MovieChat Forums > Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (1973) Discussion > Had the potential to be great

Had the potential to be great

posted 10 years ago by Joxerlives
1 reply | jump to latest

Interesting film but let down by some very leaden and unimaginative production values and direction. It would have been better had they left the creatures more in the darkness, once you actually see them then they lose all credibility. Also they seem to be not that formidable, they retreat from light so why doesn't Kim Darby just dump a can of petrol down the chimney and fry them? Why doesn't she just buy herself a shotgun and blow them away? And in the immortal words of Eddie Murphy why the blazes doesn't she just get out of the house?
Kim Darby is extremely good just as she was in True Grit but she's by far the best thing in it, the other actors are very weak. It's interesting to see it all in retrospect in terms of the feminist revolution, this is the very beginning of woman's lib (which is even referred to in passing)and the patronising attitude everyone exhibits towards housewife Sally is quite startling.
The ending is probably the reason why everyone remembers this film, for a TV movie of the week to have an ending where the heroine actually 'joins' the bad guys must have been quite daring at the time. So what happens next? Does Sally's husband and her friends try to rescue her? Or do they just brick up the chimney and make sure no one ever opens it again? Has she actually become one of the creatures or is she their queen and do they feed off her soul (one of the creatures says they want Sally's 'spirit'). What about the photos she took as she was being dragged towards the chimney?
Interesting but really doesn't live up to its' reputation.

[–] ElectricWarlock 10 years ago

I actually like the way the monsters looked. They weren't too creepy to watch onscreen but I'd definitely be horrified if they were terrorizing me in person. As for the rest, I think different people react differently in situations because no two people think the same way. Just because a solution to a problem seems obvious to you doesn't mean it would occur to another person. No offense, but it kind of bugs me when people fault a film just because characters did something they wouldn't if they were in a similar situation. It's not a flaw in the film, it's just a character making what you feel are unwise decisions.

As for the ambiguous ending, you get to choose what happens next. I love those kinds of endings that are open to interpretation. Lots of people find them to be lazy writing, but I see them as an opportunity to use your imagination to fill in the blanks. Overall, I wouldn't say this is my favorite film, but I think it's good. The only real complaint I had was that it was a bit too short. They could've added 15-30 more minutes.

Burn, witch! Burn, witch! Burn! Burn! Burn!