Fear of the Dark

The lights are off but somebody's home in this tale of childhood fear, which builds to a climax that never quite arrives.

Jesse James plays Ryan, a 12-year-old diagnosed with acute fear of the dark, and Kevin Zegers plays Dale, his skeptical older brother. When their parents leave them alone for the evening, Ryan convinces Dale that the fear may be justified, and assorted misadventures in babysitting ensue when a storm knock out the power in their house.

The performances are better than in most thrillers, and James and Zegers are likable enough to keep you interested. It's also a treat to see Linda Purl, an actress with a disappointing career after she was a mainstay in '70s TV movies, as the boys' mother, though she's given little screen time here.

Unfortunately, as with the similarly themed "Boogeyman," the thin script and gimmicky special effects leave you longing for more. The film has a decent buildup, but no real resolution. Teenagers may be entertained by "Fear of the Dark," but adults are likely to be bored at this overly familiar tale. There's absolutely nothing to fear here.

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.

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!

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.

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!