom I usually like. He's not bad per se, but it's a fairly ungrateful part he was given as the best friend of the douchebag in the lead.

So yeah can't say I liked it very much, it's directed by a guy called Vincient Masciale and although he didn't get it right this time I wouldn't write him off completely and he could quite possibly learn from the mistakes he did with this one.

The point is that this...is a game.

[lojitsu · 7/10 · 13 October 2018]

Oct 7

A-Z Horror Movie of the Day..."Fear Inc." (R - 2016 - US)...This was fun!

Sub-Genre: Slasher/Comedy My Score: 6.8

Cast=5 Acting=6 Plot=8 Ending=10 Story=7 Scare=6 Jump=5 F/X=8 Funny=7 Chemistry=6

A horror junkie and his friends sign up with a company that brings their customer's greatest fears to life.

"Either way, we're white, we're rich. The cops are gonna be here any second." I liked this one...it was funny and it had so many layers. You get a lot of play on the classic horror movies and then it completely changes direction. I loved the ending...it's worth it just to get to that part. If you are any type of fan of the Slash/Com, this is worth a watch!

Annoying and Boring

[tenshinhan_san · 1/10 · 18 August 2017]

What this film is NOT: Funny, Entertaining, Well acted

What this film is: Terrible, Predictable, Stupid.

As another reviewer rightly said the lead 'actor' of this movie was incredibly annoying, it's possible it could have been better with another actor, in between being too enthusiastic and excited to being overly panicking and pathetically crying the scenes felt annoying, boring and painfully dragged out. But unfortunately I endured to see the movie out (instead of turning it off). I will some it up below for those interested and save and hour and a half or so of your lives.

============== SPOILERS ==============

So we have this complete loser, annoying douche, who is sponging off his girlfriends parents, hires this ridiculous team called 'fear, inc', despite his friends and girlfriend warning against it (because fear inc are crazy or something stupid), being the complete douche that he is, he hires them anyway. His friends who are staying the weekend freak out, they get separated (this even feels stupid to explain). Anyway there are stupidly predictable twists, and like 'The Game' the movie which they mention in the film, its all a gag that his friends and girlfriend are in on, but it's too late because douchebag accidentally kills one of the Fear inc team, they go to bury the body and Fear inc find him and kill his girlfriend...

But again THAT was all part of the gag! Yay! How predictable. Then the ultimate predictability which I hoped they wouldn't go for because it made a less than average film go full retard, when the Fear inc people kill him and all his friends all of a sudden, for no reason, and we as viewers are supposed to believe that there could be a company that would just go around killing people so extravagantly and elaborately without getting caught or even suspected, despite people dying after hiring them and people knowing about them. This twist was stupid and unnecessary.

I wish I had just re-watched 'The Game' (this film does the twists the right way) or maybe even just watched some paint dry.

Surprisingly Good

[antoniokowatsch · 7/10 · 29 October 2016]

I didn't have high expectations, going into the movie. But to my surprise I have to admit it was actually really good and refreshing. Very different from most modern Horror movies.

I personally, would describe the movie as being very reminiscent of "The Cabin In The Woods" movie. You never really know what's real or just part of a joke. Mostly because of the movies self-deprecating subtext.

If you watch a lot of Horror movies, as do I, you'll definitely have a blast with it. The references to other Horror movies within the movie are basically endless.

Fear Inc.? More like Fear gone bankrupt.

[Ducsoup · 1/10 · 24 October 2016]

You've already seen this movie. It's called The Game. Sure this is different. By different I mean not as good, less interesting, lower budget, bad acting and taking short cuts to twists that are extremely predictable and really really bad.

It is not funny. It is not scary. It is not suspenseful. It is not thrilling.

The satire fell flat on every front. I mean every front. It just went on and on and on with a great many awful attempts at satiric horror homages, and I mean awful. From the opening scene to the idiotic ending, Fear Inc. searched and searched for an identity that it never found and left me with a raised eyebrow asking myself "is that it?"

The main character actually wears a Freddy sweater throughout the entire movie. It was so sad.

Just do yourself a favor and pass up this movie in favor of a nice root canal or colonoscopy. You'll thank me.

