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Movies / On DVD / Darkness Falls
Darkness Falls

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Darkness Falls (2003)

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Reviews Counted:125

Fresh:10

Rotten:115

Average Rating:3.2/10

Consensus: A derivative movie where the scares are few and things don't make much sense.

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for terror and horror images, and brief language

Runtime: 86 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Theatrical Release:Jan 24, 2003 Wide

Box Office: $32,032,215

Synopsis: For the past 150 years, the legend of Matilda Dixon, "the Tooth Fairy," has hung over the town of Darkness Falls like a dark cloud. After being unjustly accused of a heinous crime, the kindly old... For the past 150 years, the legend of Matilda Dixon, "the Tooth Fairy," has hung over the town of Darkness Falls like a dark cloud. After being unjustly accused of a heinous crime, the kindly old woman was savagely slaughtered by a mad rabble one night, and there are those who say her vengeful spirit hovers over the town, just waiting to pounce on anyone who sees her in the dark.

It happened to young Kyle. One night he saw Matilda and, though he managed to escape her evil clutches, his mother was brutally murdered.

Or was it just a hallucination?

Haunted by his painful memories of that night, and plagued by guilt, Kyle (Chaney Kley) has never allowed himself to be in the dark since. One day, he is summoned back to town by his childhood sweetheart Caitlin (Emma Caulfield), whose nine-year-old brother Michael (Lee Cormie) is having the same nightmares that drove Kyle to the brink of madness.

When he returns, however, Kyle realizes that Matilda’s evil spirit was no figment of his imagination. She is real and extremely dangerous. And if she catches him in the dark again, her horrible, scarred face will be the last thing he ever sees.

Revolution Studios presents A Distant Corners/Blue Star Pictures Production, Darkness Falls, distributed by Columbia Pictures. Starring Chaney Kley, Emma Caulfield and Lee Cormie. The film is directed by Jonathan Liebesman. The screenplay is by John Fasano & James Vanderbilt & Joe Harris from a story by Joe Harris. The producers are John Hegeman, John Fasano, William Sherak and Jason Shuman. The executive producers are Derek Dauchy and Lou Arkoff. Dan Laustsen is the director of photography. The production designer is George Liddle. The film is edited by Steve Mirkovich, A.C.E. and Tim Alverson. The music is by Brian Tyler. Creature Designed and Created by Stan Winston Studio.

Darkness Falls is rated PG-13 for terror and horror images, and brief language. [More]

Starring: Chaney Kley, Emma Caulfield, Lee Cormie, Grant Piro

Starring: Chaney Kley, Emma Caulfield, Lee Cormie, Grant Piro, Kestie Morassi, Alannah Oliver, Joshua Anderson

Director: Jonathan Liebesman

Director: Jonathan Liebesman
Screenwriter: Joseph Harris, John Fasano, John Vanderbilt
Producer: John Hegeman, William Sherak, John Fasano, Jason Shuman
Composer: Brian Tyler
Studio: Columbia Pictures

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Release:

Apr 22, 2003

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Reviews for Darkness Falls

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21 - 40 (sorted by date)
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Disappointing horror film that is neither frightening nor amusing.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
05/10/03
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Hoping for a good scare while watching this mess really is like pulling teeth.

Full Review Source: RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland) | comment Comment
05/08/03
Harry Guerin
Harry Guerin
RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)

Darkness Falls banks on the type of psychological thrills that made old-fashioned horror films a hoot.

Full Review Source: Reno Gazette-Journal | comment Comment
05/02/03
Forrest Hartman
Forrest Hartman
Reno Gazette-Journal

This is a self-consciously silly, completely disposable multiplex movie that does its best to deliver its fair share of chills while struggling to keep a straight face.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/28/03
Jamie Russell
Jamie Russell
BBC

A quick and cheap horror flick that will come and go in less time than it takes for you to finish reading this review.

Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | comment Comment
04/05/03
Andrea Chase
Andrea Chase
Killer Movie Reviews

The tagline reads, "Evil Rises. Darkness Falls," but they clearly forgot the third caveat: "Slumber Ensues."

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
02/26/03
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

Utterly woeful and mostly just banal effort.

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
02/09/03
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons

While it took three screenwriters to come up with Darkness Falls' countless variations on 'Stay out of the dark!,' many more may have been necessary to provide an interesting plot or developed character.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
02/06/03
Dan Fienberg
Dan Fienberg
L.A. Weekly

A joyless amalgam of horror movie cliches.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
02/06/03
Paul West
Paul West
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

The only thing scary is reading the credits and realizing that there were three paid screenwriters whose combined IQs could only create something as brainless as Darkness Falls.

Full Review Source: Juicy Cerebellum | comment Comment
02/05/03
Alex Sandell
Alex Sandell
Juicy Cerebellum

Darkness Falls is a sorrowful testament to just how little in the way of talent, thought or even concept is needed for a movie to get made these days.

Full Review Source: Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada) | comment Comment
02/03/03
Josef Braun
Josef Braun
Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)

It's just boring.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
02/01/03
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

Despite a few suitably creepy moments early on, the film quickly settles into a rapid-fire cutting style that renders much of the action incoherent.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
02/01/03
Ethan Alter
Ethan Alter
Film Journal International

What's supposed to rattle us as a bout of simulated night terror, comes off more as an acute episode of extreme nearsightedness.

Full Review Source: Long Island Press | comment Comment
01/31/03
Prairie Miller
Prairie Miller
Long Island Press

Do you really need me to tell you how scary this horror show isn't?

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
01/31/03
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Formulaic and uneventful.

Full Review Source: Modamag.com | comment Comment
01/31/03
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
Modamag.com

The kind of movie that gives horror a bad name.

Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer | comment Comment
01/31/03
Margaret A. McGurk
Margaret A. McGurk
Cincinnati Enquirer

How this painfully terrible film (even by January standards) got a theatrical release is beyond me.

Full Review Source: Scott Mantz' Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/31/03
Scott A. Mantz
Scott A. Mantz
Scott Mantz' Movie Reviews

The filmmakers are more in the dark than the one-dimensional characters that fill this chilled chiller.

Full Review Source: Sun Newspapers of Cleveland | comment Comment
01/31/03
Gerry Shamray
Gerry Shamray
Sun Newspapers of Cleveland

Depending exclusively on countless endeavors of the past to emit its energy, the picture would serve as a worthwhile experience only to those who have never seen a horror movie in their life.

Full Review Source: Cinemaphile.org | comment Comment
01/31/03
David Keyes
David Keyes
Cinemaphile.org
 
 
21 - 40 (sorted by date)
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Latest News for Darkness Falls

August 30, 2006: Poster & Plot for "Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning"
I was among the initially-skeptical and eventually-impressed who actually really liked Marcus Nispel's "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" remake. Do I think it's even remotely... More...

June 07, 2006: Trailer Bulletin: Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
If you're not a hardcore horror fan, this could get a little confusing: In the beginning there was Tobe Hooper's "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," and it was good. It was... More...

February 22, 2006: "Darkness" Director to Helm Jason's Origin Tale
New Line has hired "Darkness Falls" director Jonathan Liebesman to helm the as-yet-untitled "Friday the 13th" prequel which is being fast-tracked in an... More...

February 06, 2006: Arquette "Trips" into Directorial Debut
Character actor David Arquette will make his directorial debut with an indie horror flick entitled "The Tripper," which he wrote with Joe "Darkness Falls"... More...

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