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John Turturro, Deborah Kara Unger, Stephen Eric McIntyre, William Allen Young, Eugene M. Davis ... see more see more... , Mark Houghton , Jacqueline Ramel , James Remar

A man searching for the truth about his wife's killer learns more than he wanted to know about her own private story in this powerful drama. Harry Cain (John Turturro) works as a security guard at a l... read more read more...arge shopping mall in Wisconsin. Harry's life takes a sudden and disturbing left turn when his wife, Kate (Deborah Kara Unger), is shot to death in the mall's parking facility. Devastated by his wife's passing, Harry begins combing over every scrap of evidence he can find in hopes of tracking down the gunman and reviewing hours of videotape from the mall's surveillance system. One night, Harry has a vision in which he sees Kate walking out of the house across the street; he breaks into the abandoned home to investigate, and finds some photographs that may lead him to his wife's murderer. However, the more Harry learns about Kate, and as he travels to Montana in search of a possible culprit, Harry begins to learn just how much he never knew about Kate and her life. Renowned novelist Hubert Selby Jr. co-wrote the screenplay for Fear X, while composer and musician Brian Eno contributed to the musical score. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

33% liked it

2,025 ratings

Critics

58% liked it

33 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 31 min.

Directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn

Release Date: April 4, 2003

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DVD Release Date: March 8, 2005

Stats: 146 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (146)


  • July 25, 2008
    [font=Century Gothic]In "Fear X," Harry Caine(John Turturro) is so obsessed with the murder of his wife Claire(Jacqueline Ramel) that it is adversely affecting his job as a security guard at a shopping mall. Not helping any are his acquaintances who either directly tell him to mo... read moreve on or feed him surveillance videotapes.(One would think the most prudent course of action would be to not bring up the subject at all and to try to subtly get his mind onto something else.) His investigation gets a boost when the FBI informs him that they have a picture of the murderer...[/font]

    [font=Century Gothic]The thing that separates superior psychological dramas like "Keane" and "Red Road" from a mediocrity like "Fear X" is a certain fearlessness, not only from the director but also from the lead actor.(John Turturro is good but he is not that good.) This movie would also have been better if the FBI had approached Harry at a point when he was starting to put his life in order. While aiming for a certain dreamlike aesthetic ala David Lynch for some odd reason, the movie falls flat on its face. And after failing to follow through on one promising idea, it disappears into another movie completely which not even the usually reliable James Remar and Deborah Kara Unger can do anything about. Only at the very end does the movie come close to succeeding.[/font]
  • July 4, 2011
    john turritoro haunting performance of a man desprite to know who kille his wife, by expressing it in frusteration and anger. B+
  • July 20, 2008
    Decent mystery
  • December 17, 2011
    Not even the subtle greatness that is John Turturro can save this. It starts off kinda creepy and it doesn't give any answers but i was right there with it. But its one of those movie where so little happens and even when they do its so dull and uninteresting that that you don't ... read morecare. Now that might be what Refn and Selby Jr were going for but it makes for a terrible movie experience.
  • fb51702639
    November 20, 2011
    fb51702639
    Not even the subtle greatness that is John Turturro can save this. It starts off kinda creepy and it doesn't give any answers but i was right there with it. But its one of those movie where so little happens and even when they do its so dull and uninteresting that that you don't ... read morecare. Now that might be what Refn and Selby Jr were going for but it makes for a terrible movie experience.
  • October 3, 2008
    a very old school style thriller of a man just wanting awnsers and thats all not revenge not death...just reasons to why his wife was killed nothing els...
  • September 15, 2008
    What the? I mean don't even watch this movie. As much as I wanted to turn off the tv I didn't just to see if it got better, but it got worse. Let's just say I wanted to blow up the tv after this movie. I can't believe I wasted my time. what a waste.
  • October 11, 2007
    quite possibly the single most retarded movie ever! i walked away thinking i couldn't take another minute of it, turns out the movie decided it couldn't take anymore either and ended.
  • September 24, 2007
    It made me feel left hanging with more questions than answers..but that was purposely done that way Im sure..it had very intense thrilling moments and a few great scenes but mainly it was a very long drawn out with hardly any concrete substance..it was a confsuing movie which lef... read moret me antsy and mentallyt trying to push the movie forward with out any luck..lol
  • December 2, 2006
    this is a film...that really focuses on feelings and the feel of the surroundings... very very little dialoge in this film but john says it all with the look on his face...he is truly brillent and why he didnt win a oscer for this...is waaay beyond me...its very sickening.... the... read more story is some what simple...a man upsest with looking for the killer of his wife... but trust me...if you have ADD or a short tension span...you wont make it through 5 minutes of this movie you stupid kids... but if you like slower movies...check this fucker out!

Critic Reviews


Lou Lumenick
January 28, 2005
Lou Lumenick, New York Post

A pretentious, unsatisfying and ultra-slow-moving thriller.

Elizabeth Weitzman
January 28, 2005
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News

Fortunately, Turturro's subtle turn keeps our emotional connection solid even when the story skates on thin ice. Full Review

John McMurtrie
January 28, 2005
John McMurtrie, San Francisco Chronicle

The story, in the end, is less than satisfying and, unfortunately, doesn't match the movie's eerie style. Full Review

Kevin Thomas
January 27, 2005
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

With an elliptical style and open-ended interpretations, it is definitely not for those who like their mysteries spelled out and tied up neatly. Full Review

Stephen Holden
January 27, 2005
Stephen Holden, New York Times

Grimly austere barely begins to describe the atmosphere of dread that seeps through Fear X like a toxic mist. Full Review

Michael Atkinson
January 25, 2005
Michael Atkinson, Village Voice

It's half a movie, but a half that hums. Full Review

Scott Foundas
February 13, 2003
Scott Foundas, Variety

A supremely elegant, meditative thriller. Full Review

Nick Schager
June 15, 2011
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

The director captures a sense of hazy, harrowing obsession that's amplified by his immaculate camera set-ups and pans. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
December 31, 2008
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Slick thriller. Full Review

Prairie Miller
March 23, 2007
Prairie Miller, Long Island Press

A Middle American psychological crime thriller agreat portion of which plays out none too rationally inside its protagonist's head.

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Fear X Trivia


  • What is the name of the actor who starred in Rounders, Primal Fear, and American History X?  Answer »
  • Name the actor by filling in the blanks of the following films that he/she has starred in: Ke_ping the Faith Re_ Dragon Do_n in the Valley De_th to Smoochy P_imal Fear Roun_ers America_ History X The Sc_re 25th Hou_ Figh_ Club Kingd_m of Heaven The Pai_ted Veil  Answer »
  • Which actor stars in these films: American history X Italian job Primal fear   Answer »
  • For which 2 films has Edward Norton been nominated for Oscars?  Answer »

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