Darkness Falls (2003)

* out of ****

I find it rather hard to believe that in the past year, we've had five movies dealing with vengeful supernatural spirits and/or curses. It began with Feardotcom, then Below, The Ring (easily the best of the bunch), Ghost Ship, and now Darkness Falls, which could very well be the worst. In the latest example of PG-13 horror, there's nothing here that's the slightest bit scary or thrilling. The atmosphere is non-existent, the premise really isn't very promising, and the execution is even more lackluster.

The film has a very simple premise: old lady killed over a hundred years ago is now a restless spirit who goes around murdering children who've lost their first tooth (they also have to see her face first, or something like that, not like the movie was holding my attention). Anyway, after the film dispenses with TWO prologues which takes up nearly fourteen minutes of running time, we settle with our protagonist, Kyle Walsh (Chaney Kley), who encountered this evil tooth fairy as a child and wants to help his former girlfriend's (Emma Caulfield) younger brother through the same ordeal. Naturally, no one believes Walsh and they'll live (well, not for long) to regret it.

Horror is probably my favorite genre, and while last year did give us The Ring (simply one of the scariest films I've ever seen) and Below (an excellent "ghost ship" thriller that's much better than Ghost Ship), most of these big studio genre offerings don't seem to realize what it is that makes horror films so fun to watch. They don't have to be bone-chillers, they just have to be easy entertainment, which is what Darkness Falls strives for, but fails at almost miserably.

First, I'd like to mention the preposterously short running time. Without the end credits, this puppy runs for seventy-four minutes, shorter than your average TV movie sans commercials. Then knock off the prologues, and we've got approximately an hour of material that focuses on the lead actors and their plight. This is obviously a movie that doesn't have much in the way of plot, but you probably figured that when you saw the town's name was Darkness Falls (groan).

The Ring worked because of its chilling atmosphere, engaging mystery, and fine performances. To a lesser but still formidable extent, the same goes for Below. Darkness Falls doesn't have the look and feel of a horror/thriller, it certainly doesn't have enough plot (and what story it has is peppered with plot holes)(you'd think a town this cursed would have almost a minute population, but it's a rather bustling little place), and the acting is subpar. Director Jonathan Liebesman seems perfectly content with trying to give us boo scares (which aren't the slightest bit effective), loud noises, lots of fast camera movements, and lots of running and chasing.

Running and chasing is exactly what fills up the movie's last twenty minutes, when it suddenly opts for thrill ride mode, but even that is as completely unengaging as all the material that came before it. Part of this has to do with how predictable the film is. You just know who's going to live and who's going to die. And even worse, because it's PG-13, you can't even be tantalized by the promise of gore and gratuitous nudity, two staples of 80's horror, which I'm starting to miss more and more.

The major studios are still capable of making effective horror thrillers, as evidenced by The Ring and Below

Fmovies: This one started off okay, but I had to turn it off by the end. I'm not sure whether they wanted to make a horror film or an action film, and I don't think they were sure either. What starts off as an okay "They" type movie about night terrors ends up as a terrible "Alien" ripoff. I was able to overcome the rather silly premise of the tooth fairy being an evil character, but I couldn't forgive the complete destruction of any suspense that had been built up in the first half of the movie.

As a young boy, Kyle Walsh (Chaney Kley) claims to have seen the fearsome Tooth Fairy kill his own mother. He also claims that having seen her, she wont stop until she also kills him. Years later, and still haunted by the experience of that night, Kyle must return to Darkness Falls to aid his childhood sweetheart, Caitlin Greene (Emma Caulfield) and her kid brother Michael, the latter of which who seems to be at risk from the Tooth Fairy this time around. Can Kyle confront his fears and end the 150 years of terror that has blighted Darkness Falls?

