Fear Runs Silent

Rating:
Summary: Thrilling And Frightening; Fun And Fierce
Review: One of the most unheralded horror movies in recent years is also among the best. Though it has a rather nondescript cover and an unoriginal-sounding premise (students/teacher class trip to the woods), "Fear Runs Silent" turns out to be one of the best-made, unpredictable and totally immersing movies out there. There's a strange juxtaposition of being totally believable and at the same time possessing an air of otherworldly unreality that's rewardingly unsettling. At the same time, it isn't afraid to stray off the beaten path once in a while for a scene that isn't directly hard-wired into the direct storyline but is immensely entertaining on its own merits, like the snowball fight scene at the start of the trip. Some 'experts' will say that a movie should never veer off into side-angles or side-scenes strictly for their own sake; they say it's unnecessary,it's gratuitous, it slows the movie down, it's distracting. On the first, second, and fourth points I say if it works, if it adds to the movie as a whole without diminishing other aspects, go for the sidescenes, go off the direct course for an extra dimension before flowing back into the larger plot, the whole now richer than before. Of course, the the tricky part is making sure the contrasting aspects Don't clash; that's where real skill is needed, and this film's makers have it. On the third point, I say if we watch movies to enjoy them and be rewarded by them, then why are so many people so hellbent on making sure every film is 'not one second longer than it absolutely needs to be' and racing through to the end so fast that you miss opportunities to make your movie even better. Why is everyone at the theater getting their coats on as soon as it even looks like the movie is coming to a close, 15 minutes before the credits actually roll? And no one seems to even consider sitting through those credits, enjoying the end score, and absorbing what they've just seen. I think I'm digressing badly here though...

At least a movie like "Fear Runs Silent" isn't afraid to take the unconventional approach and not follow the pattern of straight lines. And that isn't the only way it's unconventional- from its highly ambiguous ending that it's going to take me another watch to figure out, to plot angles that may or may not be real coming out of nowhere with little or no foreshadowing to make things even more cryptic.

Extremely recommended.

Rating:
Summary: FRS has one of the most SHOCKING ENDINGS IN MOVIE HISTORY!!!
Review: ....or, better yet, not filmed at all.
I should learn eventually that most straight-to-video "horror" movies are going to be pretty bad. This pile of junk is no exception. I guess the director wanted it to be complex and ambiguous, so he throws in a ton of flashbacks and flashforwards and unnecessary cuts and jerky edits that, I guess, are supposed to juxtapose the main story (a buncha dumb kids go into the woods and get attacked by cannibalistic mountain man) with the framework story of a young girl who is undergoing psychiatric evaluation because of possible molestation by her father in the past. If this had been handled by a competent writer and director, it might have been passably entertaining, but, instead, it's a tedious and confusing mess. In spite of this supposedly "complex" plot, more than half of the movie is padded with MTV-style video scenes of snowball fights and people running back and forth to fill out its 90-minute time slot. If the makers had cut out all of the pretentious (and stupid) background/psychological stuff and stuck with the short, simple story of kids getting attacked by mountain men, then this could have been something (not something great, mind you, but at least something.)
Stacey Keach and Billy Dee Williams are in this. Their children must be starving. I'd have had more respect for them if they'd gotten a job at Burger King rather than appearing in this mess.

Rating:
Summary: This should have been a 30-minute short film....
Review: ....or, better yet, not filmed at all.
I should learn eventually that most straight-to-video "horror" movies are going to be pretty bad. This pile of junk is no exception. I guess the director wanted it to be complex and ambiguous, so he throws in a ton of flashbacks and flashforwards and unnecessary cuts and jerky edits that, I guess, are supposed to juxtapose the main story (a buncha dumb kids go into the woods and get attacked by cannibalistic mountain man) with the framework story of a young girl who is undergoing psychiatric evaluation because of possible molestation by her father in the past. If this had been handled by a competent writer and director, it might have been passably entertaining, but, instead, it's a tedious and confusing mess. In spite of this supposedly "complex" plot, more than half of the movie is padded with MTV-style video scenes of snowball fights and people running back and forth to fill out its 90-minute time slot. If the makers had cut out all of the pretentious (and stupid) background/psychological stuff and stuck with the short, simple story of kids getting attacked by mountain men, then this could have been something (not something great, mind you, but at least something.)
Stacey Keach and Billy Dee Williams are in this. Their children must be starving. I'd have had more respect for them if they'd gotten a job at Burger King rather than appearing in this mess.

