Darkness Falls (2003) Reviews

• Come on, it's not THAT bad!!!

  huggy_bear2003-05-18

  Watched this flick late one saturday night, and I wasn't expecting a lot from this one. But I have to say, as I have watched plenty of so called "horror" films or "thrillers" over the years, this one actually pleasantly surprised me. Sure, the acting was not that good, the plot was, well, rediculous, but damn, this movie was a hell of a lot better than that yawner "One Hour Photo"!! This movie actually did scare me a few times. I got more than I expected from this one, and really don't see why it is getting slammed so bad for. Damn, relax people. Sure there wasn't any nudity or any slashing or gore, but if you really have to have blood and tits to enjoy a movie, you might want to check out the "Faces of Death" series there.

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• Had to Turn on the Lights

  lizzieimp2009-07-07

  I saw this movie in the theaters when it came out in 2003 with my then-boyfriend, now husband. My husband is a pretty stoic guy, and because I love and have seen so many horror movies at this point, I'm afraid I'm a little jaded, and have frequently been disappointed when it comes to horror movies that have come out past 1983. "Darkness Falls" delivered the goods. The movie has just enough supernatural to it to be weird and freaky, and the acting, while not terribly good, isn't horrible. I think they showed the monster a little too early, but that's just me. We were terrified. Neither of us would go anywhere in my house without the lights on, and certainly not alone! The sets, lighting and sound effects were so creepy it made my skin crawl. Certainly better fare than some other pathetic excuses for horror movies that rely solely on special effects for creep.

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• Nowhere near as bad as the ratings would suggest!

  cpf593h2003-04-28

  I cannot believe how bad the ratings are for this film. All this film is, ( And it does'nt pretend to be anything else ) is a simple scary old fashioned horror film with a simple plot. And that is exactly what it is! Except that I would add that the Tooth Fairy I think is brilliantly scary and definately creepy. The film too has its creepy elements and the film does build good tension in places. I think what might have helped with my opinion of the film is I watched it on dvd not at the movies and watching the feature about the curse explained things better before I watched the movie. So to conclude, you spoilers need to back off! Not all films are meant to be deep, like the crappy ring. ( thats another story ) This film is good simple fun. Id recommend it!!!!!

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• I enjoyed it more on my second viewing

  BrandtSponseller2005-01-31

  Kyle Walsh (Chaney Kley) returns to the small town of Darkness Falls to help his childhood girlfriend, Caitlin Greene (Emma Caulfield), whose brother is hospitalized with severe night terrors. It seems that a town legend of the "Tooth Fairy" is haunting his imagination, and Walsh had similar experiences. Is the "Tooth Fairy" more than just a childhood myth? It's so much fun watching films multiple times. It's very rare that my opinion remains the same on a film from one viewing to the next. Sometimes my rating goes down, sometimes it goes up, and sometimes it stays the same, but I like or dislike the film for different reasons than I did on my first viewing. Darkness Falls (2003) is a case where my rating has gone up quite a bit since my last encounter with it. I think the difference this time was for two primary reasons--one, when I first saw this in the theater it was in the midst of a slew of horror films that had similar themes, and maybe I was getting tired of it by the time I watched this one, and two, I think the positive aspects worked well enough for me this time that I was more forgiving of the few flaws the film has. And it does have flaws. Let's get those out of the way first. The main flaw for me was some of the super-fast editing during the horror "action" scenes. Occasionally it was so fast that I couldn't very well tell what was going on. However, I also realized this time that at least occasionally, the editing is perfect for the scene. For example, there is a scene set the small town police station that is inherently chaotic. Chaotic editing is the only thing that would fit. The other flaw is that there are occasional lapses in plot logic. The most crucial for me occurred during the climax, where there were a couple actions taken that I was a bit confused about. It didn't help that the climax is also slightly marred with hyperactive editing. However, in both of those cases, the good stuff far outweighed the bad for me. The villain in Darkness Falls is excellent in conception and design. The backstory is captivating. When it's initially told through a "slideshow" during the opening credits, I was thinking that I would have preferred them to give me a 10-minute historical prologue, but in retrospect, I'd prefer to see an entire film that's a prequel telling the villain's story. I loved the small town setting of the film, and the interactions of the characters in the script. They seemed like real people to me, with entwined pasts. I loved the three main characters, and thought their performances were very good. Since I'm a big Buffy The Vampire Slayer fan, that might have supplied Emma Caulfield with some unconscious bonus points, but I loved her acting here. What really matters in a film like this is the horror material, and director Jonathan Liebesman handles it skillfully. Although I'm not usually a fan of modern films having shorter running times (it was more understandable back in the days of literal A and B films on the same bill at a theater), Darkness Falls is compact because there is little "dead time" between the suspenseful material. Liebesman only spends as much time as necessary with "serious drama" to amplify the horror. These types of scenes were handled well enough to make me either forget or not care if there were any rules broken when it comes to keeping the villain at bay. Although I'm not someone who finds films scary, I can see Darkness Falls working for many viewers in terms of frights. Many primal fears are touched upon. There is an excellent extended bit in complete darkness (you only hear the soundtrack), and of course darkness and things coming out of the darkness is a major theme throughout. You also get scenes of claustrophobia, loss of control, elevators, hospitals, and many other situations that should work on more receptive viewers' sensibilities. This one is worth seeing, but approach it more in the frame of mind of a fun roller-coaster ride than a literary masterpiece.

