Fear of the Dark

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.

It seems like 2001-2002 was prime season for movies about the dark. We had "Darkness Falls" and "They," which were hugely hyped, a bit pretentious, and fell flat. Then there was "Fear of the Dark," which got almost no attention, yet turns out to be the best of the lot.

Don't get me wrong; there are some big holes in the story (why does the big brother keep leaving his darkness-dreading brother alone? Why isn't the girlfriend at the door when big brother answers?), and the monsters are a bit too fairy-tale-ish at times. Still, the movie holds up pretty well overall. There's a tension at work as the story builds to its climax that keeps things interesting without a lot of outrightly horrifying things happening. The acting isn't bad, and at times its even good. The director and cinematographer obviously took a great deal of care in creating a general environment spookiness in a fairly normal suburban home (although the added artifice of mom's strange metal sculptures didn't hurt).

This definitely isn't a great horror film. There's not too terribly much that's original about it, and it's pretty tame by most standards. On the other hand, I couldn't help but like it... and it's certainly far better than the two similarly-themed duds that came out at around the same time.

There's potential in everything about this movie. The actors have the potential to do bigger and better things. The director could certainly go on to make better movies. If anything, I'd recommend seeing it for what it holds out in the future that were involved with a pretty good effort. As "boogie man" films go, this is one of the better ones.

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!

Excellent drama with a good message worthy of at least an 8 out of 10. The movie centers on a child's fear of the dark and there are many scary and dramatic moments climaxing in how to come to terms with ones fears. The script is good, the acting convincing and the direction very professional. And the youngsters who are the main leads give quality performances. Well done to those making this movie. More of the same please!

This was surprisingly good - you just have to realize that it is not a blood and gore fest.

Fear of the Dark is almost a purist film; it is literally a story of a couple of kids who become afraid of the dark. It is not bogged down with lure or mythos and the need to explain who what why and where (alternately, the lack of explanation could be viewed as a film weakness).

Is it clichéd? Somewhat, but the director does build enough tension to keep it interesting and scary. It is low budget so the effects are not great; however this lends itself to a certain charm and reminiscence of 80's classics.