Exceeded expectations

[bgar-80932 · 7/10 · 24 February 2019]

This was an interesting movie because the first half was pretty funny and the second half had some good little twists. My wife wanted to watch a horror movie which I usually think are terrible but this was a fun one. I really liked the main guy who essentially was getting pranked. He loved it until he didn't. He was pretty damn funny and then changed pretty good in the middle. Decent acting there.

Not a horror: Not a Comedy: Not very Thrilling.

[P3n-E-W1s3 · 2/10 · 5 March 2017]

Not all independent films are good or worthy of cult status. This movie falls solidly into that category. It tries so hard, too hard, to be worthy of cult status, it's so evident it's trying; though, it just turns out to be very trying.

What you have is a sound premise a horror fan who has become desensitised to horror. He's such a fan he takes his girlfriend to haunted houses on Date Night and predicts when and where the scares are going to come while laughing continuously. The character is very annoying and rather humourless, if he was to resemble snot-girl from The Blair Witch Project then Lucas Neff does a fantastic job of creating a lead character you're just praying and hoping to be killed. If not, then his acting skills are lacking or the Director, Vincent Mascaile, had a warped vision for this movie.

So the writer Luke Barnett adds the element of Fear Inc. a company who, when hired, come to scare the proverbial crap out of you. This now lands in the "The Game"'s field of expertise, which actually gets a mention in the movie. If you're going to carry out a movie in the same magnitude of that film it should be just as good and as convoluted, however, it isn't

There are a lot of missed opportunities in this movie, which could have elevated it to at least watchable, if not enjoyable, and possibly to cult status, though a lot of work needed to be done to get to that destination.

Once you realise what Fear Inc. do, which is given away at the start and in a monologue before the scares even begin then the surprise and possibility of the situations being real plummet into the farcical. You can see the twists coming as the director and writer call their punches before they throw them. The film would have been stronger had the viewer not known Fear Inc.'s agenda. This would have led them to continually wonder if our hero's the victims were in any danger. It's pretty much impossible to create tension when you know nothing is at stake as it's all playacting.

Apart from Lucas Neff's character, all the other cast have believable and relatable characters, with the exception of Caitlin Stacey, who portrays Joe's girlfriend, Lindsey. Even though Stacey is one of the strongest actors in the line-up, I couldn't help but wonder why this strong woman was still attached to the waste-of-space Joe. There was no chemistry between them and this causes an imbalance in the plausibility of the movie; even more so when you learn it's her and his friends who have hired Fear Inc.

This movie is labeled as a Horror - it's not - a Comedy - it's not - a Thriller - it's not that thrilling, but this is as close to a decent description as any.

Should you watch this movie? No go and watch The Game, The Scream box set, The Saw box set, Deliverance, and Southern Comfort, which seems to be the movies this is roughly based on. All of which are better than this film... even the SAW series from III upwards.

Funny With Lots Of Twists

[jasonharshkins · 8/10 · 23 April 2016]

You never know what you're going to get when you go to see an indie with no major stars (albeit a fun cameo from Scream Queens star Abigail Breslin) at a film festival (Tribeca for this one), so was pleasantly surprised when this one didn't disappoint.

Fear Inc is about a company that takes haunted houses to a more extreme level. The main character doesn't take life seriously and is always looking for an adrenaline rush, so when he finds out about the company, he calls them and things really kick off. He immediately thinks all the weird things happening to he and his friends are a part of the deal, but then things get twisty and we aren't really sure. Turns into more of a thriller from there.

Main cast is really good, mainly TV actors. And a lot of funny cameos (jump to conclusions guy from office space is in it and so funny). I saw one of the twists coming, but others got me. Definitely recommend checking out whenever it's available after the festival.

A predictable roller coaster

[sevendoc23 · 6/10 · 17 January 2019]

Where to start with this movie. Fear Inc. is a movie for horror fans that don't want to watch a horror but still crave references. I can say, personally, while I don't think it was a great movie, it was entertaining and the concept left me intrigued. Horror/Comedy is hard genre to pull off with each being the anthesis of the other, however this film made the smart movie and leaned more towards comedy, as abysmal as some of the jokes were but it at the very least kept consist with it's tone until the ending which is where a majority of my problems with the movie lie. In the end I can say, if you watched the trailer then you should already know you're not getting another horror classic for the books, but if you're just looking for something to watch some Friday night and you stumble across this, it might just be have enough to keep you hooked.

