FEAR

Architect Martyn (Martin Compston) and genealogist Rebecca (Anglo Mohindra) move from London to Glasgow with their two young children, hoping for fresh start in their beautiful historical home. Their plans quickly unravel when Jan (Solly McLeod), their odd downstairs neighbour, starts to fixate on Rebecca and behaves inappropriately towards her. The situation escalates when Jan hacks the family’s smart devices and begins spying on them, before making false accusations of child abuse to the police. With the authorities unwilling to take action, the logical response would be for the family to sell up and move, but instead Martyn’s frustration grows until it culminates in a violent confrontation. This three part series offers a fairly realistic spin on the stalker narrative up until the end of the final episode, where the pacing becomes rushed and characters begin making confusing choices that lack proper context or motivation. None of the ensemble are likeable, especially Martin who’s a chronic liar and Rebecca who’s extremely dull. Had promise but the writing lost its way.