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Rapid Fear
SCREENER/APPROX. 94 MINS/2004/USA R18+
SCREENER/APPROX. 94 MINS/2004/USA R18+
A bank heist goes wrong, and that’s the beginning of this tale. And the fella who’s been sent to the pokey (although why the criminals decided to
make their get-away on foot when they had a car eludes me…) for the whole enchilada has to re-educate a bunch of teenage ne’er do wells
through a kind of camping/team-building experience in the wild as part of his probation.
So a second rate stalker film is what we’re taking about here, as the annoying self-piteous teens get picked off one by one – and then not, but
without all of that enjoyable violence and gore we’re used to and love. All the usual ingredients are present: a bunch of highly unlikeable victims…
err… teens you want to see die instantly, a secluded venue (out in the wilderness – oh, how original, and some nonsense about an abandoned
insane asylum), a boring script punctuated with some kind of danger. It’s as old as Friday the 13th. But even less original. And the mix of
Australian, American and Australians-playing-at-being-American accents doesn’t make it any more palatable. Nothing is weaker than an Australian
film trying to be American, with a whole bunch of Aussie nobodies trying to be Yanks.
The basic idea is that our robber-turned-hero James, has got his ex-con armed robber buddies to scare the kids into being decent citizens while
out in the bush, but of course, everything becomes a total SNAFU. It’s quite possible to make a decent low budget horror film – this is not a “how
to” guide. This film lacks any real tension, its actors lack any real charisma or talent, the script lacks any real interest: at times I thought it was
trying to be Friday the 13th meets The Blair Witch Project (minus the supernatural, but with all the stumbling around in the forest without a clue)
-meets-Turkeyshoot, complete with the bad acting that accompanies, and indeed characterises, all three of those films (I’m a fan of all three, I’m
allowed to say that). Mind you, this film doesn’t have any of the class of any of those genre classics, nor any of the talent. And the ending of Rapid
Fear is abysmal, to say the least. Anti-climactic doesn’t even begin to sum it up. An extremely negative viewing experience.
Contrary to what you’re probably thinking, I actually don’t really enjoy flaming movies, especially Australian ones. I love watching film, and horror
films most of all, but this one just doesn’t cut it. In this film’s defence, I don’t think I’m really the target audience. This fits quite neatly into the teen-
horror genre, which is not really my bag. I guess that teenagers (especially those who aren’t that horror literate) are the audience who should be
watching it, not a balding 35 year old with many years of horror film watching behind him. And for the scriptwriter: pepper spray doesn’t work like
that, especially not in an enclosed space. Oh, and if you continually cock a pump-action shotgun, like one of the comically inept bad guys in this
turkey does, you start ejecting live rounds.
At one point of Rapid Fear, the most repellent of the teen-bastards states, “I’m looking out for number 1”, which was ironic in that his performance
was a big pile of number 2. He later states, “I’ve got friends coming out of my ass!” I think that statement was much truer than he realised… After
all, you’re judged by the company you keep.
The screener I was watching was sent to us by MTI Entertainment, and has no extras, bar the trailer, which makes this film look a whole lot more
interesting than it actually was.
make their get-away on foot when they had a car eludes me…) for the whole enchilada has to re-educate a bunch of teenage ne’er do wells
through a kind of camping/team-building experience in the wild as part of his probation.
So a second rate stalker film is what we’re taking about here, as the annoying self-piteous teens get picked off one by one – and then not, but
without all of that enjoyable violence and gore we’re used to and love. All the usual ingredients are present: a bunch of highly unlikeable victims…
err… teens you want to see die instantly, a secluded venue (out in the wilderness – oh, how original, and some nonsense about an abandoned
insane asylum), a boring script punctuated with some kind of danger. It’s as old as Friday the 13th. But even less original. And the mix of
Australian, American and Australians-playing-at-being-American accents doesn’t make it any more palatable. Nothing is weaker than an Australian
film trying to be American, with a whole bunch of Aussie nobodies trying to be Yanks.
The basic idea is that our robber-turned-hero James, has got his ex-con armed robber buddies to scare the kids into being decent citizens while
out in the bush, but of course, everything becomes a total SNAFU. It’s quite possible to make a decent low budget horror film – this is not a “how
to” guide. This film lacks any real tension, its actors lack any real charisma or talent, the script lacks any real interest: at times I thought it was
trying to be Friday the 13th meets The Blair Witch Project (minus the supernatural, but with all the stumbling around in the forest without a clue)
-meets-Turkeyshoot, complete with the bad acting that accompanies, and indeed characterises, all three of those films (I’m a fan of all three, I’m
allowed to say that). Mind you, this film doesn’t have any of the class of any of those genre classics, nor any of the talent. And the ending of Rapid
Fear is abysmal, to say the least. Anti-climactic doesn’t even begin to sum it up. An extremely negative viewing experience.
Contrary to what you’re probably thinking, I actually don’t really enjoy flaming movies, especially Australian ones. I love watching film, and horror
films most of all, but this one just doesn’t cut it. In this film’s defence, I don’t think I’m really the target audience. This fits quite neatly into the teen-
horror genre, which is not really my bag. I guess that teenagers (especially those who aren’t that horror literate) are the audience who should be
watching it, not a balding 35 year old with many years of horror film watching behind him. And for the scriptwriter: pepper spray doesn’t work like
that, especially not in an enclosed space. Oh, and if you continually cock a pump-action shotgun, like one of the comically inept bad guys in this
turkey does, you start ejecting live rounds.
At one point of Rapid Fear, the most repellent of the teen-bastards states, “I’m looking out for number 1”, which was ironic in that his performance
was a big pile of number 2. He later states, “I’ve got friends coming out of my ass!” I think that statement was much truer than he realised… After
all, you’re judged by the company you keep.
The screener I was watching was sent to us by MTI Entertainment, and has no extras, bar the trailer, which makes this film look a whole lot more
interesting than it actually was.
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