Rating:
Summary: Great acting, great photography, lousy script.
Review: Every great movie starts with a great script. And every bad movie starts with a bad script. This film began with a bad script. Its grave was dug early on. You gotta give the actors props for doing their best with a lousy script. And let me just say-Suzanne Davis is extremely sexy in this movie, yet got over as the "virgin" really nicely. They did have some minimal star power in Stacy Keach ("American History X"), Dan Lauria ("The Wonder Years") and Billy Dee Williams. Though this film has a lot to say on the box about Billy Dee Williams, he's really not there that long. So the actors I give credit for.
I also have to give the photographer credit for a well-photographed movie. There are some stunning shots of Colorado or wherever this is. But unfortunately, we can't look at it as an IMAX film. The rating is for gory violence, implied sexuality (no nudity) and the obligatory language. If you've seen all the other movies in the horror section, you just might want to pick this up.

Rating:
Summary: This movie will not provide much fear for the viewers
Review: Fear Runs Silent is one of those direct to video rentals and it shows. The plot revolves around a group of students that agree to go out in the woods to a cabin with their teacher where they are suppossed to face their fears. The gore level was not very high and the acting was very ameturish. It probably could have been scary with a bigger budget and some better acting. As for the dvd extras not much at all. You have your basic play movie and scene selections. The picture was ok for a pretty low budget movie but the sound was not too high and didnt match the soundtrack. Overall I'd say skip this. If your looking for a movie that will scare you look elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: FRS has one of the most SHOCKING ENDINGS IN MOVIE HISTORY!!!
Review: Horror fans will diappointed with this because when things happen you don`t know if it really did or if it was a dream or a flashback.Ofcourse it can be scary at times and at times it can get really scary but seeing the same clip of the monster(s) about 10 times can really be annoying but I laughed alot at it so if you like error movies this is something to see but I warn you if you see and buy Fear Runs Silent be prepared for a shocking ending that you`ll never forget!

Rating:
Summary: Cheap thriller fails to thrill, only confuses.
Review: The repressed sexual terror of a young woman physically manifests itself and begins to stalk her and her friends. It also turns said friends into monsters. A sadistic therapist tries to help the young woman break out of her freudian shell. Too bad the movie makes the viewer work so hard to figure this out and, in the end, offers no answers for all its 'disturbing' imagery and events, the narrative is simply an endless mobius strip of symbolic events with no rhyme or reason to it. A journey not worth taking. Stacey Keach and Billy Dee Williams should fire their agents for getting them cast in this glorified student film.

Rating:
Summary: Cheap thriller fails to thrill, only confuses.
Review: The repressed sexual terror of a young woman physically manifests itself and begins to stalk her and her friends. It also turns said friends into monsters. A sadistic therapist tries to help the young woman break out of her freudian shell. Too bad the movie makes the viewer work so hard to figure this out and, in the end, offers no answers for all its 'disturbing' imagery and events, the narrative is simply an endless mobius strip of symbolic events with no rhyme or reason to it. A journey not worth taking. Stacey Keach and Billy Dee Williams should fire their agents for getting them cast in this glorified student film.

Rating:
Summary: Pretentious piffle
Review: The unwary may be drawn to this piece of cinematic dreck by the presence of two actors of talent-Stacy Keach and Billy Dee Williams .They should take note that neither has much more than a cameo role and the bulk of the action is dominated by a youthful cast of spectacular ineptitude.
It is at bottom a conventional teens in peril tale with the group in question being menaced by sasquatch while on a field trip .Or are thay ?A framing device suggests it may all be taking place in the mind of the central character Carrie who may or may not be possessed of a vivid imagination and severe sexual repression
Confused and confusing with frenetic camera movement substituting for directorial imagination.
Avoid.