From "Election" to "Pleasantville" to "Cruel Intentions," Reese Witherspoon has played a memorable part in some of the best movies of the '90s. "Fear" is not one of them.
No, the Oscar winner's 1996 stalker thriller might not be a "good" movie in the traditional sense, but it is a great watch, and you can watch the title for free on Tubi ... but not for long, as today is the last day it's available.
With Mark Wahlberg, William Petersen, Alyssa Milano and Amy Brenneman rounding out the cast, "Fear" has attained cult classic status over the years thanks to its deliciously cheesy antics but also genuinely suspenseful atmosphere.
The sensationalist teen drama is but one of the over 40,000 free movies and TV series available on Tubi, one of the best free streaming services for film fans to discover new flicks and revisit old favorites.
Before "Fear" leaves that streaming platform, here's why you should check out the Reese Witherspoon-led fan favorite. Queue it up after work while you eat dinner or even while you work out.
What is 'Fear' about?
Witherspoon plays Nicole Walker, a sweet 16-year-old living in Seattle with her architect dad Steven (William Petersen), her stepmother Laura (Amy Brenneman) and her younger stepbrother Toby (Christopher Gray).
While visiting a downtown café with her best friend Margo (Alyssa Milano), Nicole meets a charming, mysterious older guy named David McCall (Mark Wahlberg), who swiftly sweeps Nicole off her feet.
However, the teen's whirlwind romance turns sinister when David's darker side begins peeking through the Prince Charming façade he's created. Soon, David's adoration has turned into obsession, with the young man growing dangerously jealous and controlling of his new girlfriend.
When Nicole eventually tries to break things off, David puts not only her life but also those of her loved ones at serious risk.
Why should you watch 'Fear' on Tubi?
Again, "Fear" is no critical darling — the James Foley-directed, Christopher Crowe-penned movie only holds a 46% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 39 reviews, with the site's consensus praising its "appealing young cast" but noting that the actors' efforts "aren't enough to consistently distract from an increasingly overblown — and illogical — teen stalker story."
However, despite being sufficiently over-the-top (the film features a truly insane rollercoaster-set sex scene that will leave you never being able to hear "Wild Horses" by the Rolling Stones quite the same way ever again), "Fear" actually hasn't aged terribly in the three decades since its release.
It's shamelessly pulpy, sure, a youthful answer to the steamy erotic thrillers — "Fatal Attraction", "Basic Instinct", "Eyes Wide Shut" and what not — that dominated the 1990s. But it's also a genuinely chilling and sadly still relevant cautionary tale about obsession, manipulation and love-bombing, charged with an especially creepy turn from a pre-"Boogie Nights" Wahlberg. Check it out before it's gone!
Watch "Fear" on Tubi now
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