Fear of the Dark (2003)
Twelve year old Ryan Billings has been diagnosed with an acute fear of the dark. He spends each night lying awake in torment, waiting and watching as the evil in the darkness grows stronger, feeding off his fear. His older brother Dale, suspects that there is nothing wrong with Ryan and that this is just a ploy for more attention. Regardless, he promises to watch over his little brother as their parents head off to a party for the night. Outside a storm rages and when the power goes out, darkness envelops the house. Ryan knows that tonight the evil has finally come to claim him. Dale desperately tries everything to try and calm him down, until the horrors in the dark make him realize Ryan had good reason to be so afraid!
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Strong and Moving!
Memorable, crazy movie
I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.
Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
A young child Ryan who is 8 and has night terrors which are obviously all in his head according to his parents and therapists but they refuse to put him on medication and his older brother Dale who is left to baby-sit him on a stormy night.The parents leave for a party,the lights go out from the storm and we see the things come out in the dark and try to terrorize poor Ryan.Admittedly there is a little bit of suspense in "Fear of the Dark",unfortunately the film is relentlessly talky and dull.The acting is alright,the script is fairly routine and the use of CGI to scare the viewer is awful.This one is rated PG-13,so gorehounds will be disappointed.5 out of 10.
This film goes nowhere with a very tired theme. Kids home alone during a storm has been done a million times (and a million times better) and this movie adds nothing to the genre. While this movie has no real plot - just semi-scary images throughout an unoriginal story, Kevin Zegers makes this film watchable. He is able to make the bland dialog work and has excellent energy on the screen; he is the best thing about this movie. One can see why he was cast in Transamerica, a film worthy of his talent. The younger actor does well, also, although the character seems out of place for a feature film and would be better received on Saturday morning TV.
I watched this one three times already. I think both boys do an amazing job. Jesse James is so good as the scared younger brother, and Kevin Zegers aces his role as the sceptical yet thoughtful older brother. It's the psychological terror that invades into their minds, not so much the actual visual transformation. That leaves a lot to the viewer's personal imagination and makes the story quite scary, especially if you allow the eerie plot to affect you. There are better movies dealing with similar stories, but this one has its charm and is definitely worth watching. At least due to the good individual performances by Jesse James and Kevin Zegers, who are perfectly cast.
Complete waste of time...comes off like a "Made for the Disney Channel" kind of horror film...some good special effects, but nothing that would scare anyone over the age of 5. I don't remember this film being released to theaters, so I am thinking it must have gone straight to video. I tried really hard, but I could not get through it all. It starts out with a sense of possibility, I even began to compare the premise with "The Ring", but it loses steam very quickly and feels like a prime-time sitcom trying to be scary. Nice sets and good looking characters, but no real depth. It might be suitable for a pre-teen Halloween party - at least it is a PG-13, so that might get their attention. Linda Purl looks great, though.