As far as semi-abandoned midwinter Hollywood compost goes, though, Darkness Falls basically brings home the bacon for horror fans.
Darkness Falls (2003)
Tomatometer
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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.
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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Reviews for Darkness Falls
The best thing to be said for Darkness Falls is that it contains one decent piece of advice: Stay in the light. When the lights are on, after all, this movie won't be shown.
Could just as well have been titled Dumb Then Dumber for the way its plot makes decreasing sense even by the low standards of B horror flicks.
Darkness Falls has some chilling scares and spooky scenes, but not enough of them to keep your interest -- or to reward all the effort the movie puts you through.
Nothing about this makes sense, even by the standards of bad horror movies.
It's an instantly disposable and shamelessly derivative piece of work, but first-time feature helmer Jonathan Liebesman shows a savvy flair for atmospheric visuals...
About as scary as a ride on a minor roller coaster, it unrolls its amplified butcher-block shock effects within the first five minutes.
Darkness Falls is the movie to see if you've ever wondered what a movie plays like with all the unimportant stuff -- narrative, character development -- cut out and the action kept in.
Neophyte director Jonathan Liebesman tries to dredge up chills with loud noises and those unexpected black cats that jump out of total darkness...For a really scary Tooth Fairy, try Tom Noonan in Michael Mann's "Manhunter."
The story and characters are so thin that Darkness Falls has nothing to offer but the entertainment value of child endangerment.
There's only so much sustainable interest things jumping randomly out of dark corners can hold for most sentient beings.
There's a lot that's familiar in Darkness Falls, and not much that's good.
As Darkness Falls devolves into an uninteresting chase movie, it disappointingly squanders the film's sorta-clever premise and genuinely scary opening scene.
A lamebrained attempt at horror that is just a derivative pastiche of ideas lifted from other bad films.
The truly frightening darkness...is when the house lights dim and this wretched excuse for a thriller starts up...a chaotic jumble of horror movie tropes.
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