F.E.A.R. (Forget Everything and Run), movie (2021)
image © Action Figure Entertainment
The F.E.A.R. (2021) is a family drama film. The movie was reviewed by Kadmon.
Product: F.E.A.R. (Forget Everything and Run), movie (2021)
Original title: F.E.A.R., UK title: Forget Everything and Run
Series: -
Setting: alternate fantasy Earth / future fantasy Earth
Product type: Film, Genre: family drama, Features: family drama, thriller, post-apocalyptic, zombie (creature), Style: bad editing,
Release: 2021.04.26
Reviewer: Kadmon, Type: Male, 40s, Preferences: Immersive, logical story, consistent setting, prefers surprises to spoilers, prefers establishing elements before referencing them
Watched: very recent (2021.12), first time
Rating: Weak (2- out of 3 points), Enjoyment: Weak (2- out of 3 points)
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This is my review of F.E.A.R., a family drama movie from 2021. It's about a family trying to survive during a zombie apocalypse. The F.E.A.R. film is boring, I only recommend it to dedicated fans of zombie movies.
If you'd like to be surprised by the F.E.A.R. film, I don't recommend you to watch the trailer beyond 0:33, because it gives away too much of the plot. It basically provides a summary of the film, up to the ending scene.
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Review (spoiler-free) - F.E.A.R., movie (2021)
I’ve just run into this movie without any previous knowledge. The title looked interesting, although I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t watch the trailer before sitting down to watch the movie.
The F.E.A.R. movie is about a family trying to survive during a zombie apocalypse.
The concept of the story is not bad. There are even character arcs. However, there are plenty of logical problems, making the story hard to believe. The pacing of movie is really slow, and nothing interesting happens for long stretches of time. At one hour, I started to get bored, and that was halfway though the movie. Slow movies can be fun, but this was not.
The cinematography is watchable. The special effects are okay. The movie is not very interesting visually, but at least they try with different sets and filters. The action scenes look good.
Although there aren’t many characters, we don’t really get to know anything about them. The actor who portray them are okay.
The music (by Alex Kovacs) is not very noticeable, but it sounds okay when it is.
F.E.A.R. is a watchable but boring family drama with zombies, that I think only the most dedicated fans of the genre could enjoy.
My experience
I wasn’t satisfied with F.E.A.R. (2021), due to the problems of its faulty logic.
Rating: Weak (2- out of 3 points). F.E.A.R. is a weak film in every aspect.
Enjoyment: Weak (2- out of 3 points). F.E.A.R. has a promising concept, but weak execution.
Rewatchability: Low. I don’t think anyone would want to watch this again.
Chance of watching it again: No. Probably a re-edited version.
Chance of watching a sequel: Probably. I tend to fall into the same trap multiple times.
F.E.A.R. (Forget Everything and Run), movie (2021)
image © Action Figure Entertainment
Will you enjoy this?
If you like survival horror movies, you might like F.E.A.R.
If you like horror or action thriller movies (28 Days Later, Army of the Dead), you might like the film, although there are not many action scenes or scary scenes in the F.E.A.R. movie.
If you like zombie apocalypse movies, you might enjoy this.
If you can get through the first half hour of the movie still interested, the rest of the movie will be similar up to the end.
If you don't mind illogical elements in your movies, you can enjoy this.
If you prefer visuals over story, you probably wouldn’t like F.E.A.R.
If you hate zombie movies, this movie is not for you.
Watching for plot points
If you are interested in zombie stories, I think it might be worth watching the F.E.A.R. movie for the plot points, but you’d be probably better of reading the summary, or skipping through the parts where nothing happens.
Should you watch this on your own screen at home, or is it worth going to the cinema?
The visuals would probably look worse if you watch it in cinema. Probably a smart phone is the right size for this.
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F.E.A.R. (Forget Everything and Run), movie (2021)
image © Action Figure Entertainment
Review with spoilers - F.E.A.R., movie (2021)
I didn’t really like the F.E.A.R. movie, but I liked the concept.
Cover
The cover of the movie looks okay, but I think it's misleading.
The trailer
The trailer is basically a substitute for watching the movie.
If you prefer spoilers, it's a great trailer for the F.E.A.R. film. If you prefer to avoid spoilers, it will ruin the movie for you.
