Admittedly, this low budget, regional (it was filmed entirely in New Mexico) variation on "The Most Dangerous Game" is rough going for its first 40 something minutes, as it takes too much time to play out and establish all of its details. The story sees a naive young woman, Diana (Danielle De Luca) arrive in NM from Texas; she's just gotten work as an exotic dancer. Meanwhile, a young man named Dwight (Arron Shiver) has recently become a deputy in town, and he's a guy who has his own (cliched) history. As one might expect from a film of this nature, the acting isn't particularly great (the film's one big name, Joe Mantegna, is basically phoning this one in), and the characters are pretty stereotypical. Things pick up after the dragging first act, when the story proper kicks into gear. Inspired by the real-life exploits of serial killer Robert Hansen, it shows how Diana is victimized after accepting a ride from seemingly genial local Colin (J.D. Garfield). Colin, you see, is a creep who likes to abduct women who supposedly "won't be missed" - prostitutes and the like - and set them loose in the wilderness after he's stripped them naked. After this the story becomes quite compelling as the unfortunate Diana struggles to survive and stay one step ahead of Colin. The appealing De Luca is a very brave young woman to tackle this role, as indeed she is obliged to run around in little more than her birthday suit and be at the mercy of not just the psycho but the environment. The nakedness, however, never comes off as exploitative but merely stresses this girl's vulnerability. The story is also developed in interesting and not entirely predictable ways, as Diana finds help - or so it seems at first - sooner than one would think. And when Colin decides to eliminate something in his way, one will applaud the filmmakers' brevity in going to that place. An offbeat credit for director Thom Eberhardt, best known for "Night of the Comet", this features some gorgeous scenery and a very good music score by Jeremy Scott Reinbolt, and is at its best when it's just Diana and Colin on their own in the country. It gets pretty visceral without ever getting very gory. It does lead to a resolution that is unexpected, ending this thing on a rather interesting final note. B movie lovers should find all of this to be agreeable enough. Seven out of 10.
Review of Naked Fear
