Customer Reviews

Naked Fear

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Like most direct-to-video releases, the low budget really shows. But the unique premise of the film makes up for that. Here we have a rather unusual serial killer who kidnaps strippers and prostitutes, takes them out into the New Mexico wilderness, strips them naked and let's them go with a head start so he can hunt them down. One woman ends up with a lot more wits on her than the killer expected and gives him a good run.

The story is loosely based on real-life serial killer Robert Hansen, a resident in Alaska and big time game hunter who did indeed kidnap and hunt down about 20+ women throughout most of the 70s and into the early 80s before finally being caught.

Productionwise, the film was done pretty cheap, looking like it was shot on video. Joe Mantegna provides the only star power in the film playing the small town sheriff investigating the disappearances of these women. But the plot does hold you pretty good and keeps your attention. Nudity is plentiful, but not in an exploitive way, so it is justified given the premise.

All in all, not a bad way to spend 1 1/2 hrs on. Worth a rental at least.

All things---including its low budget, shot on video quality, direct-to-dvd release, and cast of unknowns---considered, NAKED FEAR is far better than it deserves to be, due in large part to actress Danielle DeLuca and to its storyline, which is based on the story of serial killer Robert Hansen.

Like Hansen (who operated in the Alaskan outback), the fictional Colin Mandel (J.D. Garfield) preys on strippers and prostitutes whom he hunts in the wilds of New Mexico after first drugging them and setting them free, utterly naked and defenseless.

Joe Mantegna, the only star power in the film, plays a curiously obtuse small-town sheriff. Aware of illegalities in the local strip club, and bedeviled by a lengthy "missing persons" caseload comprised entirely of young, pretty girls, albeit strippers and prostitutes, he refuses to put 2 and 2 together, does nothing, and is apparently more concerned with angering the oddly popular weirdoes in his town, than in solving crimes.

Diana (DeLuca) is an innocent girl from Texas who takes up a benefactor's offer to work, good money guaranteed, in that same small town in New Mexico. When she arrives, she's put up in a flyblown motel with a heroin addict for a roommate. She's then told that she's expected to work as a stripper, obligated to pay back the money laid out for her travel expenses, food, and lodging, "plus interest . . . and it compounds," as she is told by her sneering benefactor-turned-slavemaster, who takes most of the money she earns. When she complains, he tells her to "lose the thong," which she does, only to be heavily fined by the club owner, who is complicit in the enslavement scheme. With no money to give her "benefactor" that night, he threatens her, but then suggests she privately "entertain" a few customers. Desperate to escape what is obviously a horrible and never-ending situation, Diana agrees. Spotted by the trolling Mandel, she agrees to have sex for money but then tries to put him off, only to belatedly discover she is more a prisoner than ever. Mandel, armed with rifle and crossbow, would seem to have all the advantages.

DeLuca, a staple of recent "B" slasher films, is pretty and vivacious, and utterly convincing as the bewildered Diana. DeLuca carries a large portion of this film on her petite shoulders by her lonesome and in the altogether nude, playing the hungry, bruised, dirty and terrorized Diana with a realism that is disturbing to watch.

NAKED FEAR is a gem of its genre, and is well worth the 90 minutes you will give to it.

Other reviewers have pretty well described the good and bad of this flick, which is evidently based on a real serial killer who enjoyed hunting and killing young women he captured and released into the wilderness. What could have been a routine B-movie is elevated a notch by the amazing performance of Danielle DeLuca as one victim who decides to fight back. DeLuca must spend a great deal of the movie trekking naked over rough terrain. Her character experiences a progression of emotions--terror, frustration, panic, determination and finally anger--and Danielle pulls it off very well (no pun intended). I could have done without the tacked-on ending, but some may find it satisfying. Regardless, if you check this one out, I guarantee you'll never be the same again.

The title suggests a movie with gratuitous nudity typical of a B movie where some chick runs around naked for the sake of being naked. This is NOT the case here. Yes the heroine is totally naked for about 30 minutes of the movie but she actually tries to cover herself when she can, almost as if trying to make a statement that T and A is not what the movie is about. She soon finds an old Tshirt burried in some campfire ashes she uses to get warm and then cuts up part of it to use as "shoes". The rest she uses a smock and it covers her quite well. Exactly what one would do in a survival situation. This lends credibility to the "true story" thing. She then realizes exactly how serious her situation is and begins to turn the tables on her persuer. She does a lot of cleaver things and shows some real guts.

Honestly, the nudity is really appropriate to the storyline and not at all overdone and it ends as soon as realistically feasible. The acting is really, really good and the story is VERY believable. It might actually be a true story. The last scene in the movie, however, does cast doubt on that and they really had me on the true story thing up until that scene. Perhaps that was a Hollywood added scene done for effect or to leave the door open for a sequel but the rest of the movie is actually something you COULD believe is based in fact. I'm not convinced it isn't. I'm not convinced it is.

Danielle De Luca, although I have never heard of her before, does a stunning job acting in this film. Definitely NOT a B movie actress and I hope to see her in more films soon. Yes, I am a guy and she does have a gorgeous body and I did like the nude scenes. What can I say, she IS hot! I'd be lying if I said I didn't like the boobs etc. But she sure as hell can act!

