"Darkness Falls" is notorious for one thing: being one of the most underwhelming horror films of 2003. You can thank the studio behind it for that. The ghost story with a tooth fairy twist had its teeth knocked out one by one during its production and in spite of the efforts of director Jonathan Liebesman to rise above it, one can't help but feel cheated by the film, which barely clocks in at 80 minutes.
When he was twelve years old, Kyle (Chaney Kley) was terrorized by the blood-thirsty spirit of Matilda Dixon. A child-loving, sun-fearing old woman with an apparent fetish for teeth, Matilda was mistakenly murdered by the local townspeople and now stalks children upon the loss of their last baby tooth as a form of revenge. A decade down the line and Kyle – now a mopey 20-something who spends his free-time popping pills, collecting flashlights and brooding alongside some generic hard rock – finds himself returning home to assist his childhood sweetheart (Emma Caulfield) whose child is being haunted by the same spirit.
Despite its strong opening, "Darkness Falls" is a mess of a film seemingly in a rush to reach its conclusion. Rather than spend time on developing its characters, the film instead casts them off as quickly as possible, leaving little room for suspense or, you know, genuine horror. While the gorgeous cinematography goes a long way in establishing an appropriately foreboding atmosphere, the film resorts to cheap gags such as fast editing and jarring sound effects to get its jollies. It's also worth noting that the film is also host to one of the most face-palm inducing cat-jumping-into-frame scares. Liebesman has a great eye and tries his hardest, but at the end of the day, the film feels incomplete and hollow. If the studio intended to deliver a film that looks good but features nothing below the surface, then consider it a job well done. For the rest of us, it's about as scary as a routine trip to the dentist.
When he was twelve years old, Kyle (Chaney Kley) was terrorized by the blood-thirsty spirit of Matilda Dixon. A child-loving, sun-fearing old woman with an apparent fetish for teeth, Matilda was mistakenly murdered by the local townspeople and now stalks children upon the loss of their last baby tooth as a form of revenge. A decade down the line and Kyle – now a mopey 20-something who spends his free-time popping pills, collecting flashlights and brooding alongside some generic hard rock – finds himself returning home to assist his childhood sweetheart (Emma Caulfield) whose child is being haunted by the same spirit.
Despite its strong opening, "Darkness Falls" is a mess of a film seemingly in a rush to reach its conclusion. Rather than spend time on developing its characters, the film instead casts them off as quickly as possible, leaving little room for suspense or, you know, genuine horror. While the gorgeous cinematography goes a long way in establishing an appropriately foreboding atmosphere, the film resorts to cheap gags such as fast editing and jarring sound effects to get its jollies. It's also worth noting that the film is also host to one of the most face-palm inducing cat-jumping-into-frame scares. Liebesman has a great eye and tries his hardest, but at the end of the day, the film feels incomplete and hollow. If the studio intended to deliver a film that looks good but features nothing below the surface, then consider it a job well done. For the rest of us, it's about as scary as a routine trip to the dentist.
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