Darkness Falls

by

debbie lynn elias

An extended version of Joseph Harris’ 2001 short film , "The Tooth Fairy", "Darkness Falls" goes that extra mile to once and for all dispel yet another fanciful childhood memory, giving us more nightmares about teeth than does a bad experience at the dentist. Unfortunately, it may be the quality of the film itself rather than the content that’s causing the nightmares.

Darkness Falls is a small town, and like all small towns, it has a legend. Just how much of that legend is fact and how much fiction is the point of the film. Some 150 years ago, a kindly elderly woman became known as the "Tooth Fairy" as she would pass out shiny gold coins to the towns children each time they lost a baby tooth. After being severely burned in a disfiguring fire, the old woman became a recluse due to her over-sensitivity to light. When two children disappeared, the townspeople naturally assumed that the old woman was responsible (probably used all those baby teeth to perform the dirty deed) and hanged her. But, there was a little wrinkle with this judicial expediency...two days later the children were found. Oops!

A little bit miffed at her own demise, the Tooth Fairy begins to exact revenge on Darkness Falls by killing children who still believe in the fantasy and who put their teeth under their pillow in the hopes of extracting a little coin. What they get in exchange for their little bicuspids, however, is death. Good news though. As well know from our own childhoods, the Tooth Fairy can only strike in the dark. (And you thought leaving the light on was to keep monsters out from under the bed!)

Enter Kyle, the one person who survived an attack by the Tooth Fairy and who has had a lifelong fear of the dark because of it. As a child, he claimed to have awakened, seen the evil and warded off the attack. Townspeople thought he was crazy - that is everyone except his childhood sweetheart Caitlin. Kyle, long gone from Darkness Falls, returns to aid Caitlin, whose little brother Michael is now frighteningly afraid of the dark. Probably for the same reason as Kyle.

As for the cast, the biggest name here is Emma Caulfield. Best known as Anya, vengence demon-turned human-turned back into demon from television’s "Buffy"The Vampire Slayer", Caulfield should be at the peak of her game and in right at home with this latest incarnation of evil. After all, years of warding off vampires should give you some perspective and background from which to draw. Disappointingly, although Caulfield does an admirable job, largely due to her falling into her tried and true Anya-esque persona, it’s obvious she’s uncomfortable in the role, more than likely due to a script which is so lacking - especially when compared with that turned out by Joss Whedon and crew every week on "Buffy." Newcomer Chaney Kley, himself having appeared in one "Buffy" episode, steps in as Kyle and is actual a pleasant surprise. With his slightly satirical delivery, he provides amusement without making his character - or the film - pitifully or pathetically funny. Lee Cormie does his best Haley Joel Osment imitation as the young Michael Green, but comes across as the poorer version, lacking Osment’s inherent intensity, innocence and likeability.

"Darkness Falls" has all the components necessary for a successful fright flick. Unfortunately, be it through lack of vision by director Jonathan Liebesman or lack of an expanded imagination by the writers, "Darkness Falls" falls short in the terror department. Joe Harris, the man responsible for such imaginative and exciting comic book works like "X-Men" and "Slingers" and who wrote and directed the 2001 short on which this film is based, teams up with John Fasano and James Vanderbilt to provide what can only be described as a "disappointing" full-length version of his initially novel idea. Although "Darkness Falls" elicits a gasp or two of true terror, chills and thrills (mainly in the first ten minutes), Liebesman can’t quite seem to find his footing and lets the film fall into that great abyss of not-even-a-good-B-movie. And its a shame. The big talent here, though, is that of Stan Winston who designed the Tooth Fairy herself. Too bad, Liebesman’s direction, or lack thereof, keeps us from enjoying Winston’s ingenious creature creation.

Obviously funding for this film was supplied by energy providers like Edison, DWP and PECO who must have known that one look at "Darkness Falls" will make everyone flick on the light switch - and it won’t be to ward off the Tooth Fairy.

Chaney Kley ... Kyle Emma Caulfield ... Caitlin Lee Cormie ... Michael Director Jonathan Liebesman

Screenplay by Fasano and James Vanderbilt and Joe Harris

MPAA rating: PG-13, for terror and horror images and brief language.

Running time: 1 hour, 25 minutes