Fear of the Dark

Customer Reviews:

Fear of the Dark.......2007-03-18

What a surprise. I love a good scary movie!! This one was a sensational spooker. Far better than I ever expected. Do not miss it, if you like horror shows. I've seen a whole lot of scarry shows and very few are any good at all, but this movie will keep you glued to the screen. It has some really cool music to go with it,too. I searched all over for its theme, but I never found it. If you miss this show, you'll miss out on a great movie. I've never seen one quite like it.

Suspense, but no real horror...........2007-03-14

Im a big horror movie fan. This movie was ok. Nothing real special. To me, there was more suspense than actual horror. When i looked at the cover on this movie i thought it would be real scary, but once i saw it was nothing like that.

So movie is about this [...] kid who is afraid of the dark because he sees the "dark things" better known as the ugly, trenchcoat, hat wearing mummy looking things. One night, the parents leave him alone with his big brother and of course, theres a storm, all the lights go out, and the dark things start coming out.

Plot is ok. Seen it more than several times, but it was a little more modernized. Ok acting. Not too many characters so that was good. A lot of suspense in the film, that was nicely done. However, the actual scary things are shown about 2 or 3 times in the entire movie and its not that scary.

Overall, if you are a horror fan, be aware that this isnt going to freak you out to point where you cant sleep at night. Its more jumpy than anything. Ok movie, but nothing else.

Cuddle up under the covers with your bestmates and siblings!.......2006-11-11

After reading some very amusing reviews about Fear Of The Dark On Amazon, my friend and I being avid horror movie fans of B and grade A alike decided to buy it. Safe to say it wasn't as bad as some people made it out to be, it does have a few downfalls but it's PG-13 so give it a break, has a good but not solid story and a likable cast of characters.The younger brother Ryan is pretty much the hero of the story, scared as hell of the dark (and the things in it) and we for one thought the little boy not only ruled but he was probably the most realistic, some of the chemistry between the actors kind of flogs a little bit. There's a typical love story of boy really likes girl and the like, amusing enough Dale probably has more chemistry with his mother then the girl he likes while the little brother should seriously hold onto that phone number because those two actors probably had the best chemistry on screen.Dale seems to only honestly have chemistry between Ryan and himself, quite lovable for little brother and big brother, during scenes with Dale's own parents we got the feeling he was more like a babysitter then their son, and with the girl the crushing was believable but it was overall typical. (Could have done without Dale smoking, it showed up no where else in the movie but at least he tells Ryan it's bad for your health.)The Female lead is actually a first for us to like, she's believable and definately the heroine, she's not your typical airhead and overall we were rooting for her instead of hoping she got crushed by a ladder or something, while the little brother is definately more the hero, watching it will make you root and yell at the screen telling the characters to believe the poor kid. The parents are also likable, despite their little screen time and I found myself kind of wanting to see them in the film more.The monsters of the movie were pretty freaky long as you couldn't see them entirely, that was the downfall, the things in the dark really should have been kept half hidden till near the end of the movie. We watched it first in the daytime, which surprisingly made us jump at a few scenes and it was a little freakier in the night.Touching on things we even do as we get older, keeping all our limbs under the covers, throwing blankets over our heads, heck I still throw pillows over my head even when the lights on and look into the hallways to make sure nothings there. Giving it a second round was probably for the best, during the first round we didn't get a few things until the second.For example, you kind of wonder what is the point of the female lead and the stories she's telling, it's kind of like 'Is she only there for a plot ploy of love interest for teenage girl appeal?' well we came to understand exactly what it was, pay attention to the little boy who goes in the basement and then it comes together. She lends more to the film then it looks, it's just stuble. I would have liked to see the female lead with her little brother more too in flashbacks, it's best to pay attention and understand her dialouge...man the movie had more potential really.The storyline is good but probably not solid enough, it could have used a full two hours instead of eighty four minutes well as strange stories surrounding missing children, and the town being kind of haunted by them, Ryan seeing a therapist once or twice for a full effect but the story does well on it's own.One thing We'd like to see in a Evil Dead remake considering they are doing one and it was on the television in the movie (That gave it brownieee points!) is Kevin Zegers as the next Ash baby, he's doing so many horror movies and he's a good actor, he really should try for the role of Ash, he's even got the face for it. Yeah random, but I couldn't help but saying it. Overall, the movie is fun and cool enough to watch with your little siblings and bestmates, has a little spook and some laughs, keeps a realm of suspense, very little cursing, but don't expect hightime horror and gore. It's worth ten bucks for a horror fan or just someone who likes a little spook and smiles, just make sure to watch it in the dark for full effect and some cuddling wouldn't hurt. =P

