Darkness Falls

No doubt this is a pure masterpiece, that Prove once again X files is the best quality show of all Time, just 10/10

If you go down to The Woods today, you're in for a nasty surprise.

This is just wonderful, no wonder it has such a high score on here, it deserves it. I'm seeing some episodes for the first time in many years, some for the first time, I was told I'd love this one, and I did.

It has a great, creepy atmosphere, an adversary that cannot be reasoned with or bargained with, there is seemingly no hope. No politics, no paranoia, here we just have horror. Very much a stand alone episode, it works on every level.

One of the best from Series one. An out and out classic, 10/10.

Mulder and Scully are on top form, but surely after all she's seen it's time to start believing a little bit.

Unlike the haters who are giving this excellent episode negative reviews, I've been a proud X-Phike since the first episode. This is by far the best MOTW episode for season six.

Ignore the haters, see the episode for yourself. It's a gem.

Wow. This episode is hands down one of the best in The X-Files. It had literally everything you could ever want from a series like this: suspense, danger, and that eerie, creeping dread that never let up.

From the moment M&S went to the forest, I could feel it. Even though I knew they wouldn't die, I was still constantly scared that maybe something bad would actually happen to them lol.

What really got to me was imagining myself in their exact scenario. Stuck in the woods, with nightfall coming in? Nope, wouldn't have made it. Seriously, what could us real people do in that situation, when we're not protected by plot armor? 🤣

And I loved the way it kept me on edge throughout-there wasn't a single moment where I felt safe. The stakes felt real, which is exactly what you want in a top-tier episode like this.

Absolutely one of the best episodes EVER. Just thinking about it makes me shudder in the best possible way.

"Darkness Falls" is arguably the best standalone episode of season one, and perhaps one of the show's best pure horror episodes. "The X-Files" built its reputation on being a dark, creepy television series, better in that regard than most horror films, but its best episodes were often character-focused, often driven by thematic material- dramatic or comedic, but rarely purely horror-driven. That's not to say there aren't many examples of "The X-Files" working as a spooky good time, and "Darkness Falls" is one of the prime examples of this.

Filmed in the beautifully foreboding and atmospheric British Columbia forest, with lots of damp weather to add to the already great atmosphere the woods themselves provide, "Darkness Falls" is a bloody good episode, the quintessential populist X-Files script, if you will. I'm a huge fan of the quirky Darin Morgan episodes, for example, but I can recognize that if I am to introduce someone to the show something like this might work a bit better. It's funny, fast, creepy, and not at all lacking in subtext or satire (it is an effective and biting commentary on eco-terrorism and the lumber industry without losing touch of its basic intention to thrill and involve). Even the special effects aren't bad at all for a (then) low-budget TV show in 1994.

"Darkness Falls" might not have entered the public consciousness like some other episodes did ("Home", for example), but I imagine this is probably a result of the show not being a major phenomenon in the first season ("Darkness Falls" received 8 million viewers in comparison to 19 million for "Home"). It really is a classic, definitive X-Files episode, well-scripted by Carter and nicely-directed by Joe Napolitano.

10/10