Product Details

• Actors: Kim Darby, Jim Hutton, Barbara Anderson, William Demarest, Pedro Armendáriz Jr.
• Directors: John Newland
• Format: NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: Unrated
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00000F39T
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,587 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS MOVIE IS REALLY SCARY!!, January 12, 2001

By	C. Upperstrom "dj-diezman" (Iron River, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I remember seeing "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" on TV when I was a kid. Don't Be Afraid of the Dark was originally made for TV back in 1973. There are movies that stick with you for the rest of your life- this movie stuck with me!! It's the creepiest movie that I have ever seen. I saw it a few years ago on late night TV and it scared me just as much as it did when I was a kid!! Don't Be Afraid of the Dark starts with a young couple inheriting an old victorian style house. They don't know that the house is inhabited by three small demons that are locked in a blocked off fireplace. The caretaker, played by William Demarest(Uncle Charlie from "My Three Sons") warns Sally,played by Kim Darby, that some things are better left alone when she wants the old fireplace opened up. Sally attempts to open the fireplace thus releasing the three small demons into the house.They then want her for thier own. Strange things begin to happen around the house and Sally at first begins to question her own sanity. She sees the demons and her husband Alex, played by Jim Hutton, does not believe her. I think the scariest part of this movie is how vulnerable Sally feels. She cannot feel safe even at a dinner party (she sees one of the demons on her lap under a napkin) The demons cannot stand light and only attack in the dark. I can still hear the whispering whenever I think of this movie. Sally.....Sally......Sally.....Sally..... Don't Be Afraid of the Dark is the creepiest movie ever made. What amazes me the most is that it was made for TV!

See it for yourself....with the lights on!!

37 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How many movies have you seen that changed your life?, February 11, 2002

By	The Center Bullet (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews

From around 72 to 79 I lived in a large two story colonial house with a maid's quarters and a deep dark basement. But when you're a child these things are matter-of-fact, not spooky in any way. We learn to feel spooked, scared, terrified as we grow older, hear tall tales, myths, legends, and watch television. . .
As a very very young child I adored any kind of old horror or sci/fi movie, and watched any that fell in this category with relish. And late night weekend horror movies on tv were my greatest delight. However, I had grown used to the distant faded mythical reality of old black and white movies with rubbery comic book monsters and adorably funny vampires with thick accents.
Then I saw this movie, "Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark" and, I learned, I learned to be afraid for perhaps the first time in my life, I knew what terror was, what horror was. Firstly, the house was just like the one in which I lived in the 70's. Second, there were no funny accents, out of date comical acting, no black and white, no rubbery costumes. It was as if they went down into Hell itself and hired some actual factual demons to play the creatures.
I was stuck, downstairs, with my siblings. I was too scared to go upstares in the dark night house (just like the movie) to the safety of my parents. And so I had to sit there and watch it all with the all the fascination of someone seeing something they had never imagined possible unfold before them.
Read every review here and you'll find none that disagree, this is perhaps the most terrifying movie ever made. Okay, well, now that it's been nearly thirty years the movie may have become so dated that it will loose a pinch, a tiny fraction of its effect. But be warned, regardless of the passage of time, this movie will scar you and scare you and never ever leave the dark basement of your subconscious.
I, too, hope one day it will be re-released on dvd by someone who realizes the potential. In the mean time I treasure my faded copy and watch it about every two or three years, when I have the courage, and the stamina to stay up all night with all the lights on.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sally...we're waiting for you., March 12, 2003

By	Barbara K. (Freehold, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

I remember being a child in the late '70's/early '80's and being afraid to watch this on TV. I'm now 33 years old and finally got the courage. The movie is a little dated but still really creepy. I went to bed shortly after watching it and was hesitant to turn the lights out! I usually laugh at horror movies but this was very effective because of what the viewer doesn't see, rather than what he sees. It's a person's wild imagination that gets him every time. This is the theme for Sally, the main character of the film, and the viewer. I wish this quality thriller would be released on DVD. I would be the first to add it to my collection. The clincher is that it was made for TV. I've never even seen a theatrical release that was this scary.

Sally's husband thought it was mice...WRONG...