Promise of the first scene
The prologue promises some kind of survival horror, with a family. I assume there will be a family, probably with multiple children, who will have to go through dangerous things before they find a sanctuary. Or die horribly.
The first scene shows a boy trying to shoot a zombie with a rifle, but his father needs to intervene and shoot the zombie with a bow. I assume we’ll see the boy “man up” to the task, and become a proficient zombie-killer.
Execution: We did exactly that, so I consider promise fulfilled. Although the sanctuary part was missing.
Plot summary / Synopsis
A family is hiding from a zombie invasion. The boy (Danny Ruiz as Josh Allister) tries to shoot a zombie with a rifle, but he misses, so his father (Jason Tobias as Ethan Allister) takes the zombie down with arrows. The father gets attacked by the zombie, as the boy was too slow to put a knife into its head. The father gets injured.
When they get home, they find that someone broke into the house. There’s a dead body of a woman. They find the mother (Marci Miller as Josephine 'Joe' Allister), who tells them robbers got into their place, and she had to kill one of the attackers. The sister (Cece Kelly as Mia Allister) is on a breathing machine.
7 years ago: We see a recreation of how the father and mother first met some years ago.
Now: The father wants to stay to wait for help to arrive, and he is ready to go scavenging to replenish their supplies. The mother wants to leave, not believing that help would arrive. While they are arguing outside, the mother gets shot. The attackers have tied up human shields to protect them. When the attackers force them inside the house, they pretend to be dead, then surprise the attackers. They kill one of the attackers, and capture two others and one of the human shields, but the breathing machine gets shot. The leader of the attackers (Susan Moore Harmon as Desiree Morrow), who got shot, promises them that the other captured attacker (Justin Dray as Lincoln Morrow) will lead them to their camp, and give them medicine in exchange for their lives.
The father and the captured man leaves.
2 years ago: We see the family going on a trip in the mountains. They practice shooting with their rifle, but the boy doesn’t want to try.
Now: The mother start to talk to the human shield (Denver-Isaac Kwashe as Avery Dennison), who is actually a military scout. The scout tells her that they target zones of infected, then destroy the places, and disguise it as accidents, to keep people feel safer. The captured attackers kills the scout.
The father and the captured attacker reaches the camp, but the attacker escapes, and overpowers him.
Probably 2 years ago: They are still camping.
Now: The father is tied up by the attacker. The attacker shows him that they have a dose of the cure. He also tells them that they were eating people. While the attacker is distracted, the father gets out, and meets his son, who followed them. The father gives the cure to the son, and sends him back to his mother, but the boy stays to shoot the attacker with a slingshot, helping his father to defeat, then kill him.
As nobody checked the sister for all these hours, she starts to have convulsions. Then the captured leader uses her lighter to start a fire, and escapes. The leader gets to the sister, and threatens to kill her. It is revealed that the sister is infected, but they didn’t dare to give the cure to her, as there’s 50% chance of dying due to side effects. The leader tells the mother that the woman she killed in the beginning of the movie was her daughter. The mother sets the sister free, and she starts biting the attacker. The mother gives the cure to the sister. Luckily, the cure works, and the girl is back to her normal self in minutes.
Although the father doesn’t show symptoms yet, he decides to leave the family, and not use the cure they acquired from the attackers, so the family could use it in a later case of infection. Right at the time of their bidding farewell, a group of zombies show up. The father stays to hold them up while the rest of the family escapes. A zombie gets close to the mother, and the boy shoot it, saving her. They get in the car, and although the father defeated the zombies that threatened them, they still leave without him.
We see the mother, the son and the sister later, standing near the wall that was separating them from the healthy people, that has a large hole in it. So now the zombies have most likely spread into the previously safe areas.
The setting
The story is set in a contemporary alternate Earth or the near future of Earth.
There’s some infection going on. The government built walls to stop the infection from spreading. The people try to hide and survive.
The government also planned to kill the people beyond those walls.
In this world, people forgot about radios or other means of communication, or this is set in an alternate world, where they weren’t developed.
F.E.A.R. (Forget Everything and Run), movie (2021)
image © Action Figure Entertainment
The zombies
They are fast, rage virus infected zombies.
