Today I made the decision to watch a movie—THE MOVIE—I spent years trying to recuperate from. It took some time to find it, using tons of search words from the fragmented images in my memory. A woman in the dark—the little monsters wouldn’t or couldn’t come out in the light—the blonde woman (who ended up being a brunette) being dragged by a couple of tiny fiends—a camera—a flash bulb. That was all I remembered from my traumatized childhood. It’s doubtful I was trying to access repressed images. It was just a long time ago, and I was a small child which accounts for my lack of memory for the details.
Why bother? I’m a horror writer (among other genres) and since my teens a horror film buff. Any insight into what brought me here might be valuable to my craft. With a bit of reluctance about cutting into my writing time to watch a movie, I decided to just dive in.
I spent an hour and thirteen minutes and $2.99 embracing the story responsible for my inability to expose as much as a foot from under the covers for years without fearing being pulled into the abyss of the fireplace or a hell mouth under the bed. No, this is not fear of the dark. I’m a self-professed nyctophile. The night, the moon, have calming effects on me. Yet, there are still nights when a chill of fear shoots through me for no explainable reason. Perhaps the answer lay in this film.
When I found this gif, I immediately recognized a perfectly preserved memory from my early childhood.
Why bother? I’m a horror writer (among other genres) and since my teens a horror film buff. Any insight into what brought me here might be valuable to my craft. With a bit of reluctance about cutting into my writing time to watch a movie, I decided to just dive in.
I spent an hour and thirteen minutes and $2.99 embracing the story responsible for my inability to expose as much as a foot from under the covers for years without fearing being pulled into the abyss of the fireplace or a hell mouth under the bed. No, this is not fear of the dark. I’m a self-professed nyctophile. The night, the moon, have calming effects on me. Yet, there are still nights when a chill of fear shoots through me for no explainable reason. Perhaps the answer lay in this film.
When I found this gif, I immediately recognized a perfectly preserved memory from my early childhood.
Without further ado, the misty memories snaking their way through the synapses of my brain were from Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark. To my surprise, this was not a big screen film, but a TV movie.
I was instantly transported back to that October night in 1973 (I know this not from memory, but from the release date) when I crawled out of bed to find my father on the sofa watching the television in the dark. As a tot, I was searching for my mother who always seemed to make sleepless nights disappear. This particular evening, however, she was out and my father was watching the three of us children. He obviously didn’t want to miss this show, so he allowed me to stay up and watch with him.
Once you get past the references to 70’s lime-green wallpaper, bad soap opera music, and a wife who has nothing better to do than make grocery lists and act the “perfect hostess,” you can immerse yourself in the whispering goonies and their plot to kill Sally.
Once you get past the references to 70’s lime-green wallpaper, bad soap opera music, and a wife who has nothing better to do than make grocery lists and act the “perfect hostess,” you can immerse yourself in the whispering goonies and their plot to kill Sally.
Let me answer the big question: Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark was not scary this time around. Would it be scary to an adult in 1973? My first inclination was—maybe. Perhaps, we have become desensitized to gory horror. But then I remembered The Exorcist also came out that year—and so many fine films in the genre came before it.
Evidently, my deep fears were related to my young age. I’ve always been a bit embarrassed about how frightened I was of this movie. There is some creepiness stemming from the whispering of the little monsters. In fact, it would have been much better if we never saw them, just heard them.
As an adult, all I could focus on were the uneven performances of Kim Darby and Timothy Hutton’s look-a-like father, Jim Hutton. The characters have angry outbursts over little things and when they're supposedly terrorized their reactions are subdued. And don't get me started on the human dialogue, which was almost entirely unnecessary to understanding the film.
Another distraction was the size of these walnut headed creatures, which changed from a finger’s length while they watched Sally from a bookshelf, to about three feet in comparison to an outdoor garbage can.
Evidently, my deep fears were related to my young age. I’ve always been a bit embarrassed about how frightened I was of this movie. There is some creepiness stemming from the whispering of the little monsters. In fact, it would have been much better if we never saw them, just heard them.
As an adult, all I could focus on were the uneven performances of Kim Darby and Timothy Hutton’s look-a-like father, Jim Hutton. The characters have angry outbursts over little things and when they're supposedly terrorized their reactions are subdued. And don't get me started on the human dialogue, which was almost entirely unnecessary to understanding the film.
Another distraction was the size of these walnut headed creatures, which changed from a finger’s length while they watched Sally from a bookshelf, to about three feet in comparison to an outdoor garbage can.
While searching for the film that disrupted many a night’s sleep in my childhood, I found my trauma validated by others who also watched this little gem as children. These articles confirmed my take on why it had stayed with me for so long.
Also interesting to note, I had seen the Guillermo Del Toro remake with Katie Holmes and never connected it to the show I watched all those years ago.
In case you’re wondering, I’m glad I found and watched this silly TV movie. It was fun and campy, despite taking itself rather seriously.
Also interesting to note, I had seen the Guillermo Del Toro remake with Katie Holmes and never connected it to the show I watched all those years ago.
In case you’re wondering, I’m glad I found and watched this silly TV movie. It was fun and campy, despite taking itself rather seriously.
RSS Feed
