Fear (1996 film)  Fear is a 1996 American psychological thriller film directed by James Foley and written by Christopher Crowe. It stars Mark Wahlberg, Reese Witherspoon, William Petersen, Alyssa Milano and Amy Brenneman. It revolves around a wealthy family whose seemingly perfect life is threatened when their teenage daughter begins dating an attractive and mysterious young man. The film was largely derided by critics upon its release, but became a sleeper hit in the spring of 1996, grossing $20 million at the U.S. box office. It has since become a cult film, while at the same time launching teen idol status for its two young leads, who were romantically linked at the time of the movie's premiere. Wahlberg was nominated for the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain. The film's executive producer, Brian Grazer, described it as ""Fatal Attraction" for teens" – a loose recollection in which Wahlberg and Witherspoon have the Glenn Close and Michael Douglas roles, respectively, while Petersen is in Anne Archer's.  16-year-old Nicole Walker (Reese Witherspoon) lives in the suburbs of Seattle with her father Steven (William Petersen), his new wife Laura (Amy Brenneman), and Laura's son Toby (Christopher Gray). At a bar with her best friend Margo (Alyssa Milano) and friend Gary (Todd Caldecott), Nicole meets David McCall (Mark Wahlberg), and instantly falls for his good looks and sweet, charming nature. Although David appears good-natured at first, he starts to irritate Steven by disregarding Nicole's curfew and, eventually, taking her virginity. He soon shows an aggressive side when he assaults Gary and gives Nicole a black eye. As a result, she breaks up with him, but they get back together when David manipulates her into believing her father assaulted him. David invites Nicole to a party at his friend Logan's (Tracy Fraim) house. At first, she declines but then decides to drive to the party, where she witnesses Margo smoking crack and having sex with David. The following day, she confronts him about his infidelity, and also confronts Margo, who insists she was raped while high. David then threatens Margo to convince Nicole to take him back. After seeing Nicole with Gary, David follows and kills him. Nicole goes with Laura and Toby to the mall, where David corners her in the women's restroom.