The movie also sheds light onto the stripper scene. How these girls are recruited and kept "hostage" (which is probably exagerated but perhaps not), how pressure is put on them to do things they did not think they would ever end up doing, etc. And hints at how the whole subculture operates. Again, possibly not entirely true but something to think about and I'm sure not ENTIRELY UNtrue.

Bottom line is, I was amazed at how good this movie is. Watch it yourself and see if you agree.

This is a totally fun popcorn flick!!! I'm a fan of Joe Mantagne so I gave this one a try and I wasn't disappointed.

It's like the classic "The Most Dangerous Game" but brought up to date and I guess it's based on a real serial killer. Some of the creepiest scenes are the tortures off camera. You're left to imagine the worst to match the sounds in the background. I watched this with a bunch of friends and as the chase goes on and tension ramps up there were a lot of great "jump" scares.

I would recommend this to everyone except for grandma and the kiddies because of the violence and female nudity.

Don't get this for Joe Montegne. He's a fine actor, but he's barely in it. Don't get it for anyone else's acting. It's mostly bad. Don't get it for the writing. There's barely a plot. Get it to watch the stunningly sexy Danielle De Luca being chased stark naked across the Southwestern countryside for a good 20 minutes. The actress somehow manages to sell what should be a laughable scenario. It's just a sight that should not be missed.

You know the plot of this film has been done many times, movies like "Hard Target" with Van Damme, & 70's shows like "Incredible Hulk" & "Charlie's Angels" all had a hunter hunting a person or people, so this premise was nothing new, however this one was actually based on a real hunter, so given that factor, this was a bit more chilling, I hesitated whether to buy this one, but nowhere could I find it to rent, so I took a chance & got this one, & I have to say it was not a waste of money, this one has a ordinary guy, at least that is how he appears to those who know him, who has a dark secret, he enjoys kidnapping women (mostly strippers) who he sets out in the wilderness naked to hunt, Diana (Danielle DeLucia) is one such woman who not only has a nice body & pretty face, but can actually act, we feel her sense of fear & despair & soon she is off & running, there is even a subplot of a small town cop who senses what is going on but is told to do his job, & not play detective by his superior (Joe Mantanga) who you wonder how he got to be sherriff in the first place, what I found appealing about this one was the thriller aspect, suspense thrillers have always been my favorite kinds of films, & sadly Hollywood does not do enough of them, I like action/explosion/in your face summer movies too, but thrillers like this one take you on a ride & do leave an impression on you, somthing bigger budget films always fail to do, this is the kind of film Quentin Taratino would like, it does have that 70's retro feel to it, as one reviewer noted though, there is a disturbing scene involving some teenage boys & their father being killed who cross paths with Diana, somthing I too felt this film could have done without, however when Diana's fear turns to anger the hunter gets more than he bargained for which is in a similar vain as Taratino's own film "DeathProof" with Kurt Russell preying on unsuspecting women & getting a taste of his own medicine when he picks the wrong ones to prey on, this one like that one has that same message to it, If you like B-movies that rely on story & plot & you need a female nudity fix, then this is one to get.

One might say that the storyline in this film has been done many times before. But this film has its moments of great suspense, and the performances are fairly good, particularly Mantegna and DeLuca. There is a major twist in the end of the film, and again it is not as if this type of thing has not been done before, but nevertheless, the twist turns the entire movie on its head, making for an exciting conclusion.

The storyline is familiar, as I said. Young girl is forced to work as a "dancer" to make money, falls victim to a game in which humans are hunting other humans. Young rookie cop is eager to help find the missing girl but the good 'ol boys in the police dept. are protecting the "hunters" and obstructing the young cop's ability to help, so he has to figure it out on his own.

Even though the viewer pretty much knows all along where the film will end up in the conclusion, there are enough thrills along the way to make it worthwhile. The film is fast-paced, wastes little time, and DeLuca is attractive and does project a strong female lead. This certainly would not be the ideal "date" movie, but as far as a direct-to-video rental is concerned, it works just fine.

A good storyline, A fairly good budgeted film. I do not believe there are any sex scenes in this film but there is nudity and a good storyline that goes with it and the story is believable and it might actually be based on a true story. I paid $15 for it and I believe it is worth that much.

Interesting- this is supposed to be a low budget film, and yet, the quality of the story and the characters that come off quite experienced whether they actually are or not, leads me to believe this is a movie that definitely falls under the underrated category.

The story is about a madman who takes naked women and makes them run naked through fields, valleys and rivers, and has a hunting game with them (by giving the women a 15 minute head start). It's a sick, twisted game that one lady has a heck of a hard time struggling with, and thus is the focus of the storyline. She runs from the maniac, hides, and runs some more. Lots of action during the second half of the movie.

There's some rather cruel scenes that involve young boys getting shot and killed, and I'm not particularly happy about this exceptionally graphic part of the movie, but other than that, this is a thriller that you'd never guess is considered a low budget film staring no-name actors and actresses- I don't think so. If this is the case, must have been luck picking *just* the right actors and actresses that were REALLY good and have a future ahead of them judging by their performance here.

Great movie, but be warned- there's a ton of nudity in it.