I really like Kevin Zegers. I liked this movie........2006-04-23

Unexpected, I bought the movie becaused Kevin Zegers was in it. I do not like horror, and did not know what would happen in the movie. But there is no gore. Jesse James and Kevin Zegers both did outstanding jobs.

Not Bad For PG-13.......2006-03-05

Although this is not a true horror flick or slasher flick, it was good for being rated only PG-13. I've gotten into the habit of not renting PG-13 movies because I love the gore and violence and terror of true horror movies that are rated R. However, I rented this movie because the box made it look scary. There are some suspenseful scenes in this movie as we see a young boy who is terrified of the dark.No one understands his fears, even his parents. One night, while the parents went out, the young boy was left home with his older brother. Well, here comes a storm and the lights go out. We get to see monsters/ghosts appear during some pretty good lightning scenes. Without going on and on about the details, I'd just say that I'd recommend renting this film. I was pleasantly surprised for a PG-13 rating movie.

Film Noir - The Dark Side of Hollywood (Sudden Fear / The Long Night / Hangmen Also Die / Railroaded / Behind Locked Doors)

Average customer rating:

Obscure noir
Beware noir fans of this Kino rip-off!
Remastered DVDs?
5 classic NOIRS from the studio vaults

Film Noir - The Dark Side of Hollywood (Sudden Fear / The Long Night / Hangmen Also Die / Railroaded / Behind Locked Doors)
Starring: John Ireland , Sheila Ryan , Hugh Beaumont , Jane Randolph , and Ed Kelly
Director: Anthony Mann , Fritz Lang , and David Miller
Manufacturer: Kino Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000GTJS8A
Release Date: 2006-09-12

Customer Reviews:

Obscure noir.......2007-03-23

The collection Film Noir - The Dark Side of Hollywood boasts on the box cover that it features "Five Classics from the Studio Vaults". It may be a little much to call these films "classics" (no one will ever mistake these movies for such greats as Out of the Past or The Asphalt Jungle), but they are all okay, or in some cases, even good.

The first in the bunch (chronologically speaking) is Hangmen Also Die, a World War II thriller directed by Fritz Lang and based on real events. Brian Donlevy plays a member of the Czech resistance who is responsible for the assassination of Heydrich. Anna Lee gets entangled with him, and soon both are in peril. The Nazis threaten to execute innocent people till the assassin comes forth, including Lee's father. This film is only borderline noir, but it is still good.

Railroaded is a rather standard innocent-man-accused mystery, probably most notable for featuring a pre-Leave It To Beaver Hugh Beaumont as the detective in love with Sheila Ryan even as her brother languishes in jail. John Ireland is effective as the villain in the piece.

The Long Night is the "big name" movie in the set. Directed by Anatole Litvak, it stars Henry Fonda, Barbara Bel Geddes, Vincent Price and a small role for Elisha Cook, Jr. Fonda is holed up in his apartment, surrounded by cops who want to take him in for a murder. The bulk of the movie is a long flashback as to how he got into this spot. Vincent Price is great as a slimy magician, and Bel Geddes is okay in what I believe is her first role (between this movie, Vertigo and 14 Hours - the three movies I've seen her in - I don't think she ever has a normal love relationship with any man). This film is a remake of a French movie and the only DVD with any sort of special features (a video essay on the making of the movie).

