Customer Reviews

Afraid of the Dark [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I enjoy watching a good thriller and decided on this video. Pay attention as there are alot of twists and turns to this very strange little tale of a young British boy and his adventures in the world of grown-ups and what you think is real is often not the case. Mystery and Psychological suspense to say the least! They don't make movies like this anymore.

Mark Peploe, one of the Oscar winning screenwriters behind "The Last Emperor," comes up with his own tale of a little boy overwhelmed by his situation, and in the process scares the living daylights out of the viewer.

Ben Keyworth is young Lucas, a morose little boy whose blind mother Miriam (Fanny Ardant) dotes on him. His father, Frank (James Fox), is a cop and Lucas' hero. A madman is running around London slashing the faces of blind women, and the blind community is in a panic. Lucas is a little boy, hardly noticeable, and begins observing prime suspects. The ice cream man, the window washer, the photographer, even the overly helpful locksmith (played by a young David Thewlis), are all under the boy's suspicion. A neighborhood golden retriever is Lucas' only friend and confidant, and eventually Lucas has a showdown with the slasher, stabbing him in the eye with his trusty knitting needle...and then the film does a complete 180!

We find out Lucas was only imagining the first half of the film. The characters from the first half were not blind at all. Instead, it was Lucas who is slowly losing his sight. The day of his older half-sister's wedding, he is shunted aside. His mother goes into labor at the reception, and everyone forgets the poor little boy. Lucas still has the trusty dog Toby along, but his imagination gets the best of him. Toby is killed, and Lucas sets his next target as his new baby sister with the pretty blue eyes everyone comments on.

Ben Keyworth, as Lucas, is incredible. Some might see his delivery as flat and monotonal, but I thought his cold exterior was perfect. You will feel sorry for him, even in the throes of the madness that grips him in the latter part of the film. The beautiful French actress Fanny Ardant is great as his mother, and James Fox is always reliable as the dad.

Peploe's direction is so creepy it becomes uncomfortable often. The graveyard scenes are chilling, as is Lucas' hallucinations. Peploe also co-wrote the screenplay (with Frederick Seidel), so he knows these characters better than anyone. None of them are stupid, or do horror film-stupid things, and this adds to the squirm level. Plus, if you have any sort of phobia about things getting too close to your eyes (like I do), this may not be for you.

The pace is slow, as Peploe builds his characters, and this is actually a relief. The entire cast is good, and Peploe should direct more. All in all, "Afraid of the Dark" is one of those films that you will find bothering you days after you see it. I highly recommend it.

This is rated (R) for physical violence, gore, female nudity, some sexual references, and strong adult situations.

Every so often a movie comes around that is different that the usual sludge that passes through our VCRs. More often than not, these films are foriegn. "Afraid of the Dark" is no exception... it is a mystery from the word "Go" and does an excellent job at showing how a child's mind can be traumatized by the vicious acts of a local serial killer who targets blind women (a particularly frightening scene is when the boy, Luke, stabs the offender in the eye).

This movie has all the eye-candy eeriness of movies like "The Shining", "The Omen", "The night of the living dead" and others, but it contains not one iota of anything paranormal.

Whatever your taste in movies, I'm sure you'll all agree that this tale is more than it seems.

Afraid of the Dark is creepy and fun,scary and creative.It's premise centers around a young boy living in a neighborhood terrorized by a killer who targets blind women.I like this movie because it shows a different side of children's mind and the story line is very original.

I don't understand all these positive reviews! I bought this because I'm always looking for an unsung horror gem and the reviews here made me think this might be a diamond in the rough.

I was wrong. Very wrong. It's beyond bad. Spoilers to follow here...

There is movie A which makes very little sense and doesn't try to explain itself, which moves off in the direction of creepy and bizarre softcore nudie shoot. Well, maybe it's explainable if it the whole reason the movie was made. At any rate, it was confused and trying not to laugh.

Then you find out in movie B that it was all a weird dream and this little kid is making it all up in his head (I suppose even the trashy photo shoot, which you find out stars his SISTER!!!) while his parents leave him at home unattended for extremely long amounts of time while they're at the hospital with their new baby. Wackiness ensues and he kidnaps the baby and then has eye surgery. The end!

