Max

Max was the leading antagonist of the British psychological thriller, In Fear. He was the host of Kilairney House Hotel and was portrayed by actor Allen Leech.

While the speed limit signs imply the events of the film must have taken place in Northern Ireland, based on his accent, Max could have been living in Dublin for a good portion of his life before moving out into the Irish countryside, or perhaps his family background comes from Dublin. This is still yet a theory on his origins.

Plot
Max is first introduced to Tom and Lucy whilst they search for Kilairney House, moments after they clip him on the road. While Tom searches along the road, Max climbs into the back of the car and repetitively questions Lucy if they had any partake with his wound, confused and dazed at what had happened. As Lucy debates with Tom, Max explains he is from the area and that he was attacked, apparently being dragged into a clearing by his assaulters where they forced him down and sliced his head open. He then begged that they leave the region immediately.

While they continue down the road, Max thanks them for helping him before he grunts in pain from his open wound. Lucy states he is in need of medical treatment, only for Max to admit that getting hit by their car had taken up most of the pain he was experiencing before, and continues to fall victim to his throbbing head. Lucy then asks if he saw who attacked him, but he appears delusional from the attack and states that the group could have been some men who hang around the local pub, and that they aren't exactly right in the head.

As they progress, Max observes his wound, pulling it open and claiming he is bleeding badly. He then mentions the hotel and that they should be able to get help there, telling Tom to follow the signs as he then weakly rests in the back seat.

After a distance, Max begins questioning them personal information (if they're a couple and why they're staying at the hotel for the festival) before dismissing himself and apologising for being nosy. He then discovers Tom's bottle in the backseat and jokingly claims that it's most likely the reason he didn't see him on the road.

They then come up to a point in the road where deceased rabbits are strung over it. Max claims they're around and after driving straight through, he explains the men after them are butchers and hunters. He then tells who the group are, and that they've been after him for years over bad blood, led by their ringleader who apparently caused the death of a driver when he stepped onto the road as a kid.

The three come up to divided lanes where a hotel sign rests in the centre. Lucy asks if they've been in the location before and Max anxiously questions why Tom brought them back. Tom then tells Max that he has been following his directions, and that he said he knew the roads. Max continues to interrogate him, saying that he's been lying in the back bleeding to death, supposedly from being hit by their car. Tom recalls that isn't the reason why he's bleeding, and in a hesitating and insulted act, Max then claims he's not entirely there as his head has been cut open and he was hit by a car in the same hour. He then reasonably tells them he knows the way and they begin following his directions, following the signs by his word, only to return to where they started. Max states the men have changed the signs around and that by following them you'll come back to the same place.

Eagerly, Max questions what Tom had done to make them a target. After learning about the incident in the pub and trying to get the answer out of Lucy through persistent questioning, Tom has an outburst and exits the car in a rage, leaving Max and Lucy together. He then tells Lucy he was in the pub at the time the event happened, and that Tom spilt the man's drink, opposite to what Tom had originally told Lucy. Moments later, he then starts to feel pain from his wound, saying that it's becoming worse, and he's becoming weaker. Tom returns and Max asks if he's feeling better and if he'd like him to take the wheel. Max then tells him he knows where they are and that he can get them out of their situation. As they drive, Max observes the two's behaviour closely, and, at the right moment when neither of them are watching, he cuts his head open with his nail and tells them his head's starting to bleed again. After asking for something to prevent him from bleeding all over, Lucy discovers the map in the glovebox, and Max questions what it is before she asks him if he cut his own face open. She then implies he took her clothes, pulled her hair, and dragged her out of the car. Max grabs her by the shoulder and tells her he cut the tree and even wrote on the wall at the pub, and that everything that had happened had been done by him. He then grabs her and forces her down, and tells Tom to drive as fast as he possibly can, holding a knife to the back of her head. Narrowly avoiding a crash, Max reveals he hadn't been wearing a seatbelt and that if Tom were have crashed, he would've killed him and possibly saved themselves. He then threatens and tells Lucy that she's to choose which one of them he kills in the count of ten. At one, she finally screams out Tom after Tom tells her to say his name, though it appears Max had grown tired of waiting and that her last second was an invalid answer as he apparently presses the knife closer to her head. He then laughs as he releases her, and says he never had a knife with him in the first place. Thanking them, he leaves the car as Tom jumps back attacking him.

