No Time to Fear (2009) User Reviews

Annoyingly Bad and Hokey!

[slickrock-1 · 2/10 · 1 May 2011]

While at the time of this submission there is only one other review, I find it sadly surprising that about 16 people have rated this film and given it a 9 out of 10. Think about that people. Some of the greatest films of all time do not get 9 out of 10 on IMDb and this sophomoric, straight to Chiller Channel got this rating! Must be the cast, crew and their families and friends!

I am a huge fan and supporter of Independent film but honesty is honesty and quality is quality and this effort has neither.

I tuned in because of the premise: an evil spirit takes the form of it's prey. That sounded pretty intriguing. How does one defeat that? I found the story to be one of the weakest I have seen in recent wasted evenings with low budget, cheesy, Chiller offerings. This plot line, and surprise ending (which I will not give away and let you feel as robbed and let down as I was,) has been done much better and with different results by thousands of others!

The premise, a depressed, suicidal young man goes camping with his sister and other friends. He finds a statue in the forest and things go down hill from there - for everyone, but especially the viewer!

When you start with a story that seems a patchwork of disconnected pieces poorly stitched together, it takes great, or at least good, actors to pull the venture off. Here we have neither. The strongest effort is turned in by the male lead, James DeBello. He will probably make another film, and I would give it a chance. Not so with the others, especially the female lead, Francesca Cecil. You know the phrase "don't quit your day job"? Well, I hope she has a day job!

Ms Cecil is not only unbelievable, vapid and shallow in her attempt - her voice is annoying and irritating.

While there were many weaknesses in directing and cinematography, even the wardrobe had laughable elements. In the early camping scenes, Ms Cecil's wardrobe looked like she was running to the mall to pick up some more fake eyelashes and mascara.

As the first reviewer noted, why is there a statue in the forest? The reason for this or any other resulting events is never addressed to any seemingly logical conclusion. In fact, the actual "twist" that is the film's conclusion is such a hokey "let's just end this madness" that "unsatisfied" is the kindest description of how one might feel.

There was nothing "nice" about this effort and while I support Independent film makers, I would not encourage this type of shoddy work. If I could find something nice to say about this work, I would be happy to. I gave it 2 stars because it was an Indie effort! Pretty weak praise for a show that barely deserves 2 stars. Save yourself the time and watch something else or, read a book!

Is weirdness a word???

[wksk · 4/10 · 18 August 2013]

I was just wondering if it was a word since I cannot think of a good word that describes the feeling I got from this movie. Weirdness, will have to do. A girl goes camping with some friends and brings her brother with her. She's a protective big sister, but with good reason. Some weird stuff starts happening when they are out there, then when they get home, things get even more weird and scary (for the people in the movie, not the viewer.) It's not a scary movie, really. I know at times it tried to be, but it just never happened. The thing that annoyed me a little bit was that the movie held my attention, and I thought it was interesting at first. Then in about 20 or 30 minutes, I realized that this movie had totally lost my attention. So, I guess it starts off good and then gets soooo, very dull, then it picks back of a little for the end, but by the time the end comes, you're so ready for it to be done, you don't care at all what happens.

Indie Horror Film as it should be

[evilfrith · 9/10 · 11 May 2011]

I watched the premier of "No Time to Fear" and was actually surprised. I was expecting the usual low-budget horror film with the typical cookie cutter plot line / genre script but instead the script has multiple story lines coalescing into a complete final project that left me wanting more. The low-fi feel of the pic was a welcome departure from the typical "campy" (no pun intended) or over the top gore that is usually found in the genre giving the film a sense of suspense mixed in with some detective work (but then again I may be biased since I enjoy this type of work along with my action and scifi flix).

Bottom line: If your a horror / genre fan looking for a slightly different take on the usual fair - check this pic out! I was entertained and I am assuming there may be a part 2 based on the ending? But if your looking for hi-budget, film from a template - so you can easily understand the storyline - you may want to check out a more mainstream film.

Decent indie effort. Worth a watch if you like independent Horror.

[Indifferent_Observer · 6/10 · 9 June 2011]

I,like always,came here to check out the reviews before watching this movie because The cover looked cheap and bad. I almost just passed it up before noticed James DeBello's name of CabinFever(and many more) fame on the roster. Now don't get me wrong Mr Debello probably wont be winning any awards for his acting anytime soon, but he always manages to make me laugh or tick me off and he tends to be able to pick decent entertaining rolls even if they aren't box office hits.

"No Time to Fear" didn't follow the 'in' trend of the flood of horror comedies lately. Now don't get me wrong,I like a good Horror Comedy as much as the next guy, but sometimes I just want an old fashioned scary movie thats eerie and delivers. Some of it was a bit over the top, but these guys did a decent job in the end and you can tell that, "No Time to Fear" is definitely a micro-budget Horror flick. I cant argue that this movie does have noticeable similarities to other horror and Sci-Fi movies so it doesn't really offer anything new to the genre as a whole, but if you like low budget supernatural horror I would say that this movie is still worth a watch.

Slow Start But Picks UP

[cB391 · 8/10 · 11 June 2011]

This movie started out really boring, and I usually tune out or fast forward through movies like this. For some reason, I stuck with it, and the story was interesting, it had a few plot holes, and the acting at times wasn't great, but the story kept moving and I was pretty glued to the movie.

The ending of the movie like the start was bad. I basically figured it out five minutes in, because it just seemed to be obvious and I was disappointed in that, rather than them working out an interesting ending. The middle of the movie is enjoyable, don't set yourself up for a good ending, but don't give up on it too early either.

Wasn't Sure At First, But Became Pretty Awesome

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 25 October 2009]

Overcoming a fit of depression and suicidal tendencies, a young man joins his sister and her friends on a camping trip. In the midst of this, they stumble on a statue that releases the spirit of a German doppelganger. Now, the spirit won't rest until everyone involved is dead.

This film had a lot of good and a lot of bad going for it. Ultimately, if I had to lean one way or the other, I'd say the film is more good than bad, if no other reason than that this is an independent venture and I have to accept that certain professional amenities may not have been available.

There's some camera work I found really annoying (the blurry vision), a main character who is only semi-likable (the suicidal brother is the only really enjoyable role), and a really bad special effect involving a gunshot to the head. Other effects, such as a car accident, are much better. Also, why there's a spirit in a statue that wants to copy and kill people wasn't explained as much as I would have liked (or how a doctor that is scientific keeps business cards from an "old colleague" on hand, and seems to know how to hypnotize people).

My biggest problem with the film was the "twist" ending, which I cannot discuss here. But it was poorly written and someone, anyone, should have stepped in and changed it before filming began.

That sounds like a lot of complaints, but here's the good news: the people involved are all talented, and I think a second feature will prove this. The acting was top-notch from everyone, the directing was fine (though that blurry cinematography can go). And the writing... aside from the ending, I think this was a very interesting story, and I would have loved to see it fleshed out more. It was so refreshing to see a story that wasn't ripping off the last twenty years of horror left and right.

Give "No Time to Fear" a shot if you want to support independent horror thrillers. This was a nice movie, and even better if you have a nice, tall glass of Malibu rum while watching it.