Very disappointing. After the amazing "Pusher" i was expecting great things from Nicholas Winding Refn, but this was a huge letdown. It was just very sad to see a guy who started out with such a strong distinctive cinematic voice churn out something so completely unremarkable. Refn sadly seems to lack any sense of personal style, as this film bares absolutely no stylistic similarity to his debut film. It could have been a completely different filmmaker from what i could tell. Sadder still is that this was Hubert Selby Jr.'s last project before his death. Why waste his talents on this empty piece of film-making? To it's credit, it was fairly well made, but it was all atmosphere and style and absolutely no substance whatsoever. This had potential to be a good psychological puzzle in the David Lynch/"Demonlover" mode, but ultimately failed on almost every level. It somehow managed to be both maddeningly straight-forward and simplistic, and illogical and unfulfilled at the same time. I have absolutely no problem with incoherence, in fact i would have enjoyed this film considerable more had it been more so, but this just plain didn't make sense and left me confused, but at the same time was just far too simple and unchallenging. Or maybe i just didn't get it at all. I don't know, but either way i found it to be a deeply unsatisfying viewing experience.

source: Fear X

Trailer—Fear X

Fear X

This is by far one of the greatest "understated" thrillers of all time...every scene, gesture, bit of dialog seemed to gnaw at me, draw me into a strange feeling that no matter what happens, the feeling of alienation will not go away...yes, there are one or two coincidences that seem a little too much, but if you just flow with it, you will enjoy it without having to know all the answers or have every loose end tied up for you..the photography is first rate, the atmosphere intense, and the acting is refreshingly real for a change....the movie scared me on a level I never expected....I highly recommend this move..some of the reviewers who trashed this movie probably just need to see explosions, bullets flying and chase scenes to be in suspense.....go see it!

First you gotta sit through a really slow building up story. Some scenes give you a Memento feeling, a bit psychological thriller, a bit horror. When you get to the half of the movie, it starts moving faster, and you get a feeling where all is leading to. But after the "end" you just feel mislead on all charges! A really disappointing and unsatisfying movie, with headache causing flashes, uneasy sounds. Some may describe this as an art-house film, well, perhaps that's why many people avoid those film noirs or movie houses! Sometimes the not-so-easy stories are better than one might expect, and you have to stay focused all along. But in this case, after all nothing really happened in the movie. I really don't understand the relatively high rating (5.7 as I write this).

I enjoyed Turturo and Remar and 3/4 of the film was top notch i this genre. As others have said, the ending destroyed the movie by leaving too much to interpretation. Theory 1 - Harry Caine and his OCD had a psychotic break with reality which was climaxed at the hotel and his meeting with Remar's character in Montana. Problem with this is why have Remar talking with other characters about the unintentional death of Caine's wife because a dirty cop had to be taken out. Theory 2 - There was a "Code of Silence" conspiracy by law enforcement and everything that was shown to happen(meeting Remar at the hotel, getting shot, going into some rage and blanking out?) and Caine's confession of murdering the cop(Remar) that killed his wife all actually happened but the police covered it up. If so, then where is his bullet wound? How much time had elapsed? This movie worked like a finely built superhighway that was left unfinished.....

Psychological thriller about a security guard, Harry, trying to identify who killed his wife and why. The pursuit of justice does of course run closely in parallel with Harry trying to come to terms with the murder of his wife in a shopping mall. His investigations uncover police corruption as well as linking to anti-corruption activities. Harry's obsession with his investigation leave us wondering how much of what he perceives is real and how much is imagined. The film is also about bereavement, loneliness, fear and obsession, well portrayed by John Turturro as the grieving security guard. An intriguing film that keeps the viewer guessing. However, the story ultimately isn't satisfying and is at times too loose and aimless. Not a brilliant film but a certainly a good film.

This film takes a few viewings, and you will still be puzzling over the theme. John Turturro is Harry Cain, a mall security guard mourning the death of his wife. The film is very visual (the hotel in Montana was filmed by a renowned Kubrick photographer) Some scenes are ominous, and may remind you of "The Shining". The winter environment, Harry's work as an anonymous security guard, all seem to infer his alienation from reality. Also the house across the street, which he begins to fixate on, believing he saw his wife go into the house. Is he hallucinating, or is this really happening?. The film starts slow, but is suspenseful and atmospheric. If you like psychological drama, you will truly enjoy this film. 9/10