Darkness Falls

Over one hundred fifty years ago in the town of Darkness Falls, all the children adored Matilda Dixon, as she would give them treats every time they lost a tooth. She became known as the Tooth Fairy. But when two children didn't return from her house, the villagers blamed Matilda and burnt her at the stake and as the flames consumed her, she cursed the town and swore vengeance. Two days after the children were found safe and sound. Now as every child in Darkness Falls loses their last baby tooth they are visited by Matilda and only the light and not looking at her face can save them.

Stand scares and some truly appalling dialogue make Darkness Falls nothing more than another very average masked-killer movie.

Supernatural horror movies never really scare me. To me ghosts returning from the grave to seek vengeance, as they always do, are not as frightening as a real, living, breathing killer. That's why characters like Hannibal Lector are far better at conveying the darkest depths of true evil than any spectral being.

The protagonist of this movie could be conceived, by some, as quite scary, appearing only in flashes to add to the simmering tension, but to me she just looks like a floating version of the Scream killer, with a slightly different mask. She does look quite menacing, with the filmmakers utilising shadow and fast cuts but you know that at the end she'll just be an ugly, burnt ghoul that has a weakness that its intended victims can exploit for their own salvation.

The decent visuals are let down by some appalling dialogue and the lack of any character development. How does Michael know so much about Matilda? Why does Kyle look about fourteen when he loses his last baby tooth but Michael only looks about eight? Why would Matilda, who loved children in life, turn into a murderer of them in death? So many questions and not enough answers but at the end of the day this isn't life changing cinema, it is just a late night jumper that is just formulaic.

The cast of relative unknowns, with only Buffy the Vampire Slayers Emma Caulfield (Anya in the series) recognisable, do their best with the lacklustre material. You know which ones are going to die and who is going to live just through the amount of screen time and dialogue.

With a distinct lack of gore but a good level of jumpy moments, Darkness Falls is a forgettable piece of horror that you will forget about as soon as it ends. Unless you are on the verge of losing a tooth that is.

Writers and Filmmakers commentaries, 7 deleted scenes, 'Making Of' featurette, 'The Legend of Matilda Dixon' featurette, Storyboard comparisons, Theatrical trailer, Interactive menu & Scene access

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2003