DARKNESS FALLS

Chaney Kley

DARKNESS FALLS (2003). Director: Jonathan Liebesman. 

When Kyle (Chaney Kley) was a boy, his mother was murdered by a ghastly figure who came out of the shadows. This figure is a vengeful witch, wrongly accused of child murder, who was known as the town of Darkness Falls' "tooth fairy" because of her loving habit of exchanging teeth for coins. Facially burned in a fire, and then burned to death at the stake, she places a curse on the town. Anyone who sees her face when she comes to get their teeth must die. 

Emma Caulfield Ford, Lee Cormie, Kley

Kyle has managed to stay out of the shadows, sleeping with the lights on and so on, until he reaches adulthood. His childhood friend, Caitlin (Emma Caulfield Ford) contacts him when it develops that her little brother, Michael (Lee Cormie), has also seen the witch's face and is absolutely terrified. As Kyle tries to do what he can to help Michael, others around him who see the witch are murdered, with Kyle becoming the prime suspect. This leads to an assault on a police station and a desperate struggle for Kyle, Caitlin, Michael and cop Matt (Sullivan Stapleton), who comes to believe Kyle's incredible story, to stay alive until daylight. 

Sullivan Stapleton as the cop

If I remember correctly, Darkness Falls did not get especially good reviews, mostly because they saw the villain as being the tooth fairy -- not quite the truth -- and couldn't take it seriously. Also the creepy scenes eventually gave way to action sequences that were generally well-done, although the supernatural element perhaps became too literal to be scary. However, the film is fast-paced, well-acted, and entertaining, so I don't think it deserved a critical drubbing, although I can certainly see why many viewers didn't care for it. As for the cast, Chaney Kley ironically and tragically died of sleep apnea when he was only thirty-four. Ford had many subsequent credits, as did Stapleton, now best-known as the super-butch FBI agent on the hit series Blindspot. Cormie was an appealing and talented child actor who is still working today. Liebesman also directed Wrath of the Titans. 

Verdict: No masterpiece, but hardly the train wreck some have called it. ***.