Behind Locked Doors is a short (62 minutes) little private eye story with Richard Carlson as a private detective who is recruited by a beautiful reporter to go undercover in a sanitarium where it is believed a crooked judge is hiding out. Of course, the doctor and his assistant are in cahoots with the judge and Carlson soon finds himself trapped "behind locked doors." Probably the most interesting thing about this movie is it has Tor Johnson (of Plan 9 From Outer Space fame) in a role that uses all of his limited acting talents.

Finally, there is Sudden Fear which I feel is the best in the bunch. Joan Crawford is a playwright and heiress who gets actor Jack Palance fired because he doesn't seem like a romantic leading man. When they meet by chance later, she falls for him and they marry, but it turns out he's a better romantic actor than she ever thought; he is actually scheming with an old girlfriend to kill her and get her money. When Crawford finds out by accident, she launches her own counter-scheme. Although this film owes more than a little to Hitchcock's Suspicion, it also goes off in its own direction and does a good job at leaving the viewer guessing about how it all turns out.

As mentioned earlier, there are hardly any extras in this set. Railroaded and Behind Locked Doors are three-star movies, while the others are four-star flicks. I will go with the majority and rate it four stars. These may not be classics, but this set does offer a chance to see some less well-known, decent movies.

Beware noir fans of this Kino rip-off!.......2006-11-22

Kino, which is supposed to have such a big reputation for respecting the art of cinema, has really pulled a fast one on the public with this DVD box set.

They took one of Joan Crawford's greatest noir films "Sudden Fear," plus a really great (and rare) Henry Fonda noir "The Long Night" and totally ruined them. And the other titles in this box set don't come out much better.

Both "Sudden Fear" and "The Long Night" are so inky black until most of the time you can only see the actors' eyes (and that's in bright sunshine). The sound is terrible. Dialogue is so low you have to turn up your TV to full volume to hear anything. Then when the soundtrack music starts, it's usually blasting. So you constantly have to adjust the sound all the way through each movie. And even at that, the dialogue is still flat and hard to understand.

I've bought public domain cheapy DVDs where more care was put into production values. The only thing first class about this Kino box set is the artwork. The rest of this set is pure junk.

I've been ripped off with other Kino titles with Kino's poor production values (and I'll get around to reviewing those soon), but this set wins the prize. Let the buyer beware.

Remastered DVDs?.......2006-09-10

Has anyone heard if this collection from Kino Video,have all been Remastered with better picture & sound? It's a great collection,but not if Kino has done nothing to them...Aloha Craig

5 classic NOIRS from the studio vaults .......2006-07-24

Wow! Great deal! These films retail for $29.95 each. This collection includes great titles from great directors (Fritz Lang, Anthony Mann) and they star some of Hollywood's all time greats like Joan Crawford, Henry Fonda, Jack Palance and many more. Here's a little description for each film:

SUDDEN FEAR (1952) - STARRING JOAN CRAWFORD, JACK PALANCE & GLORIA GRAHAME - DIRECTED BY DAVID MILLER - NOMINATED FOR 4 ACADEMY AWARDS - SYNOPSIS: Joan Crawford turns in one of the most emotionally charged performances of her career as a playwright who must use her plotting skills to save her own life, in this beautifully crafted film noir thriller. On a train headed home to California, Myra Hudson (Crawford) falls in love with, and marries, actor Lester Blaine (Jack Palance) whom she has just fired from her most recent New York play. Back on her San Francisco estate, something evil appears to be lurking just beneath the surface of the couple's idyllic life. Enter Gloria Grahame as Palance's girlfriend (in a stunning performance the New York Times called "hard, brash and sexy."). Soon it is clear that they are after more than new scripts as they greedily scheme for Myra's money. Director David Miller (Lonely Are The Brave) guides the story with supreme confidence, assisted by gorgeous black and white cinematography and an excellent score by Elmer Bernstein, as Sudden Fear races towards its jolting climax. Nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Actress (Crawford) and Best Supporting Actor (Palance), Sudden Fear is the unbeatable combination of a lushly produced Joan Crawford melodrama and a drop-dead suspense thriller. They just don't make 'em like this anymore!

