Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

This is one of those little films that lends itself to legendary status, because it is almost impossible to see nowadays. With a great deal of effort and patience, one can find a copy....but it sure isn't easy. So many of us remember seeing it when it aired...I was all but six or seven and remembered only these gnome-like creatures. Recently I was able to see it again....and started to remember a lot more of it. The film is pretty atmospheric as it chronicles the slow then fast menacing of Sally Farnham by pint-sized demons with conical shaped heads. Sally and her husband recently moved into this large house and forsaking the advice of carpenter William Demarest, Sally opens a fireplace which had been sealed over twenty-five years ago. These creatures lived in the fireplace and now they want Sally...to join them. Kim Darby does a good job playing Sally as she slowly descends into madness...as well as other destinations. Forget all the talk about it being only good for a television movie...this is a good movie period. It has loads of atmosphere and suspense, albeit a bit shallow in the area of plot.

I must have seen this movie when I was around 7 or 8 yrs old. This was the scariest movie I had ever seen. I was never afraid of the dark prior to seeing it, but afterward was a different story. When my parents put me to bed my door had to be slightly cracked open the the hallway light on. I slept with my covers over my head and I was so afraid those little creatures were going to get me. I then began telling some neighborhood kids about these little creatures and I don't think their parents were too happy with me. The parents complained to my parent saying I was "scaring their children" and they were having problems sleeping at night. Little did they realize how really scared I was and I guess I just wanted some company....oops. I've brought this movie up to many friends but no one ever seemed to know what I was talking about. But after reading a bunch of these reviews I am relieved to find out that I wasn't the only one scared out of their wits! To this day I really don't care for scary movies, perhaps that is a effect from seeing this movie, who knows? I am happy to report that I no longer am scared of sleeping in the dark :)

Sally Farnham (Kim Darby) and her husband Alex Farnham (Jim Hutton) move to an old mansion that belonged to Sally's grandmother and they hire an interior designer and the carpenter Mr. Harris (William Demarest) to redecorate the manor.

Sally opens a locked door in the house and finds a sealed fireplace and ash pit. She asks Mr. Harris to open the fireplace but the old man argues with her and refuses to follow the order. Sally uses Mr. Harris' wrench to remove the bolts of the ash pit cover. Soon Sally finds that evil little creatures that fear the light have escaped from the underground through the ash pit and are threatening her. However, Alex and her friend Joan Kahn (Barbara Anderson) believe that Sally's imagination is affected by the words of Mr. Harris.

"Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" is a simple and effective horror film made for television released in Brazil only on VHS. The story of a young couple that moves to an old house and the wife Kim Darby, the unforgettable Miri of "Star Trek" and the girl Mattie Ross of "True Grit", releases demon-like creatures is original and developed in an adequate pace.

In 2010, Guillermo del Toro remade this film with a lame screenplay that included silly sub-plots and spoiled the original story. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Criaturas da Noite" ("Creatures of the Night")

Note: On 15 December 2021, I saw this film again.

Note: On 17 March 2023, I saw this film again in a recently released DVD.

This is one of those movies that is best judged by the people who saw it on its original or first rebroadcast. By today's standards, I agree with a lot of reviewers that say it is not very good. I wouldn't give it a 1, but probably no more than a 4. But I am one of the lucky people who got to see it on its original broadcast, and like so many others, it has scarred me for life.

I harbor no ill will toward new viewers who didn't get to experience the fear and trauma this movie inflicted on viewers (especially kids like me) when it was first released. I actually feel sorry for them, as they didn't get to experience one of those rare movie experiences where everything just came together perfectly.

I also saw this movie as a kid and was haunted by it for a long while. I still remember being scared of the little creatures. There was another somewhat similar TV movie called Trilogy of Terror (just found the titles of both of these movies on the web out of curiosity) with Karen Black where she was haunted by a little voodoo like creature with a spear that also really got me good. As far as the effect a scary movie had on me at the time I saw it, this was by far the scariest movie I have seen in my life. I don't know if it would have much an effect on me now or not but it certainly did then.

I'm guessing it is not available on DVD or video.