Nuits de terreur

Darkness Falls follows a somewhat similar plot line as the previous year's entry in the genre,They,with a few differences.One,Darkness Falls has a fairly well fleshed out back story.Two,the acting is generally fairly good.three,the monster has a reason for being,a motivation for its actions.also,the monster has a weakness,which can be exploited.the core storyline is descent for this genre.the movie is better paced and much better edited.the monster itself is however,not so great.the look of the creature isn't the problem.the problem are its movements,which do not look authentic in some scenes.now,the characters themselves--very little in the form of character development.pretty much your stock horror characters.none too bright and reacting in ways which real people(hopefully)would not.yet,strangely likable somehow.you kind of take pity on them.suspense--there were some tense moments.there was a fair amount of action.however,at times the film became chaotic--lots of sounds and sights all at once,including the music.the purpose,to pretend to entertain the viewer,well hiding the movie's shortcomings.in essence disguising the fact that the movie isn't achieving its intended purpose.in this case,frightening the viewer or at least heightening his or her anxiety.and now the ending.it does nicely resolve things.no cheap setup for a sequel here.i think it's a better movie than They.is it a good movie?yes.it has some tense moments with a few decent action sequences and a decent,straightforward ending without the usual unexpected(but really expected))twist.for me,Darkness Falls is a 6.5/10

Up front: I've just read other IMDb members' reviews of Darkness Falls, and if this isn't just the darndest case of "I-must-have-been-watching-a-different-movie" that I've come across! The following is clearly a VERY brief minority report.

Decent acting, good story flow, nice special effects for the budget, honest scares, fine gore-avoidance, entertaining mood-setting opening credits, and cliches up the whazoo. A solid 6 out of 10.

This, from a jaded, cynical old-timer.

Darkness Falls follows closely in style to films like John Carpenter's "The Fog". The modest budget of the film is offset by an imaginative use of style, lighting and sound.

All the negative reviews on this film have me wondering if today's horror film aficionados are so jaded that they have forgotten that sometimes a visit to a fun house can be as much fun as spending an hour or two with Hannibal Lector. If you can give up your concept of needing to be hit over the head with shock, you can have a good time with the film. It's not a dog by any measure.

This is an old fashioned scary movie. It's a "Popcorn Film". It does not pretend to be high art. The tight running time is a credit the director. In short...it was not great, it was not bad, it was a fun little ride.

Watched this flick late one saturday night, and I wasn't expecting a lot from this one. But I have to say, as I have watched plenty of so called "horror" films or "thrillers" over the years, this one actually pleasantly surprised me. Sure, the acting was not that good, the plot was, well, rediculous, but damn, this movie was a hell of a lot better than that yawner "One Hour Photo"!! This movie actually did scare me a few times. I got more than I expected from this one, and really don't see why it is getting slammed so bad for. Damn, relax people. Sure there wasn't any nudity or any slashing or gore, but if you really have to have blood and tits to enjoy a movie, you might want to check out the "Faces of Death" series there.

Okay, I admit this may not be a great movie, but I don't think it is the worst either. However, I do think I'm only saying that because I loved it as a kid. Honestly, it was always the choice of scary film for me and my friends at sleepovers etc. It was scary, the tooth-fairy character is my idea of a worst nightmare, and believe me she gave me plenty in the years that followed. I haven't seen it in a few years and while it may not haunt me anymore I suspect it would give me an intermediate shiver if I watched it again today.

Usually I bash films like this. There are probably better horror films out there that I've given worse reviews too, but this one holds sentimental value for me and I genuinely believe that it's not THAT bad. The acting isn't wonderful and the story plays out a bit predictably... I still quite like the premise though and the legend behind Matilda the tooth-fairy.

If you scare easily, I wouldn't recommend you watch this alone. The movie might not be top, but it is full of jumps and the villain is horrifying. Enjoy (with the lights on).