Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark

[feral cat]

Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark

What's it about?

Sally (Kin Darby) and Husband Alex (Jim Hutton) move into a large eighteenth century mansion that Sally has inherited after her grandmother passed away. While Alex is busy dedicating himself to his career advancement, Sally spends he time as a stay at home wife, shopping with her girlfriends and planning the decor of their new home. Everything seems to be going well until Sally finds the key to a locked basement room and decides she wishes to use it as a study, although she herself comments she has nothing to study other than shopping lists. In the “study” Sally notices the fire place has been bricked up and becomes determined to open it up again, which goes against the advice of the handyman of craggy old handyman Mr Harris. Sally determined to get her own way and have the fire place restored opens the vent which was used to clean away the ashes, little does she know she has released something and its very interested in her.

Don’t be afraid of the dark was a movie of the week presentation on US channel ABC back in 1973 and as TV movies go this is one of the best, quite possible the best made for TV horror movie ever. Revolving around a central female character Sally Farnham, a lady of leisure and wife to high flying career minded Alex. Sally main role in life is to make Alex look good at dinner parties etc. and play the role of the perfect little woman in his plans for career advancement. All is going well until Sally inherits her grandmothers house and the couple decide to live there.
This particularly gothic looking 18th century American house holds a dark secret (Don’t they all?). The secret in this case has been trapped in the basement fire place for decades since the untimely and mysterious demise of Sally’s grandfather. And if only Sally had followed one of the key rules in horror, always pay attention to craggy old locals with grave warnings, it would have stayed so. But Sally is a modern independent woman (In a completely dependant on her husband 1970’s way) and there just no telling this stubborn little woman what to do, she wants that fireplace open and if no one will do it for her, she’ll do it herself. Sally opens a vent and pears into the fireplace seemingly unfazed by the fact it covers what appears to me a bottomless concrete hole. Alex returns home to find her peering inside the whole she has opened and promptly tells her they won’t be able to do the work needed open it up as it will be too costly. Sally agrees and follows him up stairs only something is intent on coming after her.

And what is it that’s after Sally you ask, well quite frankly its gnomes (Or at least very gnome like demons), really, really, creepy evil little gnomes and after decades imprisoned all these little bastards want is to hurt Sally. After a series of "Gnome" related incidents sally tries to tell family and friend about the whispering little entities that want to take her spirit only people are not very convinced by her tales of miniaturised evil. Alex is convinced she needs to lie down, the tried and tested movie method of sorting out women’s problems and has little time for his wife’s nonsense. Poor Sally the gnomes are working out a plan to finish her off and make her theirs and it’s up to her to convince people before it’s too late.

Don’t be afraid of the dark is old school horror, no gore, not particularly packed with cheap jump scenes, this movie works by playing on deeper fears and building up a an uneasy feeling which soon moves to creepy and finally terror. The constant whispering of the gnomes as they go about their business is a simple yet fantastic way to get the viewer feeling really creped out and you will be hearing those whispers in your head well after the credits role. The fear of being at threat from a danger no one else will believe, plays on the kind of fear that can get to even the strongest of us. The only thing worse than having others doubts your sanity is when you begin to question it yourself.

This movie is a cult legend, the stuff of many a young child or teenagers nightmares, if you saw this as a kid, no doubt the memory of those whispering gnomes and the films finale have stuck with you to this day. There are forums across the internet with people searching for the title of this movie because it scared the hell out of them when they where younger. Even now as an adult viewing this movie years later on my own in a darkened room (The way this kind of old school horror needs to be seen), those bloody whispering gnomes where giving me the creeps.

Now you see them,
Now you don’t –
NOW YOU’RE DEAD

TV movie supernatural horror genius, still effective 30 years on 9/10 …
… Any movie in which one evil gnomes begs another that if he can’t kill her yet, at least let him hurt her (Which is said with almost sexual desperation), is a must watch in my opinion.

Feral

Other Info:

Directed by: John Newland
Writing credits : Nigel McKeand
Cast: Kim Darby - Sally Farnham
Jim Hutton - Alex Farnham
Barbara Anderson - Joan Kahn
William Demarest - Mr. Harris
Pedro Armendáriz Jr. - Francisco Perez
Lesley Woods - Ethyl
Also Known As: Nightmare
Runtime: 74 min
Country: USA
Language: English
Color: Color