It is said that the infection was caused by the toxic waste a local company let into the water. That means the zombie apocalypse is probably a local occurrence, and the world outside is otherwise fine. This also means that the “infection” is probably not viral, but caused by poisoning.
It’s said that it infects every animal, but we only see human zombies in the movie.
Regular wounds can take them down, but their brain needs to be destroyed to kill them.
Heat attracts them. They can be lured by torches.
The disease seems to be spreading through the water. A scout told that 95% of the water supplies of the area were infected.
There’s a cure, but there’s a 50% chance of getting better, and 50% for getting dead.
The message of the story
I'm not sure there's one. “Give up hope when it’s convenient for the plot”?
The structure of the story
The scenes of the F.E.A.R. film are mostly played in sequence, following the same storyline. There are some time jumps to past events. There are also some flashbacks (to those already seen past events).
There’s no single viewpoint character.
It has the usual arc of the dramatic structure - introduction, action, resolution. There’s no proper conclusion, the movie leaves the ending open for a sequel.
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Things I liked
- The idea of human shields was neat.
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How does it compare to the other works of the creators?
I haven't seen any other works of the writers / directors (Geoff Reisner & Jason Tobias). This seems like a decent work, so I’m interested in their future movies.
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F.E.A.R. (Forget Everything and Run), movie (2021)
image © Action Figure Entertainment
Analysis of the story - F.E.A.R., movie (2021)
I mostly liked the basics of the story, but there were too many problems that would let me really enjoy F.E.A.R..
Problematic elements
The title: I get it that the creators liked the clever wordplay, but the characters never managed to “Forget Everything and Run”. The only thing they forgot about, was their own daughter. And instead of running, they were hiding. However, I admit that “Forget about Your Daughter and Hide” is not a catchy title.
Establishing characters and setting: The movie didn't introduce us to the most important aspects of the story, and that is causing problems.
- Local apocalypse: It took me a while to understand that this zombie apocalypse is local. The world outside is fine, it’s just this area that’s hit by the zombies, and the government hides this from the populace. Otherwise, I first considered the government plan to disguise the destruction of the infected areas a stupid one, as why would the public mind taking out the zombies. But if nobody knows about this, then it would make sense. This also means that inside a happy one, it’s a downer ending, as the whole in the wall means that the zombies spread into the safe areas.
- Who’s the dead woman in the beginning?: As we don’t know the family yet, we don’t know if it’s the mother or not, or who is the one that’s attacking the father with the antlers. This should have been established earlier.
Fake first meeting: The scene is not bad in itself, but I don’t feel it fits this specific story.
Pretending to be dead: We have seen that the attackers have plenty of ammo, they have experience, and they are not stupid. When they’ve found the bodies, they should have make sure they are dead, instead of believing their eyes. Also, where did the wife get that piece of meat to disguise herself?
The bargain: They use the captured attacker to guide them, as – supposedly – only he knows the way. However, the human shield would also know the way, as he was accompanying them all the way. It’s a stupid thing on the family’s part that they didn’t even talk to the human shield.
Lazy family: The man and the woman didn't seem stupid, yet they made stupid mistakes to further the plot:
- Not checking the daughter: It seems like a caring family, who look after the sister. Yet, after the shoot-out, nobody checked her for several hours.
- The lighter: Why didn’t the family just take the lighter from the woman? She even threatened them with it once.
- Hidden knife: Why didn’t the family check the woman for weapons.
- Leaving the leader woman without a fatal stab: After the girl killed the leader, it was likely that she will turn into a zombie. Why didn’t the mother kill her properly?
Cosy lung shot: The mother is shot in the lungs. That seems to be serious in the beginning, but when required for the action scenes, she doesn’t seem to be hindered.
Giving up: The father is infected. They have one dose of the cure. Why don’t they just use it? There’s no need to keep it, none of the other family members are infected at the moment, and they could find another dose of the cure later.
Late arrival of the daughter: The creators were trying to intentional mislead the audience with the scene, as the daughter arrived later, making us think that she didn't make it. Intentional misleading is a bad tool.
Unanswered questions
- What happened to the father after they left him?
- What will happen to the family?
