Darkness Falls

3/4

Starring: Chaney Kley, Emma Caulfield, Lee Cormie, Sullivan Stapleton, Joshua Anderson, Emily Browning

Rated PG-13 for Terror and Horror Images, and Brief Language

I suppose since Santa Claus (the infamous "Silent Night, Deadly Night" franchise), Jack Frost (the direct-to-DVD movies) and the Boogeyman (the "Boogeyman" movies), all childhood archetypes, have their own horror movies, it's only fair that the Tooth Fairy gets the opportunity to mount a few heads on her wall.

In the 1800's, there was a woman, Matilda Dickson, whom children would bring their teeth after they've fallen out.  In exchange, she gave them a gold coin.  This is why she was called the Tooth Fairy.  But a fire disfigured her and left her unable to go into the light without a porcelain mask.  One day, two children went missing.  Dickson was blamed then hanged.  She was innocent, however, and the she vowed revenge.  Now, when she takes kids final teeth from under their pillows, she will kill them if they look at her.  A young boy named Kyle Walsh (Anderson) sneaks a peek, and The Tooth Fairy murders his mother.  Naturally, Kyle is blamed for the crime and institutionalized.  Years later, and still terrified of the dark, his old friend Caitlin Green (Caulfield) calls him for help when her brother Michael (Cormie) is suffering from the same night terrors and that the Tooth Fairy will come and get him.  Kyle (Kley) agrees to come, and in no short order has Dickson zeroed in on him, intending to settle the score.

This is a good chiller.  It's spooky, action packed and contains some great special effects (which are not overdone).  It's fast-paced (the second half of the movie is essentially all action) and atmospheric.  It'll be a great movie for scary movie night.

The cast is mostly effective.  "Buffy" regular Emma Caulfield is good as Caitlin, who looks after her brother like a mother (why they didn't write him as her son, since there is a significant age difference, I'll never know).  Lee Cormie is also effective, bringing to mind David Dorfman in "The Ring," if only for his wide eyes.  The weakest link is surprisingly Chaney Kley, an actor of mainly sporadic TV credits before his sudden death in 2007.  Kyle is boring, and the only reason we care is because everyone else is interesting, and the relationship between him and Caitlin as kids (they were played by Anderson and Browning, respectively) is nicely developed.

Jonathan Liebsman, a South African filmmaker who was later known to have helmed "Battle Los Angeles" and "Wrath of the Titans," got his break with this film, and he does a solid, but not spectacular job.  He has a firm grasp of atmosphere, he doesn't shake the camera excessively, and he's able to shock and scare us without an excess of blood and gore.  I can imagine the film being scarier with a stronger and more confident director, but as it is, Liebsman has nothing to be ashamed of.

This is a movie to watch alone with the lights out.  You may not want to admit it, but you'll get pretty spooked.  And be glad that you've got your adult teeth.

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