Customer Reviews

Fear of the Dark

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I just sat through "Night of Komodo", "Python" and "Savage Island", all direct to video horror, all lousy beyond definition, and so I figured what the hell?.....might as well pop in "Fear of the Dark", I mean if i could make it through "Savage Island" everything else will be Macbeth by comparison. "Fear of the Dark" starts off pretty well, with a kid retrieving a lost baseball in a dark basement, and just sort of carries you along on a cool little thrill ride where things really do go bump in the night. The young actors really do a good job, and the movie does a pretty decent job of building suspense in several parts. If you liked "Clownhouse", then you should enjoy "Fear of the Dark" as well. No gore, no nudity and very little profanity also makes "Fear of the Dark" a kid-friendly horror film (if there is such a thing in our politically correct world anymore??) and would be perfect for your teen's next slumber party.

This isn't a terrific movie by any stretch. There are more than a few laughable scenes and silly, ridiculous occurrences. We laughed out loud when Kevin Zeger's character, Dale, was smoking. Like Clinton (*cough*) he didn't inhale, although he took several drags on the cigarette. My question for that scene is: why bother having the kid smoke if he's not going to inhale? Obviously Zeger doesn't smoke, and for that I applaud him, as so many actors and actresses in Hollywood do.

Regarding the silly occurrences. Say you're a father with a child that has a terrible fear of the dark. Would you:

a) Put a number of floodlights where they could be easily reached, say a chest in an open area, or
b) Put them in a dark attic?

Of course the movie chose "b".

Regardless, I was immensely surprised when I found myself trapped in suspense. There were moments of dramatic tension that actually made me a little nervous (perhaps even a little scared, although I never jumped), and when the movie was over, and I walked into my office (being 1:00am, my entire condo was dark, and my office darker than any other area) I really did take a tiny "gulp" until the light turned on. The same for returning to bed - until the light on my nightstand was turned on, I was somewhat on edge

Given the movie's obvious flaws, this made me more than a little embarrassed. But like I said, they handled some of the scary scenes quite well, even though I rolled my eyes during the stolen scene from the Frighteners. That was unnecessary. I can't imagine why they chose to write that scene into the script. Again, regardless, congratulations to the movie for making someone edgy who just doesn't ever get edgy from watching horror films.

Okay, I'll admit right off that his film has plenty of silly nonsense in it, moments of bad acting, and poor dialogue; however, there is also plenty to enjoy too.

This story of an older child with an obsessive fear of the dark is enjoyable in spite of it's obvious flaws because we can all relate to this time period in our lives when we feared the "thing under our bed" and the "monster in the closet." Nearly every child has had a fear of the dark at some point in his or her life. This film exploits that fear and does so rather well.

We can also relate to the sibling rivalry and sibling love apparent in this film. The acting can be stiff in places and feel forced, but in most other places it is surprisingly sincere. I blame the director for this inconsistency more than the actors who can obviously act. It's the director that fails to get the best out of them on a few occasions.

By the way, the mother is played by the ageless wonder Linda Purl who was a television stable for two decades and most remembered as Andy Griffth's daughter on the series "Matlock" (sorry, no link as it hasn't been released on DVD yet). In any event, when you see her, you'd swear you were looking at an older, but still beautiful Charlize Theron.

Well, moving right along . . . The storyline is rather clever in spite of the "been there done that" feel to it. The dialogue is less than clever and certainly isn't consistent in quality as it ranges from sweet, sincere, and believable to corny, phony and clichéd. The actors again should be given credit for delivering these lines as best as they could.

The atmospheric direction, photography, and setting are where this story really excels. Nearly every room, closet, mirror, and corner has something lurking in it. This provides terrific suspense and numerous "jump up from your seat" moments.

I was pleasantly surprised with the overall quality of this film and it is rather family friendly for a horror flick. There is no sex, gore, or violence really. The PG-13 rating is for exactly what it says on the DVD box: "For Frightening Images." My kids (11 & 15) jumped and let out a small scream in a few places, but laughed right after that.

Simply put: this film is good popcorn fun for the whole family (ages 10 and up).

Unexpected, I bought the movie becaused Kevin Zegers was in it. I do not like horror, and did not know what would happen in the movie. But there is no gore. Jesse James and Kevin Zegers both did outstanding jobs.

Although this is not a true horror flick or slasher flick, it was good for being rated only PG-13. I've gotten into the habit of not renting PG-13 movies because I love the gore and violence and terror of true horror movies that are rated R. However, I rented this movie because the box made it look scary. There are some suspenseful scenes in this movie as we see a young boy who is terrified of the dark.No one understands his fears, even his parents. One night, while the parents went out, the young boy was left home with his older brother. Well, here comes a storm and the lights go out. We get to see monsters/ghosts appear during some pretty good lightning scenes. Without going on and on about the details, I'd just say that I'd recommend renting this film. I was pleasantly surprised for a PG-13 rating movie.