THE LONG NIGHT (1947) - STARRING HENRY FONDA, BARBARA BEL GEDDES & VINCENT PRICE - DIRECTED BY ANATOLE LITVAK - SYNOPSIS: An exciting rediscovery from the studio vaults, The Long Night is an emotionally gripping, visually dynamic film noir, in which Henry Fonda, at the peak of his career, delivers an unforgettable performance. Presented in an intricate web of flashbacks, The Long Night follows the fractured thoughts of Joe Adams (Henry Fonda), a factory worker pinned inside his third-floor apartment after gunning down a mysterious, dapper gentleman (Vincent Price). Joe's memories, often containing flashbacks within flashbacks, reconstruct the events leading up to the shooting, revealing his romance with a quiet young girl (Barbara Bel Geddes), his less-romantic involvement with a worn-out showgirl (Ann Dvorak) and the varied twists of fate which drove Joe to murder. In staging this remake of Marcel Carné's Le Jour Se Leve (France, 1939), the producers of The Long Night imported not only the story, but the look of poetic realism that made the original so haunting. At once dismal and magical, the world of The Long Night was unlike anything Hollywood had yet imagined, and laid the groundwork for the dark and gritty (but highly stylized) imagery that became the trademark of film noir.

HANGMEN ALSO DIE (1943) - STARRING BRIAN DONLEVY, ANNA LEE & WALTER BRENNAN - DIRECTED BY FRITZ LANG - NOMINATED FOR 2 ACADEMY AWARDS - SYNOPSIS: Pursued by the Germans after the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, Dr. Svobonda (Brian Donlevy) enlists the aid of a young woman (Anna Lee) who is oblivious to the lethal crosscurrents that surround her. As she learns more about the mysterious doctor, she grows aware of the involvement of her father (Walter Brennan) and fiance (Dennis O'Keefe) in the resistance, and soon finds herself entangled in the revolution's secret operations. Much of the nightmarish quality of Hangmen Also Die is attributable to playwright Bertolt Brecht, who co-scripted the film with Lang, and legendary cinematographer James Wong Howe (Hud), who cloaks every conrner in shadow and endows the film with an almost tangible sense of claustrophobia.

RAILROADED (1947) - STARRING JOHN IRELAND, SHEILA RYAN & HUGH BEAUMONT - DIRECTED BY ANTHONY MANN - SYNPOSIS: Anthony Mann, who took the suspense of film noir to dizzying heights with his movies T-Men and Raw Deal, brings his talents to the hard-boiled detective thriller with Railroaded. When a policeman is killed attempting to thwart a holdup, Detective Mickey Ferguson is assigned to the case. The case becomes personal, though, when the kid brother of Mickey's sweetheart is named as the gunman. Determined to find the truth, Mickey goes searching for clues and comes up with notorious gangster Duke Martin, played by John Ireland (Spartacus, Gunfight At The OK Corral). What follows is a blood-and-thunder extravaganza filled with betrayal and suspicions, handguns and hostages, and a climactic nightclub showdown. Mann directs Railroaded with a precision and elegance that betrays its low-budget production, and John Ireland's cold-blooded performance is backed up by a talented (if unknown) cast, including Hugh Beaumont (Ward of television's Leave It To Beaver) and Shelia Ryan