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Possibilities of improvement
- Make it clear that the zombie apocalypse is local. Only this area was hit by it, and the world doesn’t know about it.
- Cut the movie to the core parts. Don’t let nothing happen for minutes.
- Cut the time-jump scenes.
- Add some decent CGI. Those fires and starry skies were awful.
- Add some dialogue to the end, letting us know that the family found sanctuary after getting through the wall.
How it could have been better?
- Focus on the boy, as he is the only one with a character arc. Let him be the viewpoint character.
- Or give a proper character arc for every character, there would have been plenty of time for that in the movie. The mother should get over her fear of the medicine ot the government. The father should learn to accept that he won’t be able to protect the family. Even the sister could get something.
- Make sure to add some details and background info about the characters, so we get to know them, maybe even like them. That way it would be more tense when they are threatened.
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Behind the scenes
Thoughts about the reviews of others
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F.E.A.R. (Forget Everything and Run), movie (2021)
image © Action Figure Entertainment
Uses for the film - F.E.A.R., movie (2021)
Plot
- There’s a local zombie apocalypse.
- The toxic waste of a company poison the wildlife in the area.
- The government plans to destroy inhabited areas to contain the infection.
Scenes
Designs
Scenario ideas - Role-playing game scenario ideas
Scenario ideas - Wargame scenario ideas
Creature hunting (solo play): There are creatures (predators, zombies, killer robots, aliens) that are lured with baiting. They are also lured by humans. The player sets up the area, then places a number of baits. Place six entry points on the edges of the playing area. Deploy your hunters anywhere on the playing area. At the beginning of every turn, roll a d6, that’s many creatures enter. Roll a d6 for each one, and place them on the corresponding entry point. First, any of the hunters can take their actions. Some of them can be kept active for later, so they could react to the creatures. Then the creatures take their actions. They move to the nearest bait or human they can see. If they get in base contact with the bait, they mess it up, removing it from the game. If they get in base contact with the hunters, they attack. The player wins if they kill a set number of creatures, while more than half of the hunters is still alive.
Hunting competition (multiplayer): Each player has some baits and hunters to deploy. There’s a set number of creatures, if those enter the game, there won’t be any more arriving. After the last creature is killed, the player that has the most kills wins the game.
Storm the hideout: An attacker wants to rob a place, and the defenders are aware of this. The defender sets up the playing area, including a well defended house. The defender puts supply tokens anywhere on the playing area. Then the defender deploys their units. Then the attacker deploys their units on any edge of the playing area. One model can move a supply with regular speed. The defender can evacuate the place, and move the supplies outside the edge of the playing area. The defender wins if they keep more than half of their supplies, and more than half of their units are alive. The attacker wins if they get more than half of the supplies, and more than half of their units survive.
Supplies outside (harder for the defender): While rushing into the house, they left some supplies outside. Or it might be dangerous to store them inside. At least half of the supplies must be set up outside the house. These can be brought inside by the defenders during the game. If you are using required supplies, at least half of each kind of supply must be outside.
Empty crates (easier for the defender): The supplies have two sides – one side shows it’s a supply, and the other side either shows supply (or the type of supply), or an empty sign. Up to one third of the supplies can be empty. The defender knows which one is empty when they set them up, but they can’t check them during game for free. A model has to come in base contact with the supply to be able to check it if it’s empty or not. If there are different kinds of containers used, up to one third of every kind can be empty.
Required supplies: There are different kinds of supplies in the game – water, fuel, grain, food, medicine, whatever fits your setting. Come up with at least four kinds. There’s an equal number of each kind of supplies set up. Each player secretly chooses a half of the number of kinds, that they need, and writes this down. After the game, they reveal this. The player only wins, if they have more than half of those supplies that they have chosen.
Different kinds of containers (easier for the defender): There are barrels, crates, sacks, or whatever fits your game. Each kind of container can hold at least two different kinds of supplies (for example, a barrel can hold water or fuel; a crate can hold food, ammo or medicine). The models can only get to know which one is in them, when they get in contact with the container.
Human shields (harder for the defender): The attackers have tied up captured hostages. They are in base contact with them. Wherever the attackers go, a human shield is pushed before them. The defenders need to pass a Morale test to shoot at them. If there is a trap in the area, it’s the human shield that will activate it.