Seriously, don't even waste $4 on this. I told my husband he could give it away as a white elephant gift, but he thought that would be mean. It's so bad we don't even dare to give it away!

This review is for the Image release of "Afraid of the Dark," a very bizarre and twisted film of psychological horror. I may have enjoyed the film more if Image had provided English subtitles for the hearing impaired. Though the picture quality was excellent (presented in its 1.66:1 theatrical aspect ratio), the audio was weak; I had difficulty understanding what some of the British stars were saying. On numerous occasions, the child, Lucas, spoke barely above a whisper. Furthermore, Image didn't provide a trailer or any commentary.

"Afraid of the Dark" is very creepy, with strong gothic elements. The strange little boy, Lucas, lives next to a fog-enshrouded cemetery where much of the action takes place. What begins as a slasher thriller in the vein of an Italian giallo becomes a tragic study in psychological horror; the viewer learns that one of the main characters is mentally disturbed and on the verge of committing murder. Their fear of being forever trapped in darkness has driven them to the brink of insanity.

I was rather disappointed upon discovering that "Afraid of the Dark" was not a typical mystery. I was also disappointed with the ending. It was not shocking or horrifying in the least. Instead of ending with a scream, it ended with a yawn. I expected a truly terrifying ending like the one in "The Other." However, there are some moments of genuine tension. This film reminded me of the classic "Wait Until Dark" and "See No Evil," which are far more superior in regards to blind women being terrorized. This is a movie that you definitely want to rent before purchasing; a late night viewing is also recommended, unless you are afraid of the dark.

Modest little film that communicates all of its developments well ahead of time. Well crafted and performers deliver well, but - again - it is not REALLY scary. More of a type of thriller sort is what it is. A passable view, but not overly engrossing.

This movie was a surprise from start to finish. It definitely kept me off balance and was unpredictable, if not pretty disturbing. I will never pick up my knitting needles again without thinking of this movie. Strange how familiar objects and sounds take on an entirely different meaning in this boy's world.

This was a film with a great premise with a first half that showed amazing promise.
Immediately we're told a slasher is targeting the blind and introduced to a strange boy and his sightless mother and rigid policeman father. Though uncertain who the criminal is we get the impression a young repairman working at a blind institute whistling ironic songs can't have good intentions. The parallel between killer and young protagonist is made early on with the boy covering alot of stalker ground: following a target home, toying with them, peeping on them, then breaking & entering.
Right at about this point the movie begins to devolve. The rationality takes that of a nightmare and though mildly frightening it makes very little sense in the long run. Great lines about villians being "all the same" are lost in a plotless story. We're treated to truly great set-ups, the stand-out being a train station attack, and it's ultimately all in vain.
But really it's not surprising. This seems more akin to Italian giallo than any other kind of thriller and those films, despite their ingenuity and ambition, are always incomplete.

I know that this is meant to be a drama of great power with startling insights into the human condition, man's inhumanity to man's, the lives of quiet despair we all face, or some other pretentious nonsense. I just found it confusing as well!

The basic plot centers on young Frank. Just starting his school holidays, Frank offers to help his blind mother down to walk to the local center for the blind. There he meets her blind friends, listens to the gossip about the local serial killer (who attacks blind people), and then goes about his merry day stalking some of the blind residents who live near the center. Unseen he pries into their lives and, is actually able save one the victims from the serial killer.

Reality check ! It was all in the kid's mind ..

Young Frank has imagined a world in which he is the hero and saves the day. In reality the little boy is the one going blind and his fear has caused an imaginary world in which he is the sighted hero.

The boy's behavior becomes increasingly erratic and dangerous as the movie progresses. Because the adults have so many other things going on it takes a long time before anyone realizes how dangerous Frank has become. By the time they do clue in, it might be too late.

This was confusing and often times dark movie. I like the first part in the boy's fantasy where he silently prowls the neighborhood. I even enjoyed the first part of the 'real' section where half the fun was spotting the people and places from the child's imagination. But every time you get used to something in the film they ratchet it up to a new level of cruelty. That was a little overdone.