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• Horror film about a creepy and disfigured Tooth Fairy who causes astonishing attacks , and eerie events

  ma-cortes2019-02-16

  Terror film about The Tooth Fairry goes bersek , located in a smal New England town . On the night he lost his last milk tooth , as a boy named Kyle claims a witch tried to murder him . So is Kyle loopy or is there a series killer on the loose ? .Many years later , a man : Chaney Kley , is psychologically scarred and paranoid from that encounter , but he goes on terrorized by the sinister appearance of a terrible witch long time ago. He goes back his origin town called by his chidhood sweetheart to help her little boy brother who is starting to have the same nightmares that he used to have , but things go awry when ancient demons come to life . Kyle is convinced she is back to get the little boy . As Kyle returns to his hometown of Darkness Falls called by his old girlfriend :Emma Caufield. Folk say the masked witch still swoops around dark corners , attacking and pouncing on children. This spirit takes her revenge on the children of the town after they lose the last of their baby teeth. An acceptable horror movie full of thrills , chills , and shocks starred by an ancient Tooth Fairy gone amok. She is a 150 year old dark legend named Matilda , unjustly accused of child murder , wrongfully hanged and burnt alive by angry townfolks . As people being horrorified by the dentin pixie and she seeks a merciless vendetta . Genuinely scary moments overcome some obvious plot devices .This is a juicy gothic material fashioning an iconic bogeywoman providing screaming , chilling and eerie scenes . It has a ridículous premise spawns a fim in ups and downs .All semblance of plausability is extracted , leaving cast of TV actors : Chaney Kley , Emma Caufield of Buffy , Sullivan Stapleton , John Stanton , Emily Browning to take on a script with several gaps , flaws and full of cliches. However , the film is quite restrained , as it delivers a spooky and creepy atmosphere. It packs an adecuate but very dark and shading cinematography by Dan Laustsen. As well as a thrilling and suspenseful musical score by Brian Tyler. The motion picture was uneven but professionally directed by Jonathan Liebesman. Jonathan is a good filmmaker who has directed a few of blockbusters as : teenage mutant ninja turtles, Wrath of Titanes , Battle Los Angeles, The killing room and thanks to this Darkness Falls was hired by powerful producer Michael Bay to direct : the Texas chainsaw massacre : the beginning . Rating : acceptable and passable .

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