Darkness Falls Starring Chaney Kley, Emma Caulfield Directed by Jonathan Liebesman Rated PG-13 for terror and horror images and brief language *** out of **** Stars, Movie Grade: B

Theatrical Release: January 24, 2003
Running time: 85 minutes

by Kevin Lang

I trekked out on a cold and snowy Thursday night to see an advanced screening of Revolution Studio's (Sony) "Darkness Falls." Thankfully, it wasn't a wasted trip. In the theater watching "Darkness Falls," I couldn't remember the last time that I had heard so many people scream in a movie theater. My peripheral vision caught more than half the theater flinching in their seats before the end of nearly every scene. At the end of the movie, girlfriends and boyfriends walked out embarrassed over their lack of restrain in front of one another. I left feeling a sense of satisfaction. Finally, a horror movie that worked.

The movie began with the story of Matilda Dixon, an old woman who lived in the town of Darkness Falls over a century earlier (prior the present, which I'm assuming was 2003). She earned a reputation for giving children a coin for each baby tooth that they brought to her. After Matilda's face was horribly disfigured in a house fire, her scarred flesh developed sensitivity to the light. She only went into town with her appearance hidden behind a porcelain mask. One day, two children disappeared after going to see Matilda. The town branded Matilda a murderer, and they hung her in the light, only to later discover that the two children were okay. Before she died, she put a curse over Darkness Falls, and years later the story began with a young boy named Kyle being haunted by Matilda on the night of the day that he lost his last baby tooth.

Kyle found safety in the light, only to witness the Tooth Fairy kill his mother. Deemed psychotic by the town and shipped off to a mental hospital for the suspected murder of his mother, Kyle returned home twelve years later to help the younger brother of his childhood sweetheart, Caitlin. The boy was also being pursued by the Tooth Fairy.

In order to evade the Tooth Fairy, they had to remain in the light, which is the only way to survive after your eyes befall the demon. Kyle carried an arsenal of flashlights, which he used to escape the darkness. They were his shields against the Tooth Fairy when the light of day faded out.

"Darkness Falls" pushed all the right buttons. It was the kind of movie that makes you jump with fear even when you're certain you know what's coming. This is rare among horror movies today, especially with a lot of them using overdone CGI and special effects that often only act to heighten our disbelief in the possibility of what we are seeing, thus diluting any real sense of fear that may have been developing in us. "Darkness Falls" did use CGI to create the Tooth Fairy, but it restricted itself from ever looking too outrageous. As a result, the film possessed the feel and fear of previous well-told horror movies such as "Friday the 13th" and "A Nightmare on Elm Street."

In the end, "Darkness Falls" was a fun horror movie that never went very deep. The story remained simple, never wavering too far from the basic premise that was given at the beginning. This was an effective approach, and the story unfolded into a horrific childlike tale of things that go bump in the night. It could have perhaps played on the Tooth Fairy lore a little more throughout the film, even with it being well established over the first ten minutes. However, this didn't lessen my enjoyment of the movie. Thanks to Amy at Sony, you can preview the first ten minutes of the film here.

Without superior acting or a heavily involved story, "Darkness Falls" proved that a good horror movie just needs a good premise, a frightening antagonist, and a little humor. I wouldn't be surprised if the Tooth Fairy soon held a place among the highly regarded horror movie elite, which include Freddy Krueger, Jason, and Michael Myers, to name several. Not bad company. It's about time we have a fresh face in the crowd, and a charred hundred-year-old porcelain masked face is fine with me.

"Darkness Falls" Review written January 21, 2003, CTF.

Post Your Own Review or Opinion