Fear

Despite a diverse cast and a nifty location, this soggy, inert horror movie unfolds with a most unimaginative collection of worn-out genre staples, starting with its bland title. Fear begins with its hero failing at his marriage proposal, despite the fact that he's a best-selling author with movie superhero-like looks, and the unusual-yet-invincible-sounding name of "Rom." From there, the friends somehow decide to tell each other their deepest fears, a checklist that will of course come into play later in the movie. When it does, it's with flashing lights, rumbling noises, jump-scares, spooky mirrors, twitchy video, CG tentacles, distorted old songs, clunky exposition, and just about anything else lifted from any number of other horror movies. (One character mutters, "I feel like we're in Get Out." If only.) Characters blunder around the lodge with no sense of time; while the action cuts away to certain characters, it takes others an absurdly long time to get from one room to another. This lack of rhythm makes it feel like Fear takes forever to get started, and when it finally does, during the final third, you may find yourself eager for it to end.