Fear of the Dark

The gist is, there's this kid who is afraid of the dark. He sees things in the dark that others do not. What culminates from his fear is one of those 'dark and stormy night' scenarios with some very intense moments loaded with suspense.

It's an excellent play on everyone's favorite childhood drama (including the Closet Monster) and the devisive measures kids take to ensure late-night safety (stay completely tucked in). I dare say the evils that await him in the pitch of night are genuinely creative and pretty darn threatening. There are some jumpy moments that renewed my faith in screenwriters and directors of the modern horror genre. I strongly urge all horror geeks to check into this one, even if you don't think it's your cup of tea. It will literally take you back to that time in place in your life when a pile of clothes in the corner of your bedroom was as threatening as the schoolyard bully--only worse!

Sure, this is not a perfect movie but it beats the heck out of the boring horror drivel that's being released these days in theaters. Why this 2002 film was so overlooked is a mystery to me. It was 1,000 times better than 'Darkness Falls' or 'They' and doesn't even compare to crappy films like 'Cabin Fever' or 'House of the Dead'. I checked this one out at a local Blockbuster and if you like things that go bump in the night, you should too!

Ok so I must say that for the most part I was pleasently suprised by this film. I expected a total piece of crap. And this film wasn't that. From the moment you pick up the dvd box in the video store it's kind of silly with some bad artwork and supposed stars lined up on the cover. The only reason me and my friend rented it was because of ultra cute Kevin Zegers of Wrong Turn and Dawn of the Dead fame. But the film is actually quite clever in a family channel kind of halloween night at the movies kind of way. It's the infamous PG-13 horror that digital horror that veers it's ugly head away when it comes even close to showing anything at all. The film doesn't lack suspense but it does lack delivery. Most of the film is just suspense and than nothing really happening until the absurd and contrived ending. The acting is decent with some truly laughable dialogue. but the film is more than watchable for a straight to video flick it almost rings as gold. Well anyways the film is about a young boy and his older brother as they are left in their house on a dark stormy night. the younger brother is terrified of the dark, it's his illness and no one believes him that their are bad hurtful things in the dark. And they're are. But once they show them they kind of loose their hurtful part and just become plain bad. All in all i would have to say 5/10 it's a nice concious effort but in a film like this if u expected more thats your fault. It's a little creepy, a little corny!

I have to disagree with some comments that I have read about this movie. Personally, I thought it started quite poor in that it would be another cheesy, cheap, suburban style movie. However, the route that it followed was surprising and interesting.

Basically, from my own personal thoughts, this movie brought into reality, the fears that I've experienced as a kid. Whenever you think there's something in your room, the safest place is always under the covers and if you peak out there's going to be a scary face staring at you. Or if part of your body is not covered by the duvet it'll get grabbed by a hand...

This film takes all these fears and myths into consideration and tries to tie them all in. No it's not necessarily scary in this sense, but I believe it tries more to 'relate' rather than scare, and perhaps 'spook' you rather than terrify.

Without spoiling it for people who have not seen it, the film takes an interesting route as mentioned before, making these fears more than the kid's imagination, and that was a surprise.

Some good camera work has been implemented but the film is still very basic. I would say it's an enjoyable film for those who are a little precautious of dark corners.

I was shocked! I had no idea that this no name movie would be this good.It is not frightening, but it is a bit creepy, working on a fear that most had as a child, I think that is why the movie works.It is also nice to see a somewhat horror film that tries to work with something other than nudity and excessive gore. It really is worth checking out.I told some friends about it and every single one of them said that they really liked it ,one even said that she couldn't sleep that night after watching it because she was scared to death.I didn't find it as scary as all of that, but it is surly worth the 4 dollar rental and hour and a half of your time.The acting is pretty good considering there are no real big names in it.

When I first rented Fear of the Dark I was skeptical having read the reviews on this site. I have to say it was quite good and my wife was equally scared and it even made me get under the covers when I went to sleep so as not to let the Dark Things get to me. Well worth the rental and better than I thought. The monsters were as scary as the ones on the box and the story was very good. The actors did a great job at being convincing and it was a well-written well thought out movie. I kind of thought it was a good movie as it wasn't on the shelves every time I went to rent it. I truly enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in scary movies as it will make you sleep with a nightlight.