Bad Acting Let Down

[screenchills · 4/10 · 2 May 2017]

As a big fan of the genre, it doesn't take much for me to watch a horror/thriller if given a few positive reviews, but within the first few minutes, I deemed that the main character was that of another poorly played juvenile trapped inside a late twenty-something's body, this time with a hipster look, slamming beers every 10 seconds while giving us no reason to root him on through a survival horror situation. You're basically looking at a slightly larger, more intelligent yet less funny Pauly Shore unafraid of anything for his brain is apparently fried and full of cliché. As the story attempts to create suspense, the film becomes more and more predictable, desperately trying to sell scares when your girlfriend has fell asleep half way through. Sorry to be so down on this film, but one of the actors even sites the movie that it so uselessly rips off, The Game with Michael Douglas. Skip this one unless you are a huge fan of modern day B movie failures.

Don't know what to tell ya!

[TerribleKatherine · 1/10 · 16 January 2018]

I am speechless. I don't know what this movie tried to be but it failed miserably. First of all, the lead character was obnoxious and annoying to the extreme. That douchy hipster-look and apparent failure to comprehend anything about what's going on, is mind-numbing. Oh and he lives of off his rich girlfriend and does absolutely nothing useful. I wanted to kill the guy myself! Second of all, I was waiting and waiting something scary to happen and the scare never came. Some sad dudes in black robes wearing stupid masks with plastic-looking weapons, are you serious?! Even the ending was utter crap. "They are serious, no they aren't, yes they are". And that wasn't "The Rains of Castamere". I've had enough of this s*it, don't waste your time!

Entertaining

[jrstotz · 4 November 2017]

I thought this was quite entertaining. It definitely had me guessing all the way. I think the cast was quite good and that the writing was good as well. The nod to all the classics and even more modern day films was definitely refreshing and any horror fanatic or fan could definitely appreciate it. All in all I thought it was an entertaining ride all the way through.

Solid horror movie

[dar0417 · 6/10 · 2 September 2020]

Solid horror movie with a new concept. Paying someone to make you scared. The ending of this film could use some work. It made the whole story like what?

Tries too hard to be clever

[greenacres-90342 · 2/10 · 1 February 2018]

As others have (rightly) said, the main character is way too annoying to invoke any audience-sympathy. The two friends are equally annoying and the acting is awful generally. In the case of the friends, the actors may have been trying to behave like non-actors trying to act out the Fear Inc thing but it's still very annoying to watch. Horror aside, it sends the wrong message to people: you can act like a complete fool (the guy is a total slacker who thinks it's cool to throw water-bombs into the street that cause damage to vehicles), drink and party all the time even after you have left college and life will always deal you a good hand ...WRONG.

Fair'nough

[wannawatchyableed · 6/10 · 18 February 2020]

Alrighty... most reviewers moan a lot about this flick, ignoring the fact that this is an independent production and made on a shoestring. The movie has to be done at one point. Those who enjoyed The Game (Michael Douglas in it) will have waited a while to have similar movies coming off the conveyor belt. There aren't as many as one would think and that's one of the reasons I liked this film. They made a horror / thriller / black comedy, whatever of the twists-and-turns idea. They did a good job, too. I believe that the funny references to the horror films and the whole set-up go very well and those who claim to have known all along what's in store are simply lying. Essentially this production is designed to lead you down dead-end trails every 20 minutes, as its influence (The Game) was back in the '90s. Nothing's wrong with that. You can guess some of the twists you can actually have a good gut feeling what the end is gonna be like, but there is simply no time to keep thinking of it, as the dynamic of the action and the strange scenes just don't allow you to do so. Unless you aren't a horror buff and only watch this to impress yourself or someone around you and generally have no clue of or interest in horror fiction. Today's films are family friendly garbage and politically correct creations where ghosts and ghouls created by CGI trying to terrify 16-year olds while avoiding any confrontations regarding their yet-2-be-decided gender, background or jobs, schools. This movie yet, tries to give a sort of enjoyment to those who like the genre and would like it to be presented in a way, like a behind the scenes kinda short-movie stretched out to almost 90 minutes, while having a story, jokes and action in it with a fair amount of gore. You don't have to expect this to be brilliant or any outstanding piece of work... nah, this is what's written on the tin, a thrilling comedy horror with a few pints of blood and twists and turns along the line. What's wrong with it? It's good to kill an hour and a half with, seen much worse just recently...

