Darkness Falls

Review by Jason Gaston

Ever go to the video store and have the feeling that you don't care what you watch, you just want to watch something? Well, I had this feeling and two free rental coupons that were going to expire if I didn't use them, so I thought... what the hell? I'll just rent a couple of flicks I'd never seen and if they suck, they suck... I just didn't have to pay for them.

So, one of the free flicks I picked up was Darkness Falls. This movie's been panned by critics all over the world and even my dear partner in crime, Jesse Glaspey, blew a warning whistle against it.

But what the hell, right? It's free and I'm a sucker for horror movies.

Now, every now and then I admit that I go completely off my rocker... all you have to do is read my reviews of Speed 2 and Event Horizon to know that... well, I guess I've gone off my rocker again because I loved this movie.

Oh, just FYI... I still like Speed 2 and Event Horizon. Nyah!

Granted, this isn't anything I would call "great," but I enjoyed it none the less. Was it the lowered expectations? The soothing numbness of painkillers I'm on?

It's probably a mixture of both.

The story, in case you don't know, involves the ghost of a woman named Matilda Dixon who, in life, gave gold coins to little children who lost their teeth, earning her the name, "The Tooth Fairy." All is well and good until a fire turns her into a crispy critter and hideously burns her face and the peaceful villagers repay her years of kindness by hanging the poor old woman.

A hundred or so years go by and Matilda's ghost still visits children when they loose their tooth's but, because even in death she's a little ashamed of her freakish face, if they peak at her while she visits, she kills them good and dead. The only way you can escape is to stay in the light where she can't get you.

Of course, a little boy sees the Tooth Fairy and now is deathly afraid of the dark (and for good damn reason). His only hope lies with a man who has grown up being stalked by the tooth fairy and who has lived with the lights on his whole life.

Man, I'd hate to pay his utility bills.

The movie stars Emma Caulfield who has made a name for herself playing the vengeance demon Anya on Buffy the Vampire Slayer... a show about vampires, demons, and evil spirits.

It's nice to see her expanding her acting range.

I think what sold this movie for me was the Tooth Fairy itself. A very nice looking sinister and scary looking ghost that glides effortlessly through the air and snatches up her victims like a hawk. This tooth fairy is the star of this movie, make no mistake.

Granted, this movie is fun but it's no where near as good as it could have been. I think a lot of potential went unexploited and a lot of opportunities went by unnoticed. It's a sad situation when one of the movie's most tense and exciting scenes winds up in the deleted scenes section of the DVD.

Honestly, though... when facing a ghost that will kill you if you look at her, what's the first thing a person is going to do when you scream out, "DON'T LOOK!!!"

That's right.

It's not great, but it's passable entertainment. I liked it, but I can understand why a lot of folks wouldn't.