The Fear

The Fear is a 1995 American psychological horror film directed by Vincent Robert and starring Vince Edwards in his final film role, along with Eddie Bowz, Darin Heames, Leland Hayward, and Ann Turkel. Its plot follows a group of dysfunctional young adults who take a weekend retreat to a remote cabin, where they become threatened by a living wooden mannequin. Plot A group of dysfunctional university students take a weekend retreat as part of a thesis study for Richard Strand, a psychology student studying fear, at his family's rural vacation cabin. Upon arrival, the group find a life-size wooden mannequin, "Morty," in the house. Richard reveals that Morty was a childhood toy of his, and he intends to use Morty as a soundboard for each of the individuals to confess their fears to. Only Richard's girlfriend, Ashley, is reluctant to participate. Richard conducts a group session in which the participants explain their fears to Morty. Troy, a joking stoner, laughs off the exercise, though Leslie, Troy's elder foster sister, admits her fear of aging, while Vance declares his greatest fear is poverty. Richard's uncle Pete unexpectedly arrives, interrupting the session, with his younger girlfriend, Tanya. Pete invites himself to stay, despite Richard's insistence that the group remain a controlled study. Later that night, Tanya confesses her fear of water to Morty, while Mindy admits her fear of heights; Mindy's boyfriend, Gerald, tells her in private that he fears religion, as he was raised by a Christian zealot. Richard himself admits to Morty that he is afraid of commitment, and cites his mother's death in the cabin as a significant childhood trauma. Tanya has a breakthrough with Richard, in which he reveals her fear of water is actually a metaphor for her fear of emotions, which he surmises based on Jungian theory. Meanwhile, Morty begins to surface inexplicably in different places at the cabin, posed outside windows and in the hot tub. When Richard accuses Ashley of placing Morty in the hot tub to frighten Tanya, Ashley returns his engagement ring to him. When asked where Morty came from, Richard recounts how his grandfather acquired Morty from a Native American man who carved the mannequin for him.