Boring slasher, not horror

[marc5477 · 3/10 · 10 February 2017]

The premise is some guy is a horror thrill junkie and called a group that specializes in creating a horror event. The problem is, the writers seem to confuse horror with thriller. There is no horror in here. No feeling of fear, dread or anything. The character building in the beginning of the movie was completely unnecessary and does not add depth to any of them. It was a like a hollow small talk conversation that you forgot about 5 minutes later.

Bottom line is I didn't care and that was probably the biggest problem. They try to make the story funny but the comedy simply did not work for me. It was too high school and high school was 20 years ago.

For a Horror fan

[EvanoOruvan · 6/10 · 14 August 2020]

If you are a horror fan and don't mind some logic missing here and there, this is for you.

For sure there are lot of twists. You start to think, "oh well, this is the story" and then you get a little twist and then some and until end you get twists. It's good to watch on a week end.

This is a very unnecessary movie.

[DeepRest · 3/10 · 20 September 2019]

If you've seen a movie involving deaths that may or not be happening, then you're not going to experience anything new. Watching characters were SUPPOSED to believe are dying, but aren't really dying, which we know almost for a fact, but it doesn't matter, because none of the deaths are even remotely convincing.

The end tries to do something different. It shows that everyone involved with the stupid game, outside of the four friends, kill them at the end anyway.That falls apart when you realize that, after their first customer, the police would link the company back to the deaths of the main characters. Instead, it ends with the business getting another call.

I wouldn't call one customer every week or so a very good business. I wouldn't exactly call this a good movie, neither. It was a waste of time, with a wasted premise, and a hole-ridden climax. Watch the MUCH shorter original short on YouTube, that inspired the making of a feature-length film. It works much better as a short film.

An Outstanding Halloween Flick

[stiffdraws · 9/10 · 1 September 2018]

Extremely funny and scary, incredibly underrated horror gem. The simple minded low raters here obviously don't understand its quirky aspects of being a true Halloween film with its abrupt ending and various twists and turns while also merging multiple genres really well. If you're a fan of horror greats you'll find this to be blast!

horror comedy great plot what else can you ask for

[wycherleyp-960-470658 · 7/10 · 3 November 2016]

The horror genre has become a bit stagnant lately and fear inc is a nice refreshing film that not only portrays all the classic horror films of the past but puts a nice twist on it.

The story is well thought of as it revolves around joe foster and his partner lindsey, joe is a horror fan and has reached that point where he is no longer scared so when his friends visit him they tell him about a company called fear inc.

Fear inc the company scare the hell out of people by setting up scenarios that the people or victims believe are real, what you witness is a extremely clever plot that has a few good twists and for true horror fans this is a gem

Could be better

[pedroquintaoo · 5/10 · 2 November 2016]

I'll be honest, I suspected about the plot twist in the movie since I read the synopsis, sounded a lot like a horror version of David Fincher's The Game (1997), and I was right but this one has a smaller budget.

In Fear, Inc. we follow a group of young adults, the main character is one of the most annoying guys I've seen on a horror film, it's so easy to hate him. He contacts a company that creates scary moments and then who saw The Game know what's going on. I have mixed feelings about it! The acting is poor, the cast look a bit amateur, however I've seen worse on another movies. The horror sequences are okay and the plot is amazing for the viewers who haven't watched the David Fincher's movie, but predictable for who has seen it. I loved the metalanguage and the numerous references to another films, sounded a bit like Scream (1996).

Fear, Inc. is watchable, can be fresh and a funny surprise for some people and just okay for another, unfortunately the writers ruined the ending.

Rate: 5/10

This is absolute garbage

[colinvernon303 · 1/10 · 18 March 2017]

HOW and why CAN SOMEONE be allowed to make this garbage and spend money on it ..if i worked on this movie id us an alias its a a total mess and A Total disaster! Iall the crew should be fired !!!1 I can not think of one redeeming reason to see this. I'm glad it was a free download but I can, when i seen that actor who played the very annoying Topher Lucas nerf i knew it was gonna be bad its beyond bad ..its sux soooo bad beyond belief,,,Topher or Lucas nerf most annoying actor EVER