Pretty much despised by the discerning horror-phile, Darkness Falls, to me at least, is a creepy, interesting and totally enjoyable thriller/ghost picture worth reappraisals. From the excellent, and chilling opening credits (where we nicely have a back story to work from), to the final confrontation, Darkness Falls ticks most of the ghostly requisites that is asked of it. Scary demon (troubled children with night terrors should be explored more in cinema I feel), cannon fodder bullies, cannon fodder obnoxious coppers and a constant sense of unease and dread. All of which is provided in Jonathan Liebesman's ("The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning") film. It's with the sense of dread that I feel that this deserves a better reputation. Hand on my heart I know the film isn't a scary boo jump picture, something that is unforgivable to many genre supporters, but atmosphere goes a long way to creating a good thriller/ghost story picture. Darkness Falls has it in spades, and it's also a film that is a nice antidote to the blood beast torture sub-genre of film that seep out from the multi-plexes on a seemingly weekly basis.

Any expectation of an outright horror film should be quickly extinguished prior to a first time viewing, and if noise annoys and staccato editing bugs you? well stay away. Also don't line up if one demands great acting in a budget restricted piece such as this, since both Kley & Caulfield are only adequate at best. But give it a go if you understand that a preposterous plot, and preposterous set pieces are a pre-requisite for horror films of this type. I say that since I've seen many comments decrying Darkness Falls for the unbelievable elements - only to then search their other comments to find praise for even more ludicrously plotted pieces! Or give it a go knowing it's more about the creeping stalking menace side of horror, or that it's also an action thriller as well as an uneasy story. Maybe just maybe you will enjoy it for what it is? Otherwise I guess you will be looking forward to "Hostel 22" or another "Jason Attacks The Eiffel Tower" movie... 7/10

Darkness Falls fmovies. Up front: I've just read other IMDb members' reviews of Darkness Falls, and if this isn't just the darndest case of "I-must-have-been-watching-a-different-movie" that I've come across! The following is clearly a VERY brief minority report.

Decent acting, good story flow, nice special effects for the budget, honest scares, fine gore-avoidance, entertaining mood-setting opening credits, and cliches up the whazoo. A solid 6 out of 10.

This, from a jaded, cynical old-timer.

Darkness Falls follows a somewhat similar plot line as the previous year's entry in the genre,They,with a few differences.One,Darkness Falls has a fairly well fleshed out back story.Two,the acting is generally fairly good.three,the monster has a reason for being,a motivation for its actions.also,the monster has a weakness,which can be exploited.the core storyline is descent for this genre.the movie is better paced and much better edited.the monster itself is however,not so great.the look of the creature isn't the problem.the problem are its movements,which do not look authentic in some scenes.now,the characters themselves--very little in the form of character development.pretty much your stock horror characters.none too bright and reacting in ways which real people(hopefully)would not.yet,strangely likable somehow.you kind of take pity on them.suspense--there were some tense moments.there was a fair amount of action.however,at times the film became chaotic--lots of sounds and sights all at once,including the music.the purpose,to pretend to entertain the viewer,well hiding the movie's shortcomings.in essence disguising the fact that the movie isn't achieving its intended purpose.in this case,frightening the viewer or at least heightening his or her anxiety.and now the ending.it does nicely resolve things.no cheap setup for a sequel here.i think it's a better movie than They.is it a good movie?yes.it has some tense moments with a few decent action sequences and a decent,straightforward ending without the usual unexpected(but really expected))twist.for me,Darkness Falls is a 6.5/10

Darkness Falls follows closely in style to films like John Carpenter's "The Fog". The modest budget of the film is offset by an imaginative use of style, lighting and sound.

All the negative reviews on this film have me wondering if today's horror film aficionados are so jaded that they have forgotten that sometimes a visit to a fun house can be as much fun as spending an hour or two with Hannibal Lector. If you can give up your concept of needing to be hit over the head with shock, you can have a good time with the film. It's not a dog by any measure.

This is an old fashioned scary movie. It's a "Popcorn Film". It does not pretend to be high art. The tight running time is a credit the director. In short...it was not great, it was not bad, it was a fun little ride.