The Fearway review.
The Fearway is a mystery thriller that is neither mysterious nor thrilling. It does manage to be interesting for short spurts and is fairly well made…which keeps it from being terrible. But it doesn’t elevate it to being good.
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The Fearway
Directed by Robert Gajic
Written by Noah Bessey
Starring Shannon Dalonzo, Justin Gordon, Eileen Dietz, Simon Phillips, Jessica Gray and John D. Hickman
The Fearway Review
It never hurts a small movie to add some comedy into the mix. I say that because The Fearway has none…but it really would have benefited from some. It involves people trapped in a ridiculous premise who correctly treat it as a perplexing one…but at some point of looping through the same stretch of desert…someone has to crack a joke. Comedy makes characters more likable and movies more entertaining. The best thing about them when you make a small budget movie? They’re free. It’s too late for The Fearway to take this advice…but it would be appreciated if countless upcoming low budget movies heeded it.
That out of the way, let’s dive into The Fearway. A couple on a road trip finds themselves trailed by a black car. They narrowly escape it by heading to a remote diner. Once they get back on the road they find themselves caught in a loop…driving the same stretch of road, followed by the same car, passing the same diner. Time doesn’t appear to be progressing and there doesn’t seem to be any way out.
The good news about The Fearway is that the main characters are at least proactive about their situation. Too many times we have to suffer through stupid people making stupid choices. Given the nature of the scenario they are trapped in…there really are no stupid choices. They exhaust everything they can think of to see any change in their situation.
As discussed in the opening…they do it all with a straight face. It’s not a problem as much as it is disappointing. The more they learn about their trap…the more ridiculous The Fearway becomes. It would have been nice to see the characters react to it the way viewers do. Especially because viewers are likely to figure out what’s happening long before the couple does.
One of the problems that The Fearway has to deal with is that its mystery isn’t that mysterious. It is interesting for a little while…but you’ll probably be able to figure it out before too long. Despite the story revolving around this odd trap, and despite the best efforts of the side characters in the diner, The Fearway rarely manages to high stakes. Which is odd…because what you figure out involves the stakes being high.
The Fearway also does something that bad movies can’t help but do…it gives you all of the information in one giant dump in the third act. It hurts even more when you’ve already figured it out. Now you’re watching a long explanation you don’t need delivered in the least interesting way. “Show don’t tell” is a thing for a reason.
On top of the information dump…The Fearway adds an unearned twist of sorts at the last minute. We won’t spoil it…but it does more harm than good. A decision that attempts to add the stakes the movie has lacked…but instead changes things the wrong way. We’ve followed these characters fight their situation the whole time only for it to meet an unsatisfying reveal meant to provide more emotional attachment to their plight. It pretty much does the opposite.
Maybe it’s because the acting here was mostly decent. Maybe it’s because I had just watched Deinfluencer. Either way I found The Fearway to be a decent watch in spite of its flaws. It makes mistakes and wasn’t that engaging…but loops are kind of fun and I appreciated characters who attacked a problem head on for a change. I just wish it had taken itself a little less seriously.
Scare Value
You’ll see everything that The Fearway wants to do coming a mile away. It doesn’t have nearly as much fun with the loop concept as it should…but at least gives us characters who try different things to break it. It’s not a good movie…but it’s not a bad watch.
2/5
The Fearway Links
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The Fearway Trailer
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