Medo de Escuro

To better understand what the director was attempting to do, I read many of the other posts on this film after watching it--because, clearly, it was a murky way to tell a story about an odd little boy who thinks he might be going blind. Some of the explanations seem valid enough, but that still doesn't make AFRAID OF THE DARK any more than an experimental film that doesn't quite have the payoff intended.

The boy, played by BEN KEYWORTH, wears extra thick glasses and sees the world in a distorted way. It's through his vision that we perceive what's happening, although much of the action is in his mind and is not reality. That's why there are so many layers to get through if you want to enjoy the film.

Frankly, I was annoyed by some of his choices--particularly, the incident involving the dog Toby--and the only character in the story that I could fully relate to was the father, played by JAMES FOX. Well mannered, he seemed an understanding parent but was willing to put up with an awful lot of wrong and downright odd behavior from his son.

Certain elements of the film were original in concept, such as the knitting needles and how they took on a different significance in the final scene, but overall there were many moments that seemed to drag, the pace suffering from bad editing.

Not the sort of film I'd want to watch again and ultimately has to be considered a disappointment for a film that had so much potential to begin with.

This is a very interesting film. If you watched it without any knowledge of what the storyline was then you should have been intrigued by the slightly twisted world the lead character lives in.

That is about as much as I can describe the film without ruining it by telling you more.

In terms of a film despite living in England my whole life I do tend to prefer cheerier sets than those seen in this film. I find them depressing to be honest. Some people will probably find that adds to the film or its message.

My strongest post viewing thought was, I wish they had crammed more into the film to push the story along. There is some good stuff here, but I fear that many viewers will just be lost or lose patience; if you don't feed a dog he won't be your friend.

This one can be a bit challenging, but it's well worth the ride. Written and directed by Academy award nominee Mark Peploe. Without including a spoiler it is difficult to describe too many elements of this surprising film. Sufficed to say, as the revelations begin, you can see layers of complexity and psychology that you weren't expecting at the beginning. There are many original things in this movie; not the least of which is numerous interpretations of blindness and helplessness through the eyes of a child. Now that probably makes you recoil - too artsy/fartsy, but I assure you this is a thriller. Genuinely creepy and the young actor Ben Keyworth that plays Lucas is outstanding.

If your experience of blindness in movies is limited to A Patch of Blue, The Miracle Worker or Scent of a Woman, you'll find this one very disorienting. It starts with the boy seeing all sorts of strange goings-on--blind people getting aggressed in the streets of London, even murdered by a razor-wielding maniac. Then half way through we see the 'blind' people are sighted and the boy has severe vision problems. There's an undeniable power to some of the images (Clare Holman doing a nude photo session with a creepy photographer will stick in my mind for a while) but the script is too digressive for the story to cohere.

Mark Peploe wrote Profession: Reporter for Antonioni and three films for Bertolucci; his talent has been recognized for decades. With a bit more discipline, this could have been a classic.

Persuaded that his blind mother is threatened by a murderer, a little boy leads an inquiry which leads him to the brink of madness.

Variation on the psychological thriller, "Clairvoyance" tugs us, in the course of a tortuous intrigue, into a shady world, where reality and imagination get completely muddled. A puzzling and alarming work.