Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (TV 1973)

A young couple inherits an old mansion inhabited by small demon-like creatures who are determined to make the wife one of their own.

Director:

John Newland

Writer:

Nigel McKeand

Stars:

Kim Darby, Jim Hutton, Barbara Anderson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kim Darby	...	Sally Farnham
Jim Hutton	...	Alex Farnham
Barbara Anderson	...	Joan Kahn
William Demarest	...	Mr. Harris
Pedro Armendáriz Jr.	...	Francisco Perez (as Pedro Armendariz Jr.)
Lesley Woods	...	Ethyl
Robert Cleaves	...	Doctor
Sterling Swanson	...	Policeman
Joel Lawrence	...	George Kahn (as J.H. Lawrence)
William Sylvester	...	Tom Henderson
Don Mallon	...	Bob
Celia Kaye	...	Anne
Elizabeth St. Clair	...	Party Guest
Monika Henreid	...	Party Guest (as Monica Henreid)
Robert Priest	...	Party Guest

Storyline

A neurotic housewife named Sally and her business exec husband move into Sally's family house, a spooky two story Victorian mansion. When Sally starts the redecorating along with her pompous decorator she comes across a locked room in the house. After arguing with the handyman who insists she should leave the room locked, she finally gets the key. But once she opens her father's old study and has the bricks from the fireplace removed, strange things begin to happen. Sally begins to see small creatures everywhere, but no one will believe her. Her husband dismisses her as neurotic and her friend thinks Sally may be losing her mind. But things take a deadly serious turn when the decorator trips at the top of the stairs and falls to his death. Sally sees a rope lying across the place where he tripped, but when she picks it up to take it, a horrifying little creature pulls it from her grasp. Is she crazy? Or has Sally released demons in the house, demons her father summoned?

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Plot Keywords:

demon | fireplace | locked room | couple | rope | 

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Taglines:

Now you see them, now you don't...now you die.

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 October 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Les créatures de l'ombre

Filming Locations:

Piru Mansion - 829 & 837 Park Road, Piru, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lorimar Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The role of Alex Farnham was originally to be played by George Hamilton.

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Quotes

Creatures: [opening lines] Will she come? Do you think she will come?
First Creature: She will. You know she will.
Second Creature: But when? When?
First Creature: Very soon. It's just a matter of time. Of waiting for a while. All we have to do is bide our time. Bide our time.
[laughs]
Creatures: But it's been so long. So many years. When will she come and set us free-set us free!
First Creature: Patience! Patience! We've all the time in the world.
[laughs]
Creatures: We've all the time in the world. In the world. In the world. To set us free! In the world!
[Maniacal laughter]

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Connections

Remade as Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2010)

User Reviews

We Need a Sequel! Great Movie!

This is a classic horror that will stay with you for years. A young couple moves into a house where the previous owner, the woman's father, mysteriously disappeared years before. As it turns out, the young couple aren't the only ones living in the house, there are scary demons living in the basement. This movie is great! You just scream sequel. The ending will stick with you, it's a shocker. This is an amazing movie for a made-for-tv movie. Grab this one, it's that good!