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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.

Runtime: 86 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

US 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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Reviews for Darkness Falls

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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Film lovers beware! The evil spirits of boredom will befall should you enter a darkened cinema and endure Darkness Falls.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The characters are empty, the performances wooden, and of course, the grave little kid is omniscient.

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
08/30/03
Alexa Moses
Alexa Moses
Sydney Morning Herald
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Utterly woeful and mostly just banal effort.

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

his is a very flawed but entertaining and cheesy monster flick that would be fun to watch around a crowd with some popcorn.

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
04/29/09
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed

It begins with not one but two prologues; one character turns up out of nowhere, his introduction no doubt left on the cutting-room floor; and the paltry 85-minute running time includes 15 minutes of end credits.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
02/26/07
J. R. Jones
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader

A mish mash of horror-movie clichés.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
02/26/07
Philip French
Philip French
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The kind of movie that gets laughs entirely unintentionally.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
12/30/06
Adam Smith
Adam Smith
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

All semblance of plausibility is extracted, leaving a cast of TV actors to struggle with a plot with more gaps than an eight-year-old's grin.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Exactly what a horror movie should be; fun, scary, fast paced, and with 'jump' moments galore.

Full Review Source: Three Movie Buffs | comment 1 Comment
09/30/05
Scott Nash
Scott Nash
Three Movie Buffs

Oy, how it falls.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
09/26/05
Ann Hornaday
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is, quite simply, horror porn, with barely any connective tissue linking each set piece.

Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | comment 2 Comments
02/08/05
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com

Provides for more than acceptable campfire fare (although at under 80 minutes, it lasts less than most Duralogs), with occasional moments of genuine visceral fright.

Full Review Source: Portland Mercury | comment Comment
01/21/05
Andrew Wright
Andrew Wright
Portland Mercury

The problem is that both the plot and the characters are so thin that it’s hard to care about anything that’s happening on screen.

Full Review Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette | comment Comment
01/04/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

There are a few cheap scares, but overall the film is, well, toothless.

Full Review Source: Las Vegas Weekly | comment Comment
09/06/03
Josh Bell
Josh Bell
Las Vegas Weekly

You will find more frights in Finding Nemo. And you might just have more fun playing with your lollie wrappers, performing shadow puppets on the screen – or even picking your nose – than enduring this dimly lit horror movie.

Full Review Source: Sunday Times (Australia) | comment Comment
09/01/03
Shannon J. Harvey
Shannon J. Harvey
Sunday Times (Australia)
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Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sunday Times (Australia) | comment Comment
09/01/03
Sunday Times (Australia)
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Darkness fell along with my eyelids, during this dire by-the-numbers horror film.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
07/08/03
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A conventional, mildly frightening, low-grade horror flick with some humor (often unintentional) and as many gaps as a seven-year-old’s mouth.

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
07/02/03
Mark Bazer
Mark Bazer
Boston Phoenix

Darkness has fallen and it can't get up.

Full Review Source: State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL) | comment Comment
06/26/03
Nick Rogers
Nick Rogers
State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL)

Irritating sound effects, cheap scare tactics and a comically bad script all add up to the year's first senseless cinematic attack on the senses.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/20/03
Tyler Hanley
Tyler Hanley
Palo Alto Weekly
 
 
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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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