After leaving the car, Max walks into the woods and Tom follows behind him in pursuit, coming up behind him and smashing the bottle of alcohol over his head, causing Max to fall to the ground. After the two fight, Max hands Tom the broken remains of the bottle and stands on his knees with his arms open. Tom aims but before he is able to stab him, Max grabs him by the hand and breaks his wrist, then walks off.

When the two run out of petrol, Lucy looks into the mirror to find Max driving towards them. They exit and flee into the woods, and while he appears to have driven off, he comes up behind Tom and drags him away.After Lucy finds the hotel, she explores it only to have Max call out to her from the surrounding scrapyard. She takes off with Max in pursuit, and before she gives in to him, he drives straight past her and down the road. He returns after she finds Tom's corpse in the boot of the car, though instead of revealing himself, he backs away. In the morning, Lucy manages to find her way out of the forest, and as she drives down the moor Max steps out onto the road. She stops, and he directs her in his direction. She then steps on the pedal and increases her speed as she closes in on him; Max smiles and closes his eyes. Just before she hits him, the screen turns black.

Appearance
Based on his appearance, Max is a young Irishman approximately in his late twenties (estimated around 29 years old). His attire includes a black puffer, a deep blue turtleneck jumper, and dull brown pants. He has brown hair and green eyes, and his skin correlation is fair. His most notable feature is his flesh-wound found above his left brow, which he has throughout the entire course of the film (save a few scenes in the beginning, where he can be seen in the background, before the events that take place at night).

In other scenes, Max is seen wearing a white mask over his face, presumably made out of a plastic-like material to add to the illusion of being someone completely different while tormenting the couple. With this on, only the upper portion of his head can be identified, while his lower remains hidden.

Personality
While Max appears to have sociopathic intentions, his actual characteristics are defined by a number of various personality traits, all of which differ widely apart from one another. He sports a very unique personality type being as he is capable of shifting his emotions as an attempt to manipulate those around him. While his natural personality seems hazy, it can be suggested that he may be more solace than interactive with outside social events, being as he lives in the middle of absolute nowhere. He could, however, be present in society but keeps a low profile, as proven with the fact he was in the pub at the time the incident happened between Tom and the locals, completely unnoticed.

Overall, Max showed he was able to act on a fake emotion relatively well. When he's picked up for the first time by the couple, he shows an actual expression of fear and anxiety as he pleads they take him with them. With Tom skeptical, Max answered him quickly and proceeded to use his wound as a way to get them to drive off with him, which proved to be successful, when he brought Lucy into the potential threat. While there is no doubt he was in pain from cutting open his head, it seems as though most of the pain he experienced was overreacted; but he regardless managed to pull them into wanting to help him the best they could. He even presented a vibe of being continuously weakened due to his blood loss, though as seen in other scenes, his wound did not stop him from acting on something.

He continues to play innocent though quickly grows comfortable around the two at a surprisingly alarming rate; teasing Tom about the bottle of alcohol in the back, including questioning the two their intentions and personal business. This leads to him feeling shameful, grunting disappointedly under his breath.

When they came back to a location, he once again showed a legit expression of fear followed by confusion. He questioned Tom for bringing them back in a tone that sounded like he was terrified and very nervous something were to happen in that exact spot. Though, at a point, his "story" fell a bit when he accused he was bleeding to death after being hit by their car. After being corrected by Tom, he noticeably hesitated at his mistake and eagerly tried to avoid it by saying he wasn't all there, going in and out of reality due to his injuries.

As they progressed, an invisible irritation began between him and Tom, as he was notably becoming annoyed with Max's promises of knowing the way and then failing to get them out of an area. He then proceeded to question what they had done, which resulted in Tom's annoyance becoming higher, eventually causing his outbreak. When Lucy mentioned the pub, an obvious expression of now knowing something had happened between them labels his face and he continues to invade their personal space (which, as shown, he cares nothing for).

When alone with Lucy in the car, his personality turns into an understanding figure, attempting to "win" over her trust as he explains to her what happened; all the while maintaining a mournful mood. The point where he begins to feel pain again, possibly trying to see how much she cares for him at this point. He asks if she has any spare water and the two get incredibly close, perhaps symbolizing that Max is trying to get her to cozy up to him and turn against Tom's word.

After being discovered and revealed as the culprit, he instantly begins showing more of his true side. He becomes unpredictable and destructive, his behaviour completely uncertain. In the chaos, after falsely threatening to kill either of the two based on Lucy's answer, he laughs hysterically before exiting the car, still laughing at Tom and saying he "hasn't done anything" and then tapping the window and saying "safe home" to Lucy. The entire fight involves him laughing and encouraging Tom to fight him as he tosses names at him. At the beginning, he overpowers him quickly and repeats "come on" until Tom overpowers him, causing him to laugh again knowing he's up against a reasonable foe; possibly getting a rush out of being taken down.

