Cinema Saturday : Darkness Falls

Cinema Saturday Presents:  Darkness Falls

Year: 2003

Runtime: 86 min 96 min for extended blu-ray edition

Rating: PG-13

Movie Grade: B+

Principle Cast:                  

Director: Jonathan Liebesman

Writers: Joe Harris (story), John Fasano (screenplay)

Chaney Kley:  Kyle Walsh

Emma Caulfield: Caitlin Greene

Lee Cormie : Michael Greene

Synopsis:  The town of Darkness Falls has a dark secret that has been haunting them for centuries.  A ghostly figure haunts this sleepy little town, a vengeful spectator that snatches away anyone who is unfortunate enough to look upon her face.  Kyle Walsh is the only one to ever escape her clutches and now a little boy is being hunted by the same creature. It’s up to Kyle to find a way to end the curse once and for all before it’s too late.

Spoiler free review: despite some cheesy acting and story plots Darkness Falls is one of the better horror films of the early 2000’s. If you like over the top monster flicks this one is a good pick.

Review: The early 2000s were mostly known for the reintroduction of the epic movie trilogy and a slew of new franchises.  Many of the horror films of the early 2000’s were rather forgettable and poorly constructed having lost that sense of fun and fear that had once been their lifeblood.  However, a few films snuck in through the cracks of mediocrity, and, while not very groundbreaking provided some much-needed entertainment. 

 Darkness Falls is one such film; it is a sincere attempt to make a scary and entertaining movie    Darkness Falls kicks things off right with a chilling narration of the Legend of Matilda Dickson setting up the twisted fairy tale that is about to take place.  The story progresses through a flashback of our main character Kyle Walsh as he finds himself the latest victim of the tooth fairy’s wrath as the demonic fairy slaughters his family but fails to kill Kyle leaving him to pick up the pieces of his ruined life.   Several years later Kyle is all grown up and decides to return to the town of darkness falls to help a young boy who is now being hunted by the sinister tooth fairy.   

Darkness Falls is a relatively average horror film, by that I mean it’s one of those movies that are smart, fun and decently well written but it’s not earning 10’s across bored. It’s one of those movies that simply get lost in the shuffle and end up sitting on your DVD shelf for years before you even think about it again.  Does this mean it’s a bad movie?  Not by any means. Simply because Darkness Falls wasn't franchise bait or a revolutionary take on the horror genre doesn’t mean it didn’t do everything right for the type of story that was being told.  The unique thing about Darkness Falls was that this was the first major studio production for nearly everyone involved and yet it’s clear that the entire crew was locked into making the best movie they could within their limitations and lack of experience. I’ve seen a lot of bad movies, and I mean a lot, but very few show such love and dedication to their project and it was nice to see a director unapologetically stand up for his first movie, granted after looking through Liebsman’s filmography this might have been his best work.  It’s a real pity that actors such as Chaney Kely and Emma Caulfield never managed to really go anywhere past this movie as I felt they were both promising and energetic actors.  Lee Cormie is also to be commended as he wasn’t half bad for a child actor and for the most part making Michael a sympathetic and likable character. 

While the acting in Darkness Falls is decent it’s the effects that are great.  After some script revisions it was decided that in order for Darkness Falls to succeed as a film they needed the monster to be more front and center, so late, great effects wizard Stan Winston was called in to do a complete overhaul on the tooth fairy transforming her into the terrifying ghoul that’s in the final cut of the picture.  I love the elegance of the tooth fairy’s simple design and how effective it is,  especially with the excellent usage of lighting and shadow, the porcelain mask and the wraith-like body create an eerie but memorable figure and when the mask is finally removed the monstrous image underneath is not disappointing.  If Darkness Falls suffers from one noticeable flaw it is that the movie is a bit cheesy.  From the theme to the dialogue to the overall feel of the film Darkness Falls is undeniably cheesy, but personally, I like the over the top plot and hammy script,  I feel as though the corniness of the movie adds flavor and is what truly keeps it from being a forgettable movie.     

Darkness Falls is a paint by numbers monster flick, but the lines are all are well colored in and the picture while simple is still a pleasure to look at and shouldn’t be discounted simply because it seems a tad familiar. Darkness Falls does everything it sets out to do with its own unique style that makes what could have been a rather mediocre and boring film full of life and fun, sure the movie is cliché, but it uses those clichés in all the right places, which makes for a fun Friday night monster romp.

Fast Facts:

. The original title’s for Darkness Falls were the Tooth Fairy and Don’t Peak.

. The Hospital stairwell scene was done in one day and 12 shots and director had to fight tooth and nail to keep it in the movie.

. The car crashing through the hospital doors originally got the film crew in trouble, but once the studio saw the scene in action they loved it.

. Lead actor, Chaney Kley, actually sets his own arm on fire for final showdown with movies antagonist.

. The film crew visited various abandoned mental hospitals for research and found would occasionally find some rather freaky things such as, a room full of dead pigeons and a room that was covered with what looked like bloody writing on the walls.  

.Originally there was an unwritten rule for the creature that she couldn’t kill someone unless they were actually looking at her when she was trying to kill them, but this idea was eventually cut.