Traps (easier for the defender): Some of the supplies are actually traps. If a model comes in base contact with them, it activates, and the models in contact with the supply get one hit.
Unable to evacuate (harder for the defender): The defender is unable to leave the place. There’s something special in the house (a sacred place, or a fresh water well). Or they have injured that can’t be moved. This means they can only win if they defend the area. If they must evacuate, even if they keep more than half of the supplies and units, that’s still a draw.
Miniatures - 1/50-1/60 (28-32mm scale)
Scavangers: Human-sized modern human civilians, with weapons.
Zombies: Human-sized modern human zombies.
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Similar stories - F.E.A.R., movie (2021)
Novels
Cormac McCarthy: The Road (2006): In a contemporary setting, civilisation has fallen some time ago due to an apocalyptic event (nuclear war). People fight each other for supplies.
John Christopher: The Death of Grass (1956): In a contemporary setting, civilisation falls due to an apocalyptic event (viral death of grass). People fight each other for supplies.
Graphic novels
The Walking Dead (2003-2019): In a contemporary setting, civilisation falls due to an apocalyptic event (zombies take over the world). People fight each other for supplies.
Movies
28 Days Later (2002): In a contemporary setting, civilisation falls due to an apocalyptic event (zombies take over the world). People fight each other for supplies.
Love and Monsters (2020): In a near future setting, civilisation has fallen some time ago due to an apocalyptic event (mutant animals take over the world). People fight each other for supplies.
No Blade of Grass (1970): Civilisation falls due to an apocalyptic event (viral death of grass). People fight each other for supplies. Based on The Death of Grass novel.
The Road (2009): In a contemporary setting, civilisation has fallen some time ago due to an apocalyptic event (nuclear war). People fight each other for supplies.
TV series & episodes
Black Summer (2019-2021-): In a contemporary setting, civilisation falls due to an apocalyptic event (zombies take over the world). People fight each other for supplies. Based on the world of the Z Nation TV series.
Fear the Walking Dead (2015-2022-): In a contemporary setting, civilisation falls due to an apocalyptic event (zombies take over the world). People fight each other for supplies. Based on the world of The Walking Dead TV series.
The Walking Dead (2010-2022): In a contemporary setting, civilisation falls due to an apocalyptic event (zombies take over the world). People fight each other for supplies. Based on the The Walking Dead graphic novels.
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Frequently asked questions - F.E.A.R., movie (2021)
Is the F.E.A.R. film based on a book or comics?
No, F.E.A.R. is not based on either books or comics.
Is the F.E.A.R. film a remake or reboot?
No, the F.E.A.R. film is neither a remake nor a reboot.
Is there a post credit scene in F.E.A.R.? Does F.E.A.R. have end credit scenes?
No, there's no post credit scene in F.E.A.R..
Where can I see F.E.A.R.? Where can I watch F.E.A.R. online? Is F.E.A.R. available on Netflix? Is F.E.A.R. on Amazon?
As of 2021.12.31, F.E.A.R. is available on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Tubi, Vudu.
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Resources - F.E.A.R., movie (2021)
Official
Action Figure Entertainment: F.E.A.R. (2020): Official article.
Information
IMDB: F.E.A.R. (2021): Database article.
Letterboxd: Forget Everything and Run 2021: Database article.
Rotten Tomatoes: Forget Everything and Run 2021: Database article.
Creation
: Concept art article.¤
Reviews with no spoilers - F.E.A.R. film (2021)
: Review video about the F.E.A.R. film with no spoilers.¤
Reviews with spoilers - F.E.A.R. film (2021)
: Review article of the F.E.A.R. movie, with spoilers. Includes a very detailed plot summary.¤
Analysis - F.E.A.R. movie (2021)
: Analysis video, explaining the finale of F.E.A.R..¤
https://www.voicesfromthebalcony.com/2021/06/11/fear-2021-review/
https://www.cinechat.co.uk/review-forget-everything-and-run/
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Buying the product - F.E.A.R., movie (2021)
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Have you seen the F.E.A.R. film? How do you like the movie? Would you recommend it to others? Do you know reviews or resources you'd like to add? What further thoughts do you have about it? Tell your opinion in the comments!
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