After the fight, he returns and instantly becomes more menacing and serious with his actions. He snatches Tom in the dark and gives Lucy extra petroleum for her to continue. Finding the hotel, he yet again shows mental signs of being unwell, but to a realistic extent. During the chase, he continues to mock her to himself.

Interestingly, as Lucy discovers Tom's body in the boot of the car, Max shows signs of regret and remorse for Lucy's suffering and retreats into the woods, looking at her once more before taking off for the night.

When Lucy meets Max at the end of the road, he looks worn and tired but still remains determined with his game. Seeing her, he smiles gently and then becomes a bit nervous, before signalling to her. Just as she speeds towards him, his expression, though showing some fear, falls to a smile as he closes his eyes and awaits impact.

Description
"Played by Allen Leech, Max is the mysterious stranger picked up by the couple whilst navigating through the nightly maze of backwoods roads. Disingenuous and manipulative, his existence between the couple stirs up tension and a feeling of a strong, impending fear. His behaviour can change from being irreproachably worried to childishly deranged depending on his own situation."

Background
THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS BASED ON THEORY GIVEN THROUGH ACTUAL FILM REFERAL. In the film, Max explains that the apparent people terrorising them are butchers and hunters, and that the "ringleader" and him had experienced previous bad interaction, leading to the group focusing on attacking him, accusing that they've been targeting him for years. Obliviously, this is Max telling his own story from his younger years, only using imaginable people to cover the evidence. He explains that when he was a child, he took an oath to hide in a ditch and wait for a car to come. Just when one was approaching, he stepped out onto the road—just to see what would happen. The driver had no time to break—Max then assured both of them that he was sure they tried their best—and to avoid hitting him, the car swerved off of the road and crashed, killing the driver instantly.

In theory, this event could have been what caused Max to develop his disorderly fascination and obsession with fear. It is believed that, while he thought the car would stop for him, Max realised his life was on the line and fell terrified and was unable to respond to what was happening out of fear. When the car crashed, he most likely hesitated and rushed to the wreckage only to find that the driver had been killed. Knowing his actions, he probably became traumatised after seeing what he had done to an innocent person, however; he shortly became obsessed with the event and started to continue on with his little experiment, with the outcomes unknown. As he grew older, those experiences supposedly rendered him into a loss of reality, and with that he loss the ability to fear, driving him to continue his experiments to the point where he secluded himself, having found the abandoned Kilairney House Hotel and arranging the ultimate experiment.

Interactions explained and sightings

 * In the beginning of the film, just as the scene cuts to the car waiting outside of the pub, Max can be seen as a reflection in Lucy's window, walking from the building then heading around a corner. This implies that he was, true to his word, in the pub during the time the conflict occurred, and left moments before Tom and Lucy, allowing him to quickly head to his hidden vehicle. Based on the direction he pulls in behind them, it is suggested that he simply drove around the area.
 * As shown, Max appears briefly as a shadowed figure when the two decide on a path to take at the crossroad. Previously, a scene views the car from a point of view inside the cabin, as though the viewer is looking through his eyes before heading out as they leave.Max-0.png
 * Another point of view scene follows shortly afterwards when Lucy calls the hotel, suggesting that Max has taken a separate route to their location and is stalking them on-foot. Just as he returns to hiding, the signal gives out—this could be from two reasons; Max had direct control to a source of signal and took it out when he backed away, or he walked into a no-signal zone. The latter is most likely, since through the entire film no contact can be made via phone.
 * Heading back, the two run into him, and based on theories this could've been unintentional, causing Max to act as a care-free guide; or that he knew they were about to give up on their search, forcing him to make an appearance in order to "reassure" them.Landrover.png
 * During the scene when Tom goes off to see if he can locate where they are, if listening closely, a pattern of footsteps can be heard among the trees, though no one is present. It is proven that Max's choice of attire adapts quickly in dark environments and allows him to camouflage well. However; it is idea that he moved through the trees, keeping him well blended. A promotional video explains this, as it shows "footage" of a camera resting on a car as the alarm goes off, pointing into the trees. Moments later, Max is revealed to have been blended directly into the background with the trees as extra cover; the camera glitches just as he turns it off, without revealing his face.
 * In the same scene, Lucy's hair becomes caught. Based on realism, it is suggested that it would have been an impossible and risky stunt for Max to preform, thus is believed to have actually gotten caught rather than pulled, and with the tenseness already built inside her, she irrationally began to think someone was behind her, keeping her hair in place.


