FeardotCom (2002)

Four bodies are found in New York City. Why, why, why? The coincidence? They all died 48 hours after logging on to a site named feardotcom.com. Tough detective Mike Reilly collaborates with... See full summary »

Director:

William Malone

Writers:

Moshe Diamant (story), Josephine Coyle

Stars:

Stephen Dorff, Natascha McElhone, Stephen Rea

3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stephen Dorff	...	Detective Mike Reilly
Natascha McElhone	...	Terry Huston, Dept. of Health
Stephen Rea	...	Alistair Pratt, 'The Doctor'
Udo Kier	...	Polidori
Amelia Curtis	...	Denise Stone
Jeffrey Combs	...	Sykes
Nigel Terry	...	Turnbull
Gesine Cukrowski	...	Jeannine
Michael Sarrazin	...	Frank Bryant
Jana Güttgemanns	...	Little Girl
Anna Thalbach	...	Kate
Siobhan Flynn	...	Thana Brinkman
Evie Garratt	...	Albino Woman
Lex Kreps	...	Tenant
Joan McBride	...	Mrs. Richardson

Storyline

Four bodies are found in New York City. Why, why, why? The coincidence? They all died 48 hours after logging on to a site named feardotcom.com. Tough detective Mike Reilly collaborates with Department of Health associate Terry Huston to research these mysterious deaths. The only way to find out though what really happened is to enter the site itself...

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Plot Keywords:

torture | topless female nudity | suffocation | cigarette smoking | kicking in a door | 

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Taglines:

Want to see a really killer website? It's the last site you'll ever see.

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller | Crime

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence including grisly images of torture, nudity and language

Details

Official Sites:

Media 8 Entertainment Warner Bros. [us]

Country:

UK Germany Luxembourg USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 August 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fear Dot Com

Filming Locations:

Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$42,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$49,779 (Hong Kong) (13 June 2003)

Gross:

$77,864 (Hong Kong) (20 June 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

MDP Worldwide, ApolloMedia Distribution, Fear.Com Productions Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS Dolby Digital (Dolby 5.1)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In pre-production the website featured in the film was called Fear.com, despite the producers not owning that website in real-life. They had hoped to buy the domain name from its owners at the time, but were told that it was not for sale at any price, leading to the website's name in the film being changed to Feardotcom.com.

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Goofs

When Terry is looking at the papers and her nose bleeds there is a spot of blood below her nostril, in the next shot there is no blood at all.

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Quotes

[to her cat as she watches a violent video]
Terry: Turn around, Bennie. I don't want you watching this.

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Connections

Referenced in FeardotCom: Visions of Fear (2003)

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Soundtracks

"Sonne"
Performed by Rammstein
Courtesy of Motor, a division of Universal Music GmbH

User Reviews

No wonder people claim the horror genre is dead…

If the survival of horror films depends on titles such as this "FearDotCom", we are indeed facing the downfall of the genre. This is lame, uninspired and repetitive garbage that irritates you from start to finish. Director William Malone's idea of suspense exists out of underexposed and fuzzy images of murders edited together in boisterous flashes that actually show you NOTHING. Add a poorly written script about a murderous website and completely unconvincing characters to this and you've got yourself one of the biggest cinema-turkeys since the new millennium. If the premise of this film rings a bell, it means that you recognize it from the Japanese cult hit "Ringu"…. Or the slightly inferior American remake "the Ring". Only, the videotape has been replaced by an internet website and the poor victims have only 2 days left to live after being exposed instead of 7. Typical for an unscrupulous rip-off…Faster, louder and modernized! The elaboration is a mess: weak dialogue, plot holes all over the place, no style or atmosphere and very bad acting. I can't believe class actors like Udo Kier and Stephen Rea were talked into accepting roles like this? Surely they can still do better even though they both have seen their best times. Stephen Dorff and the leading lady deliver lousy performances in roles that really don't fit them. Dorff as a tough, experienced copper? Doubtful… Perhaps what annoyed me most about the cast (shallow, I admit) is seeing how one of my all-time favorite B-actors, Jeffrey Combs, is given such a small and insignificant role! That's Doctor Herbert West from Re-Animator we're talking about, dammit! Show a little more respect, Malone! If you love horror, you should avoid "FearDotCom" at all costs! It's bad for your nerve system.