Darkness Falls

Darkness Falls is a horror movie based around the a town called Darkness Falls that has a very disturbing legend. Many years ago, a woman lived in the town and whenever a child lost a tooth they would bring it to her. One day, her house got on fire and she was severely burned. After that day she would only leave her house at night and she would always wear a scary porcelain mask. The townspeople became afraid of her and she was blamed for the disappearance of several of the local children. She was then hanged and she put a curse on the towns people. She said that what she used to do out of kindness (she's referring to taking the children's teeth) she would now do out of revenge. So basically, Darkness Falls is a horror movie based on the tooth fairy. While this sounds completely stupid, the movie was made very well and it provides with some serious scares.

Chaney Kley and Emma Caulfield, who have starred together on the cult show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, play childhood friends Kyle and Caitlinwho are reunited after Caitlin's younger brother starts experiencing the same kinds of "night terrors" that Kyle had as a child. Kley and Caulfield both play their parts well considering neither of them have had many starring roles in films. Caulfield portrays her loving and caring character beautifully while Kley plays up his characters fear and paranoia. And above all, the two actors really connet with each other and with the young actor Lee Cormie who plays Caitlin's younger brother. While Kley and Caulfield are both incredible, the best actor in this movie would have to be Cormie. Only 11 at the time of the movie's release, Cormie delivers his lines with an intensity and sophistication that is usually only shown by more adult actors. His lines are one of the main reasons the movie is so disturbing. There is one specific scene where he whispers the line, "We're all going to die." It's not the actual words that he says but the way he delivers the line makes it one of the most disturbing lines in horror movie history.

However, the most incredible thing about Darkness Falls isn't the script or acting, but the visuals. There is one scene in particular that stands out in my mind. After seeing the tooth fairy kill someone he loves dearly, a young Kyle hides in a severely white bathroom with the black cloaked tooth fairy hovering over the door. The contrast between the white and black is incredibly striking and makes for one of the most disturbing scenes I've ever seen in a horror movie. Darkness Falls in an enjoyable movie that horror movie fans may laugh at at first, but after seeing this movie many, many times it is hard to overlook the disturbing concepts and ideas that are scattered throughout the plot.

-H