Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

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.

When I was a kid I watched television every day until I was absolutely saturated with popular culture. Although I was an athletic youth, I ran home each day after school to catch the afternoon movie on Detroit's ABC affiliate on Channel 7. I have never forgotten seeing the film Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, about a young couple who move into the large rambling home once owned by the woman's grandmother. Something sinister once lurked the basement, but had been sealed within the fireplace by bricks stacked four deep -- the door giving onto the ash bin had been bolted shut. Evil subdued.

However, the first thing that happens when the young couple take over the house, is the wife wants to turn this grungy dank room into her home office. And she just has to have that damned fireplace cleared out and working. An aged handy man warns her against "meddling with things you don't understand," but she doesn't heed him.

Remember, there would be no such thing as horror movies if there weren't stupid people.

Sally, the wife, managed to undo the bolt on the ash bin door. That's all the evil needs to be unleashed through the house in the form of tiny raisin-headed ghouls who look like Smurfs gone bad.

The movie hit me like a piledriver when I was eight years old. It scared the absolute shite out of me. Last night I borrowed this film from a friend, seeking to demystify it. I'm just after watching the film for the first time in twenty five years, and I have to say that this cheesy little horror knock-off still does the job. I don't think it'll keep me up tonight as it had when I was a kid, but the story's simplicity, particularly its makeshift special effects, came off quite effectively.

I've never seen the film on the shelf in a video shop. But if you do come across and are looking for a nostalgic thrill, I think Don't Be Afraid of the Dark is what you're looking for.

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."!

Seen when I was very young, this "made for TV" movie became the vehicle which drove all my fears. These fears, once irrational, were validated one unforgettable night. Up until that night, during bedtime, it was only instinct when I asked my mom to leave the hall light on. After seeing this movie, I had an image, and the creepiest music to plead with her to never turn it off again! This movie plays right into those dark corners of legend. Why we don't just reach under the bed without looking first. Why, as we lay awake, closet doors need to be constantly observed. I was eight years old, and truly ripe for the scare of my life!

The movie begins with a cats meow and haunting music. The score of this movie is absolutely penetrating and perfect. This is not an overstatement. I can think of very few I would call it's equal. This music accompanies Sally (Kim Darby from True Grit) as she unwittingly, and unknowingly, sets free demons from a bricked up fireplace. They set about, slipping through the dark corners (and there's plenty of them), searching to get Sally's soul. Sally is isolated and alone. As frightening events start to mount up, and with no support from her workaholic husband, Sally begins to doubt her sanity.

Darby has a quiet demeanor that lends itself to her rising panic. When the creatures do finally appear, they seem to have come straight from a casting call from hell. Their visual might be primitive by modern standards, but for a 70's TV movie budget, extremely effective. They creep and crawl through the shadows. For this youngster, the ending is absolutely unforgettable. I am far from alone in the opinion that "Dark" made quite an impact for its time.

I am now 40. Don't like to have ANY lights on when I sleep. Can watch this film, or any other horror flick without strategically placing a body part to obscure the view. However, a few slight noises.....a scratch or a whisper, and my defenses still go up. The blanket is always on the ready. All because of a few film makers decided to take "TV movies" seriously. I thank them.

....I think.

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.