This is most definitely an "under 10 Dollar" film. I had not seen the film, and bought the disc based on the cover and a quick look at the cover blurb, cost was just under 20 dollars ... not worth it.
There are some quite good scares at points, but thats about it. Definitely a kiddie horror, say a 3 year old, sort of film. If you get spooked by R L Stine, then you are beyond this film.
Some rather good editing at the final moments brings some neat scares; but, like the first in the SCARECROW films ( where the Actor playing the Scarecrow actually made his own mask) this is a film that should be avoided if you have any other options AT ALL.

AVOID.

I almost didn't rent this movie because of the cover. I figured it was going to be another splatter movie, but surprisingly it wasn't. Actually it steered away from the typical nude scenes and bad language that are so typical of most horror movies. It was refreshing to see that a horror movie could be made that was entertaining without the gore and nudity. I have to admit, I'd like this one for my collection when the price comes down.

What makes or breaks a movie for me is the photography, score, lighting, character development and acting. This is a well made film. The director knew his craft. A fun film to watch.

After reading some very amusing reviews about Fear Of The Dark On Amazon, my friend and I being avid horror movie fans of B and grade A alike decided to buy it. Safe to say it wasn't as bad as some people made it out to be, it does have a few downfalls but it's PG-13 so give it a break, has a good but not solid story and a likable cast of characters.The younger brother Ryan is pretty much the hero of the story, scared as hell of the dark (and the things in it) and we for one thought the little boy not only ruled but he was probably the most realistic, some of the chemistry between the actors kind of flogs a little bit. There's a typical love story of boy really likes girl and the like, amusing enough Dale probably has more chemistry with his mother then the girl he likes while the little brother should seriously hold onto that phone number because those two actors probably had the best chemistry on screen.Dale seems to only honestly have chemistry between Ryan and himself, quite lovable for little brother and big brother, during scenes with Dale's own parents we got the feeling he was more like a babysitter then their son, and with the girl the crushing was believable but it was overall typical. (Could have done without Dale smoking, it showed up no where else in the movie but at least he tells Ryan it's bad for your health.)The Female lead is actually a first for us to like, she's believable and definately the heroine, she's not your typical airhead and overall we were rooting for her instead of hoping she got crushed by a ladder or something, while the little brother is definately more the hero, watching it will make you root and yell at the screen telling the characters to believe the poor kid. The parents are also likable, despite their little screen time and I found myself kind of wanting to see them in the film more.The monsters of the movie were pretty freaky long as you couldn't see them entirely, that was the downfall, the things in the dark really should have been kept half hidden till near the end of the movie. We watched it first in the daytime, which surprisingly made us jump at a few scenes and it was a little freakier in the night.Touching on things we even do as we get older, keeping all our limbs under the covers, throwing blankets over our heads, heck I still throw pillows over my head even when the lights on and look into the hallways to make sure nothings there. Giving it a second round was probably for the best, during the first round we didn't get a few things until the second.For example, you kind of wonder what is the point of the female lead and the stories she's telling, it's kind of like 'Is she only there for a plot ploy of love interest for teenage girl appeal?' well we came to understand exactly what it was, pay attention to the little boy who goes in the basement and then it comes together. She lends more to the film then it looks, it's just stuble. I would have liked to see the female lead with her little brother more too in flashbacks, it's best to pay attention and understand her dialouge...man the movie had more potential really.The storyline is good but probably not solid enough, it could have used a full two hours instead of eighty four minutes well as strange stories surrounding missing children, and the town being kind of haunted by them, Ryan seeing a therapist once or twice for a full effect but the story does well on it's own.One thing We'd like to see in a Evil Dead remake considering they are doing one and it was on the television in the movie (That gave it brownieee points!) is Kevin Zegers as the next Ash baby, he's doing so many horror movies and he's a good actor, he really should try for the role of Ash, he's even got the face for it. Yeah random, but I couldn't help but saying it. Overall, the movie is fun and cool enough to watch with your little siblings and bestmates, has a little spook and some laughs, keeps a realm of suspense, very little cursing, but don't expect hightime horror and gore. It's worth ten bucks for a horror fan or just someone who likes a little spook and smiles, just make sure to watch it in the dark for full effect and some cuddling wouldn't hurt. =P

This movie wasn't bad...Felt more like watching a modern-day halloween episode made for an after school special...It was a clever film, taking the idea of being afraid of the dark and making a simple, suspense film....more suspence than horror, though there were a few creatures in it that popped up...The acting was ok...Surely not a gorefest, but the movie has you thinking back to those times when you were a kid and thought things bumped in the night, lived in your closest and under your bed...PG-13? it could've been PG=nothing graphic found in this movie at all (to tell you the truth, seen more graphic stuff on prime time tv, lately)...

This is a surprisingly good movie. It's a really great thriller for kids old enough to know it's not real. The "night things" are awesome and the music is fantastic. All of the actors, especially young Jesse James (Ryan), are wonderful. This movie hits on a subject that scares nearly every child--things in the closet, under the bed, under the stairs, and pretty much everywhere else it's dark and creepy. No nudity, very little cursing (there's even a couple of 'darn' instances), one obligatory awkward kiss. Like I said, as long as your kid knows these things don't really exist, let them see this. It'll put just enough scare into them to keep them entertained until the end. And if the scare factor doesn't entertain them, the bugs at the end will;) What a hilariously bad job the effects team did with those!