Darkness Falls (2003)

Director:

Jonathan Liebesman

Writers (WGA):

Joe Harris (story)
John Fasano (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

24 January 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Every Legend Has Its Dark Side.

Plot:

A vengeful spirit has taken the form of the Tooth Fairy to exact vengeance on the town that lynched her 150 years earlier. Her only opposition is the only child, now grown up, who has survived her before.

Plot Keywords:

Tooth | Tooth Fairy | Darkness | Light | Darkness Falls

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Chaney Kley	...	Kyle Walsh
Emma Caulfield	...	Caitlin Greene
Lee Cormie	...	Michael Greene
Grant Piro	...	Larry Fleishman
Sullivan Stapleton	...	Officer Matt Henry
Steve Mouzakis	...	Dr. Peter Murphy
Peter Curtin	...	Dr. Travis
Kestie Morassi	...	Nurse Lauren
Jenny Lovell	...	Nurse Alexandra
John Stanton	...	Captain Thomas Henry
Angus Sampson	...	Raymond 'Ray' Winchester (as Angus Murray Lincoln Sampson)
Charlotte Rees	...	Marie Winchester
Joshua Anderson	...	Young Kyle Walsh
Emily Browning	...	Young Caitlin Greene
Rebecca McCauley	...	Margaret Walsh (Kyle's Mom)

Also Known As:

Don't Peek (USA) (working title)
The Ghost of Matilda Dixon (USA) (working title)
The Tooth Fairy: The Ghost of Matilda Dixon (USA) (working title)
Tooth Fairy (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for terror and horror images, and brief language.

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA | Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG | Portugal:M/16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15PG (original rating) | Ireland:15 (video rating) | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Australia

Company:

Revolution Studios

Trivia:

In a version of the film, the creature only appears in the final act. The studio was not satisfied by this, so they brought Stan Winston in to create a new Tooth Fairy that would be seen throughout the film. The original design (by Steve Wang) bears no resemblance to the new version, although it is the basis for the McFarlane Toys figure released in 2002.

Goofs:

Plot holes: It is established early that The Tooth Fairy is afraid of and very sensitive to light. Not just bright light. Any light. Therefore, no one should be able to see her because you need light to see anything. Otherwise, it would be recoiling from the pain of being in a light source.

Quotes:

Caitlin: Black cat. Why not?

Movie Connections:

References "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" (1987/I)

Soundtrack:

Gunboat

Darkness Falls-Flat

"Darkness Falls" was one of the top movies to see for me when it was released in theaters a few months ago simply because critics from film festivals were raving about it.

If this had been a 10 minute movie I would be raving about it too. The opening sequence was WICKED. After this fast paced beginning I was pumped and ready to go for what I was hoping to be an equally cool continuation once the credits went through. And yet again, like many horror films before it... things just did not hold strong.

Sure the whole tooth fairy story about a poor old disfigured lady being killed unfairly was kind of neat. But the whole vengeful spirit out to wreak havoc on its fellow towns folk was weak. I kept waiting for something that would set this movie apart from every other horror film with a high body count. Anything really, a twist or slightly unsuspected ending would have done nicely. But none of this ever came. All we (the audience) get is a cast of characters who are solely there for the purpose of a higher body count. 90% of those who get dragged off by the angry spirit have absolutely NO character development, so when they finally get it you don't really feel too sad at all. Well sure them dying is a bummer, but other than that, there is next to no connection developed that would make you feel much of anything for them.

I didn't hate this movie. But the simplistic story, cheesy dialogue, and stereotypical characters were pretty tiresome.

5 out of 10. For a few entertaining moments and a cool intro.