Les créatures de l'ombre

This is one of those little films that lends itself to legendary status, because it is almost impossible to see nowadays. With a great deal of effort and patience, one can find a copy....but it sure isn't easy. So many of us remember seeing it when it aired...I was all but six or seven and remembered only these gnome-like creatures. Recently I was able to see it again....and started to remember a lot more of it. The film is pretty atmospheric as it chronicles the slow then fast menacing of Sally Farnham by pint-sized demons with conical shaped heads. Sally and her husband recently moved into this large house and forsaking the advice of carpenter William Demarest, Sally opens a fireplace which had been sealed over twenty-five years ago. These creatures lived in the fireplace and now they want Sally...to join them. Kim Darby does a good job playing Sally as she slowly descends into madness...as well as other destinations. Forget all the talk about it being only good for a television movie...this is a good movie period. It has loads of atmosphere and suspense, albeit a bit shallow in the area of plot.

Sally Farnham (Kim Darby) and her husband Alex Farnham (Jim Hutton) move to an old mansion that belonged to Sally's grandmother and they hire an interior designer and the carpenter Mr. Harris (William Demarest) to redecorate the manor.

Sally opens a locked door in the house and finds a sealed fireplace and ash pit. She asks Mr. Harris to open the fireplace but the old man argues with her and refuses to follow the order. Sally uses Mr. Harris' wrench to remove the bolts of the ash pit cover. Soon Sally finds that evil little creatures that fear the light have escaped from the underground through the ash pit and are threatening her. However, Alex and her friend Joan Kahn (Barbara Anderson) believe that Sally's imagination is affected by the words of Mr. Harris.

"Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" is a simple and effective horror film made for television released in Brazil only on VHS. The story of a young couple that moves to an old house and the wife Kim Darby, the unforgettable Miri of "Star Trek" and the girl Mattie Ross of "True Grit", releases demon-like creatures is original and developed in an adequate pace.

In 2010, Guillermo del Toro remade this film with a lame screenplay that included silly sub-plots and spoiled the original story. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Criaturas da Noite" ("Creatures of the Night")

Note: On 15 December 2021, I saw this film again.

Note: On 17 March 2023, I saw this film again in a recently released DVD.

I saw this when I was 8 years old, and whenever someone asks me what the scariest movie I've ever seen is, I tell them about this one, but nobody seems to know what I'm talking about! I'm so glad to see that I'm not the only one who saw it and was creeped out! Another movie from those days that had the same effect was "Trilogy of Terror," when Karen Black gets a Zuni fetish doll in the mail and it comes to life and chases her around her apartment---both these movies had a profound effect on how I looked at staircases and other places where little creepy things could be hiding. I'm looking forward to the remake.

I also saw this movie as a kid and was haunted by it for a long while. I still remember being scared of the little creatures. There was another somewhat similar TV movie called Trilogy of Terror (just found the titles of both of these movies on the web out of curiosity) with Karen Black where she was haunted by a little voodoo like creature with a spear that also really got me good. As far as the effect a scary movie had on me at the time I saw it, this was by far the scariest movie I have seen in my life. I don't know if it would have much an effect on me now or not but it certainly did then.

I'm guessing it is not available on DVD or video.

I'll always remember when the first advertisement for this movie was shown. It was on the old ABC Wednesday Movie of the Week (1973) and came right after the flick for that week ended with the announcer saying "Next on the ABC Wednesday movie of the Week". A clip of William Demarest telling Kim Darby "Some things are better off left alone" then a few other quick clips concluding with the announcer saying "Don't be Afraid of the Dark" as a lit Flashlight in pitch blackness is snatched up by something which the viewer is given only an eyeblink glimpse of. WOW! It was definitely worth the week long wait. This was hands down the scariest Things that go bump in the night made for TV movie ever! Throughout the years it's amazing how many people I've met have seen and remember this movie. Sometimes all it takes is to say "Did you ever see the movie with the guy who played Uncle Charlie from My Three Sons" and they'll immediately say "DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK."!