BEHIND LOCKED DOORS (1948) - STARRING RICHARD CARLSON, LUCILLE BREMER & TOR JOHNSON - DIRECTED BY BUDD BOETTICHER (SEVEN MEN FROM NOW) - SYNOPSIS: A shadowy sanitarium provides the claustrophobic stage for sadism, paranoia and murder in this classic film noir from director Budd Boetticher (Tall T, Comanche Station). In a plot that clearly foreshadowed Sam Fuller's Shock Corridor, private detective Ross Stewart (Richard Carlson) checks himself into a mental hospital in an attempt to locate a corrupt judge hiding from justice. But before Stewart can reveal the truth, his true identity is discovered and he becomes a victim of his own ruse. With the help of a deranged punch-drunk ex-prizefighter (Tor Johnson of Plan 9 From Outer Space), the doctors at La Siesta Sanitarium concoct a plan to make Stewart a permanent resident. And the only person who shares Stewart's secret, the only one who can rescue him from certain death, is the scheming woman who sent him there (Lucille Bremer). A bare-bones, low-budget B thriller from Hollywood's "Poverty Row," Behind Locked Doors cleverly compensates for its budgetary limitations by bathing its sets in darkness. This visual spareness is perfectly suited to Boetticher's terse, hard-edged style, making the film a nightmarish ride through the halls of insanity and an ingenious, effective example of American film noir.

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Docurama Film Festival III
Starring: Docurama Film Festival 3
Manufacturer: Docurama
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000MKXF2I
Release Date: 2007-03-27

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Fire in the Dark
Starring: Carol Bivins , Todd Cameron Brown , Olympia Dukakis , Martin Goslins , and Michele Harrell
Director: David Jones
Manufacturer: Trinity Home Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000O591KG
Release Date: 2007-01-01

Bonanza: The Fear Merchants/The Spanish Grant/The Last Trophy/Dark Star

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Bonanza 4pk
bonanza fan

Bonanza: The Fear Merchants/The Spanish Grant/The Last Trophy/Dark Star
Starring: Bonanza 4-Pack
Manufacturer: Good Times Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00006RCMP
Release Date: 2002-12-03

Customer Reviews:

Bonanza 4pk.......2005-08-28

Excellent quality product very clear with excellent sound. I was very pleased with this product. Definitely will purchase future editions.

bonanza fan.......2004-01-14

4 disks, 1. the spanish grant, 2. dark star, 3. fear merchants, 4. the last trophy

Average customer rating:

Fear of the Dark
Starring: Ed Shelinsky , Rosemary Gore , Herb Smithline , Vanessa Edwards , and Mike Lane
Director: Glen Baisley
Manufacturer: Brain Damage
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000H0MN3U
Release Date: 2006-10-03

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Fear of the Dark/Hell's Gate 11:11
Starring: Universal 2pak
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Bonanza: The Spitfire/Dark Star/The Spanish Grant/The Fear Merchants

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Bonanza: The Spitfire/Dark Star/The Spanish Grant/The Fear Merchants
Director: Lewis Allen , Chris Christenberry , William F. Claxton , Nicholas Colasanto , and Robert L. Friend
Manufacturer: Direct Source Label
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00008G85R
Release Date: 2002-10-29

Average customer rating:

Fear of the Dark
Suspense, but no real horror....
Cuddle up under the covers with your bestmates and siblings!
I really like Kevin Zegers. I liked this movie.
Not Bad For PG-13

Fear of the Dark [Region 2]
Starring: Kevin Zegers , Jesse James , Linda Purl , Rachel Skarsten , and Charles Edwin Powell
Director: K.C. Bascombe
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B0000BZNLW

Customer Reviews:

Fear of the Dark.......2007-03-18

Suspense, but no real horror...........2007-03-14

Cuddle up under the covers with your bestmates and siblings!.......2006-11-11

I really like Kevin Zegers. I liked this movie........2006-04-23

Not Bad For PG-13.......2006-03-05

Bonanza (4 Pack) - The Fear Merchants / The Spanish Grant / Dark Star / The Last Trophy(Region 1 DVD)

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Bonanza (4 Pack) - The Fear Merchants / The Spanish Grant / Dark Star / The Last Trophy(Region 1 DVD)

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Product Description

(Region 1 DVD)Features: Bonanza: The Fear Merchants - 49 Min Bonanza: The Spanish Grant - 49 Min Bonanza: Dark Star - 49 Min Bonanza: The Last Trophy - 49 Min

DVD:

DVD

DVD