 * At the end of the scene, the car's alarm is explained as Lucy had never locked her door. It is believed that Max managed to retrieve the keys and from the shelter of shrubs on the other side of the road, he continuously enabled and disabled the alarm before tossing them into the leaves for Tom.
 * When the couple follow the map to a supposed clear path leading back to the main road, they discover it is inaccessible. The tree that nearly falls on them, as the opening credits explains, was caused by Max, only he had used a blade before then, leaving only a little left so he could cause the tree to fall via an axe without using a loud sawing device.


 * The lengthened shot of the map discarded on the road as they drive away suggests that as they took off, Max was approaching it to retrieve it for later use.
 * Another scene shows Max standing in a menacing fashion in front of a scarecrow wearing his mask, and takes off before they reverse back. When Tom leaves the car with his door open, just before it slams shut someone whistling with the wind can be heard in the background, followed by footsteps right up against the door, which silent before the door closes. Seconds later, Max is shown to be standing right behind Tom before retreating into the woods. After Tom got out, Max possibly went behind the car to avoid being seen, approached the door, closed it, and quickly fled to where Tom was.Scarecrow.png
 * The clothing scattered on the road is the result of an earlier scene, when the alarm goes off. At this point, Max would've had the keys and thus was able to open the boot to retrieve Lucy's items for later.
 * While Tom collects her items, he becomes still quickly and looks eerily into the woods, implying he had heard something move and was listening for any other activity.
 * Just as Max asks Lucy for a handkerchief to prevent bleeding on their upholstery, the map from before is in the glovebox. How it got back in the car is executed during the clothing scene. When the two had gotten out and were busy trying to figure how it happened, Max was able to put the map in the glovebox since her door was left open. However, when Tom returned to the car annoyed with Lucy's constant questioning, this caused Max to hesitate and he was unable to close the glovebox in time without being caught, which explains why it was open when Tom closed it.Glovebox.png
 * During when Max's intentions reveal themselves, he states he never held a knife to Lucy's head. Why Lucy felt as though there was is explained in another promotional "footage" take of him preparing for the couple. In the footage, it is shown that he presses his knife up against his own throat at a threatening position, then replaces it with his own thumbnail, imitating the sensation as though there was an actual knife there. He then used this on Lucy.
 * Woodshot.png the two are being stalked directly in the woods, Max pulls up behind their car and then proceeds to turn the lights off on his Defender, after leaving a tank of petroleum. It is thought that he then turned his Land Rover around and headed down the way he came, knowing where they were after locating them when he brought his lights back on. Because the couple began heading in his direction as they were delusional, he hid away and at the right time came up behind Tom.


 * While Lucy drives alone, Max can be seen as a shadowed figure standing in the forest in a scene of her heading down the road, slowly turning to watch as she drives by oblivious to him.

Deleted scenes

 * In the trailer, the scene where Tom hits him depicts Max lying on the road, then simply getting up and looking to the car. This was cut from the initial film.
 * In an interview, Allen states they had recorded a scene where Max gets Lucy and Tom to pull over so he can get himself sick. As the two look on out of respect as he hangs out the door, Max looks at them for a brief moment, then looks back outside and is revealed to be smiling. While Jeremy was going through these scenes, Allen continously repeated that they needed the scene, though Jeremy said otherwise.

Trivia

 * The name "Max" is typically the shortened form of the name Maximilian (or sometimes Maxwell in English). A theory suggests that his actual name could be either of the two, more so Maximilian. Perhaps even the name Max is used by him to protect his actual identity, but both seem unlikely.
 * It could be argued that Max may have some background history in engineering. This idea is supported when Lucy glances into the shed, finding a series of mechanical devices inside, including a welding helmet. Later in the film, as Lucy inspects the Kilairney House, heavy machinery can be seen within the yards, one being notably an excavator, from what can be identified. From its position, perhaps Max has knowledge in operating machinery, maybe being used to clear out some of the hotel's yard.
 * Max drives a Land Rover Defender and his license plate is UEZ 4406.
 * In the Behind the Scenes, Allen mentions to Iain that when Alice had called the hotel in the film, he had actually answered the call, leaving her to question who was on the line in between takes.
 * It was mentioned by Allen that there may have been a religious aspect to Max, as suggested when he breaks Tom's wrist shortly after Tom smashed the bottle over his head (eye for an eye).