Darkness Falls (2003)

hyped garbage

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The film suffers from way too many plot flaws and repetitive dialogue. I mean honestly, how many times must they say "stay in the light"?? The film has some great visuals, though. Apart from the forced scares thanks to cats and music, the film offers very few thrills and chills. There are better films of the same genre out there.

I only watched this because the mere concept made me laugh, and because I felt like watching a horror movie that wouldn't leave me all depressed like the good ones usually do. I got exactly what I wanted that day, so maybe this review isn't completely objective; and truth to be told, what this movie does best is delivering simple jump-scares of the kind we know. But I still thought the idea of an evil tooth fairy was well executed, and like the top reviewers state, it really isn't THAT bad. I gotta warn you, though, this movie is extremely 90s. It's right down from the styling to the sound effects to the coked up shifting camera angles, and lets not forget the Beverly Hills-style acting. I especially loved it when our troubled hero, Kyle, lines up his medicine for various mental illnesses on the table, and swallows them to a loudly blasting grunge-soundtrack, while the camera goes crazy. The only way this could've been less subtle, is if a TV screen had shown a Kurt Cobain-lookalike shoot himself in the background. The camera also later pans to show that Kyle has dedicated an entire wall to drawings of the mask the tooth fairy was wearing when he first saw it - in case you were still in doubt that our protagonist is haunted and has got them feels, maaaan. The amateurish feeling is quite sad, because this movie has some genuinely scary things to offer - it's sound effects from the fairy is quite good, some mix between that girl from The Grudge and a particularly ravenous witch. It also mostly knows what it has to offer,(action, mysterious creature and scares) and I thought it had great timing when it came to scares. It also didn't waste it's time in it's 80 minute runtime*coughtwohourmodernmoviescough*.The movie only goes truly flaccid and unintentionally hilarious, when it breaks from it's ghost- story mold at the middle, and becomes more like an Alien-style creature feature. The witch still screams and flies around, but you aren't scared of her anymore, because of the addition of what I think were actual assault rifles. There's a reason scary dead women usually chooses to haunt naive young people in old mansions, and not some action hero like Kyle, who stands ready to protect "his girl" with bullets, red necks and access to stuff like light houses. The final nail in the coffin was the inclusion of a kid, because we know they won't die, so you'd wish he wasn't included at all. That's not to say that this movie isn't entertaining. It IS. But be prepared for the gradual shift from ghost story to action flick. Even the hard rock ending song doesn't match the foreboring music at the beginning of this movie.

Okay, I admit this may not be a great movie, but I don't think it is the worst either. However, I do think I'm only saying that because I loved it as a kid. Honestly, it was always the choice of scary film for me and my friends at sleepovers etc. It was scary, the tooth-fairy character is my idea of a worst nightmare, and believe me she gave me plenty in the years that followed. I haven't seen it in a few years and while it may not haunt me anymore I suspect it would give me an intermediate shiver if I watched it again today.Usually I bash films like this. There are probably better horror films out there that I've given worse reviews too, but this one holds sentimental value for me and I genuinely believe that it's not THAT bad. The acting isn't wonderful and the story plays out a bit predictably... I still quite like the premise though and the legend behind Matilda the tooth-fairy.If you scare easily, I wouldn't recommend you watch this alone. The movie might not be top, but it is full of jumps and the villain is horrifying. Enjoy (with the lights on).

Oh great, I thought. Another teen-friendly PG-13 horror film that'll turn out to be a toothless (pun intended) waste of money and time. It didn't help that I'd just watched THE FOG remake, which represented everything bland, boring and senseless about modern Hollywood horrors. And then I watched DARKNESS FALLS, and I was hooked, and I realised something about halfway through: this is actually a great movie.It's a film indebted to the recent wave of Asian horrors as characters are menaced by a female ghost who dispatches her victims off-screen. The 'witch's curse' type storyline is pretty predictable, but I liked the way they tied it into the tooth fairy myth – always great when they're frightening poor little defenceless kids – and there's something always slightly creepy about using witches, mainly because they're not made up. Certainly if you look through history you'll find many well-documented curse stories that have no scientific basis. Anyway, I liked DARKNESS FALLS a lot mainly because it avoids the traps that much kid-friendly fare falls into. The script is okay, the acting isn't bad at all and the clichés are done away with early on so that we can actually get on with the film itself.To make matters better, around halfway through the scriptwriter does away with the set-up and storyline altogether and this turns into one big, terrifying chase movie, not unlike TERMINATOR 2. It becomes a battle of wits between the dwindling humans and the tooth fairy, and the idea that stepping into the dark equals death leads to plenty of great visual situations. Yes, it is a bit unbelievable how every light source seemingly dies out within minutes of being lit or switched on, but the film makes full use of its premise and I had a ball with it.Strangely enough, the child actors are far more convincing than their adult counterparts this time around, with the exception of the lead, played by Chaney Kley. Kley, who died in 2007 – coincidentally from a sleep-related disorder – gives a great performance as the tired, jaded, everyman hero, his whole life ruined thanks to the tooth fairy herself. He really convinces in his part and he made me want to keep watching. Sure, things get a little predictable with the whole fiery climax, but the tooth fairy – designed by Stan Winston, no less – is genuinely creepy and disturbing and the scares come thick and fast. I, for one, loved it.