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FEAR DOT COM (Warner Bros) Director: William Malone Hacktors: Stephen Dorff, Natascha McElhone, Jeffrey Combs Rating: Tag-line: 'Want to see a really killer website?' Death Toll: Eight. None of them very exciting. Cutting Remarks: Advance word had not been good on this one, but you struggle to keep an open mind. You find yourself thinking, "How bad can it be? It's about a snuff website, some of the stills look quite disturbing and Stephen Dorff's in it". Such thoughts are pointless optimism. This movie is even worse than you've been led to believe.          Not content with making a movie about a live kill site, director Malone and screenwriter Josephine Coyle (hopefully not her real name, if she doesn't like hate mail) throw in the vengeful spirit of a woman tortured and killed on feardotcom - thus giving you two rip-off cliches for your money: Videodrome and The Ring. Actually, this movie is positively awash with cliches: when people fall out of windows, they land squarely on police cars. When someone swims underwater, a corpse pops up, a la Jaws. The evil Doctor's internet lair has a Freddy Krueger-style boiler which flares up for no particular reason.          All of these are mere irritations, however, compared to the lousy patchwork script and the vast majority of the performances. Dorff looks like he's planning how to kill his agent, while McEhrone does her best, wandering through abstract setpieces in the final third with little or no logic stringing them together. Stephen Rea is actually quite effective as the calm, collected Doctor, while Jeffrey 'Reanimator' Combs looks typically weird as Dorff's estranged partner cop. Ultimately, this isn't scary (a little girl with a bouncing ball? Oh, do stop with that imagery) and it isn't particularly nasty, as punches are decidedly pulled when it comes to the Doctor's handiwork. Perhaps the only plus point is Malone's occasional eye for a good visual. But even these are generally hurled into tiresome fast-cut barrages, by the end of which you don't know, and much less care, what you're seeing. A disaster. Most Memorable Demise: One in the last 10 minutes, but we don't want to give it away. Not that you'll probably be watching... you trust us, right? Look Out For: The fact that, every time someone types words on a computer screen, they also speak those words aloud. Just in case the audience can't read. Don't you love being under-estimated? Killer Quote: "We have a responsibility to them. They've come to watch" - Stephen Rea's mad doctor, to his latest victim, while nodding towards his beloved web cam. Like anyone filming snuff footage is going to get their face in the picture... DVD Details: Malone offers an audio commentary with his Director of Photography. A short featurette entitled Visions Of Fear sees the cast members desperately trying to pretend they have some faith in this picture. A deleted scene titled The Mushroom Factory demonstrates exactly why it was cut out, as it's perhaps even worse than the rest of the movie. Then there's your typical still gallery and trailer-type action. Sound is Dolby 5.1. Vision is letterboxed widescreen. Release Date: Out now, everywhere. It has apparently been cut slightly in the UK. Good. [Check it out at Amazon US] [Check it out at Amazon UK] [Reviews Menu] [Home] © Copyright Slasherama 2002-present