Death By Beauty Horror Love: Movie Review

DARKNESS FALLS (2003)

Caitlin: Black cat. Why not?

Okay now, to start off with i have to explain something before i review, i absolutly love those really bad and really obscure slasher/horror movies, i'm not very main stream and having read over reviews of this movie and other movies i find the ones most people hate are the movies i really like !!!

This little oddity of a movie is quite and interesting one to watch, now let me explain to you also that i don't scare easily (the only movie ive watched that really scares the pants off me is Jaws, cause i have a a shark phobia so that movie is scarrrrrry) i don't really jump in those moments when your supposed to, but with darkness falls it creeped me out and it made me jump which i think means the movie needs some kudos !!!

Basically the movie revolves around 150 year old legend of Matilda Dixon who kids would bring her their teeth when they fell out and she would give them a shiny gold coin, anyway as all good 150 year old stories go she was hurt in a fire which badly scared her face and her skin was too sensitive to go out in the sun so she only came out and night and to protect her face she wore a porcline mask and of course this scared the little kiddies away, when two kids go missing she is blamed for it and hung where she curse the town of Darkness Falls, "Since then there are some who believe that Matilda visits the children of Darkness Falls on the night they lose their last tooth, seeking her vengeance on any who lay their eyes upon her face, fulfilling her curse: What I took before in kindness, I will take forever in revenge"

all of the above is actually explained to us in narrative as the credits are rolling, which was the first thing i liked about the movie, it actually gave us a solid story and background for what happens next.

Anyway after that we proceede to met Kyle and Catilin, when they're young teenagers, Kyle inevitably encounters Matilida Dixon, who in the town of Darkness Falls is where the legend of the tooth fairy comes from, so through out the movie she is referred to as the tooth fairy, and in the beginning of the movie catilin says when the tooth fairy comes, don't peak, but unfortunatly for Kyle thats what he does, and cause he saw her she now wants him dead, it envitably leads to his mother getting killed and Kyle is taken away from his family home, and then we skip to 12 years later, where we see a grown up catilin in a hospital with her younger brother who is suffering the same night terrors as Kyle has his whole life.

The movie unravels as Catilin rings Kyle up asking for his help with her brother, and Kyle returns home to Darkness Falls after 12 years of hiding away from the tooth fairy, and the rest unravels as a race against time to stop the tooth fairy before she gets Kyle, Catinlin and her brother.

So to start with what i liked about this movie was the beginning with a young Kyle and Catilin, there is a really good jump scare when you see a shadow flash across one of Kyles bedroom windows and then Catilin jumps in through the window, your expecting it but it still startles you and makes you jump, and the moment when Kyles hiding under the sheet on his bed and he slowly pulls in down and peaks out and the tooth fairy is right there in his face that is creepy and well timed.

Not much of anything really does happen after that, there aren't a whole lot of scares after that one funny one when catilin has returned back to the hospital and is sitting in her car trying to calm herself down and a black cat jumps on the bonnet of her car startling her and the audiance too, again becuase of its well timed exacution.

the movie really does just plod along after that, the kills aren't violent of bloody by any means, just scratched up faces and bodies with not alot of blood so thats a one down side from my end being i love blood guts and gore. you don't really get to learn much about Kyle or Catilin from the last 12 years, but if you look past that its not really that hard to follow, you kind of wander why Catilin has such a younger brother, and where are their parents, i think it could've worked better if he'd been her son not brother.

Whilst the movie has a creepy undertone to it, if your a seasoned horror/slasher movie fan it'll be fairly tame and more like watching a disney movie for you !! but i think it's still worth a watch to see if you get a little jump out of it like i did, the beginning really was the best part of this movie, the young actors who played the young Kyle and Catilin did a really good job, unfortunatly the older versions aren't acted so well, i honestly think the actors who played them where just to old when you considor how young the were in the start and add 12 years onto that, they're only supposed to be about 24 or 25 but they looked closer to 30 !!!

The ending of course is pretty standard for any creepy legend killer movie, theres always at least ONE way to kill them and the hero or heroine will always stumble upon that one weakness, as they do in the end of Darkness Falls, and then thats kind of just it.

So in recommending good movies for you to watch, in conclusion i say if you like your movies a little bit more obscure, or your only just starting out in scary movies this is a good one to watch for first timers, there isn't much to follow, there's a good couple of scares and not much blood or gore to freak you out with, and if you like the little bit more obscure movie or just wanna test your jump factor this is a good one to give it a go.

but i should also come with a warning on this one, its isn't the best movie i've seen, i could manage to sit through the whole thing easily without getting too bored, generally all i wanted was some more blood and guts spilled but i did like it, but it is a slow moving hard to get off the ground kind of movie so proceede with caution if you are to watch this movie and don't hate me if you do and don't like it !!!! they cant ALL be good !!!

You have been warned, go forth and watch my young jedi horror/slasher fans !!! be bold and brave hehe and if all else fails just drink ALOT of alcohol first and laugh at the movie !!!!