Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark Movie Review 203

Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark is a 1973 horror movie directed by John Newland and starring Kim Darby, Jim Hutton and Barbara Anderson.

The movie begins with strange voices coming from a large house. They are waiting for someone to come.Cut to a married couple moving into the house. It was left to them by a dead grandmother. The wife is called Sally(Kim Darby) and the husband is named Alex(Hutton). Sally wants to transform the house as it is old and dated. She wanders down to the basement where there is an old fireplace which had been bricked up. The handyman, Harris(William Demarest) tells her that he bricked it up for her grandma years ago but he wont say why. She wants to open it, but he tells her she should leave it alone. They argue over it. Alex agrees with Mr. Harris and tells Sally to leave it alone. She goes back to it and opens a little door in the fireplace, but there is  nothing there, or is there?? Has she unleashed something terrible into the house?

It turns out that there is something horrible in the basement and now it has been set free. Sally begins to hear noises in the house and she thinks that there is something with her. She tries to tell Alex, but he thinks that she is dreaming or imagining it. She tells her pal Joan(Anderson) and her friend thinks that it is in her mind because of the stress of moving into a new house etc. She is alone in the house when something pulls at her and says that it wants her. It scares the life out of her and she calls her husband, but he is not available. When Alex arrives back, he seals the door in the basement fireplace to put her mind at ease. He gets angry with her when she tells him something was with her. He can't find the key to the basement door and he thinks that Mr. Harris must have it, but he doesn't. To make everything worse, Sally has to host a party that night.

She is visibly on edge and she sees the little creatures and is horrified. They are little demon-like monsters. Alex thinks that she is going crazy. Later that night, she is in the shower when they let themselves in and turn out the lights. One of them has a straight razor and it wants to kill her, but it is told to wait by another one. Sally switches on the lights and they hate that. They disappear saying that tomorrow, they will get her. She realises that they detest the light so that night she falls asleep with the light on. Alex has to go away on o business trip and he will be gone that next night. Sally is worried but she decides to invite her friend Joan over but Joan asks her to come to her house instead. Sally is happy to get out. That day, Sally goes out and buys loads of candles so there will be plenty of light. She knows that the creatures will be back for her. It turns out that the creatures want her spirit and it has to be her not anyone else. She is horrified and she tells Joan.

Joan is in the house when the creatures cut the power.  Joan starts to believe what Sally is saying, but the creatures put a sleeping tablet into Sally's drink and drug her so that they can get her down to the basement. Joan goes outside to see what the problem is with the lights and Sally gets taken by the creatures. Joan is locked out by them and she is frightened. Sally is hauled down to the basement and disappears. Alex arrives back to find Joan trying to get inside. Sally is not there. She is down in the basement with the creatures and she is waiting with them for the next victim.....

This was a very entertaining TV movie. I enjoyed it and it was genuinely creepy in parts. The little monsters were scary in their own way and you have to remember that there weren't great special effects back then. It is a good, solid horror movie and it is one to watch. I haven't seen the remake yet but I know that the director has changed the story a bit and thrown in the usual spooky kid storyline, plus Katie Holmes is in it. If that isn't enough to put you off, then watch it!! I will do a review when I get around to seeing it! For now, enjoy the original, it is a surprise...I am giving it a 7/10.