Quotes:

“I’m having a bad day Michel I had a dead guy fall on me” ~Larry

“When this hospital goes dark were all dead” ~Kyle Walsh

‘all this over a f*** tooth”~ Matt

“if you put me in the dark she’ll get me”~ Michele green

Mini-commentary:

.So this movie is basically telling me that Matilda shares the similar origins  with Freddy Kruger (00:1:50)

.for a curse she inflicted I feel like she ended up on the poorer end of the arrangement. (00:2:31)

. She is the loudest ghost I’ve ever seen. You know, pepole wouldn’t look at her ugly face all the time if she didn’t make so much noise.(00:7:55)

.how long does it take to pick up a tooth? What’s she doing in there for so long? You know what on second thought I don’t want to know. (00:9:50)

.Wait, are those ninja turtle toys in the bathtub? How old is this kid again? (00:12:16)

. I’m baffled; I just can’t understand why this guy keeps insisting on hanging out with Kyle if he hates him this much. (00:26:00)

.Who makes a picture book like this? Is there like a warehouse for demonic children’s books? (00:31:37)

.Right, so he’s hurting himself every time you put him in the dark and your worried about it escalating so your brilliant therapy strategy is to strap him down so you can put him in a blackout room? (00:40:00)

.Dang! That is not a little sting. Where did these doctors go to medical school, Sadist Academy? (00:46:42)

.I always love how this ghost that can travel from one end of town to the other in the blink of an eye but can t seem to keep up with a 10-year-old kid and his sister. (00:56:18)

.Where the heck are they? I thought this was a hospital? (1:00:00)

.I’ve always wondered how you make an insurance claim off something like this, what covers “a ghost tore apart my car.” (1:03:00)

.If the three stooges had to fight a ghost I imagine it would look a lot like this. (1:09:00)

.He can totally fit through there, don’t give me that nonsense. but I do like that there utilizing the kid in a creative and meaningful way. (1:10:20)

.She’s not dead. (1:10:55)

.I’m telling you she’s not dead. (1:11:18)

.What twist! Who could have possibly seen that coming?  Oh wait.. (1:11:37)

.There were teeth in her mask? That’s gross and had to be crazy uncomfortable even if she is a ghost. 1:11:57

.Ok, all joking aside that was pretty cool (1:12:00)

.I salute you movie avoiding the whole one last scare trope. (1:14:00)

.Lol what is this music? Somehow it doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of the movie. (1:15:00)

 The incredibly epic and atmospheric opening to the movie.

Underworld: Blood Wars *review*

Underworld blood wars

With Underworld Blood Wars being the fifth installment of the vampire vs. werewolves franchise out in theaters the question being asked is whether or this film can save this perpetually flailing franchise? apparently not.  First, let's all be honest with ourselves, none of the underworld movies are actually “good” movies there all cheap, trite popcorn action flix’s  that have fun visuals but are about as soulless as the blood sucking monsters they portray on screen.   Blood wars is just the natural evolution of this already confusing and poorly plotted film series, but that doesn’t mean it’s not any fun.

Unless you are already a fan of the Underworld series or, a lover of trashy cinema in general, then Underworld Blood Wars is probably not going anything redeeming about it for you.  Much of the acting is subpar, the plot is an embarrassing mess and the editing was done by the Hollywood Chimp Committee, which trades out primate labor for bananas.

by now your asking "So wait, I thought you said this was fun?"  what’s good about this movie?" well, for starters, not all the actors are terrible, our two leads Selene played by Kate Beckinsale and David played by Theo James are actually enjoyable to watch even if Beckinsale seems to be slowing down a bit. Thomas played by Charles Dance is also a fun treat to watch as he brings his game of thrones swagger to underworlds, which is appropriate since this was basically Game of Underworld.  I should point out that David and Thomas's  actors are to be commended if for no other reason then making me like their characters,  wich for underworld is a big feat mainly because Underworlds male characters, outside of those played by Bill Nigh and Michael Sheen respectively, are less than impressive.   

Since the plot is barely worth mentioning let’s talk about the action sequences that are underworlds bread and butter. Ranged from mediocre to entertaining enough, the fight scenes are a little more gimmicky than you would expect, relying on newer tech and superpowers to keep the audience in their

seats. Selene fights a lot but almost everyone one of her fights ends up with her getting a major beat down from every antagonist in the movie. Once Selene gets her new power set it adds a little more flavor to the battles, but the most impressive fight is the final battle between Selene and Marius where the movie showed some real spine. 

I could try and defend the film and say that it’s better than you think, but the truth is that it’s not.  Underworld Blood Wars is a dumb movie there’s no getting around that one, but if you sat through the entire underworld saga then this film is nothing you’re not used to, and there’s no reason you won’t have the same kind of fun you did with the rest of the series. If you’re new to Underworld I would recommend just staying at home and renting the original from Netflix.

MOVIE OBSERVATIONS:
*spoilers*

. Nightshade does what to Vampires? Ok, now you’re just making stuff up.

. Was that a back slap for accepting his role as High Elder? Ha-ha, that has to be the dumbest thing in this whole movie.

. I stand corrected. Marius’s werewolf form is the dumbest thing in the entire movie.

. Lol werewolves with riot shields.  Wait, why are they just now realizing how effective a tactic this is?

. You know, they make such a big deal about the hybrids being so strong, but they get killed pretty easy by purebloods.

. So Selene is a super sayian now?

. Fatality! Selene wins!

. So David just tells everyone to go home and its over?  Werewolves are just like, “ awww, I guess the party's  over. Such a buzzkill”