#218: Dont be afraid of the dark , Movies recommended or seen lately... les films a voir

Genre: Horror/Horreur

Annee/Year: 1973

Country: US

Format: DVD

Don't be afraid of the dark. Director John Newland brought us many TV series and films from the '50s to the 80's. This film is not very well known but this is a movie which truly marked me when i was young. Funny thing is that when i mentioned this film to folks my age they remembered that movie but no one ever knew it's title. People refered to it as "the movie with the little monsters in the chimney" generally followed by a spine tingling sensation. After I discovered some horror maniacs like me on the web site Horreur-web .com i was able to track the movie's title with their help. Obvisouly i secured a copy from Amazon and relived that experience 30 years later to see if it still held some magic.

My wife and I sat and watched the english only movie (too bad) and actually enjoyed reliving this experience. Obviously this movie has aged quite a bit but still plenty of fun to be had. The story is about a young couple who move in a very old house who belonged to the ladie's (played by Kim Darby) grandmother. She is strangely attracted by the study used by her grand-father which contains a condemned fireplace. She opens the fireplace without heeding the warnings of an old man working to renovate the house. This unleashes some unseen demons trapped deep within the firaplace. The demonic creatures live only in hte dark and are of small size.
The husband (played by Jim Hutton) is busy with his work and not very receptive to the complaints from his wife who slowly sinks into a paranoia as she observes more and more strange things occuring in the house. The demons goal is to capture the lady of the house and bring her inside the fireplace so she can become just like them... The movie culminates in a peak of tension which is very well done. Definitely to see for old school horror buffs. And by the way Del Toro is working a remake of this film for this summer....the trailer is horrifying

Don't be afraid of the dark. Le réalisateur John Newland nous a apporté beaucoup de film et d`émissions pour la TV des années 50 aux années 80. Ce film est peut connu mais il m`a marqué dans ma jeunesse. Lorsque j`en parlait aux gens de mon age; ils disaient souvent s`en rapeller mais personne ne se souvenait du titre du film. Tous se souvenait avoir la chienne des petits hommes dansl cheminée cependant. Après avoit découvert le site de Horreur-Web.com j`ai fait appel à l`expertise de ces experts de l`horreur et ils m`ont rapidement trouvé le titre de ce film. Après une rapide commande chez Amazon j`était prêt à revisiter ce titre quelque trente ans plus tard pour voir si la magie était toujours au rendez-vous.

Le film est seulement en anglais et sans sous-titre francais en plus. Triste. Mais cela ne nous a pas arrêté. L`histoire est celle d`un jeune couple qui hérite d`une demeure ancestrale appartenant a feu la grand-mère de la jeune fille, Sally, jouée par Kim Darby. La jeune Sally fait renover la maison afin d`y emmenager mais elle se trouve attirée par une pièce en particulier qui était le bureau de son grand-père disparut plusieurs annéees plus tôt. Sans écouter les avertissement du vieil ouvrier qui refuse de le faire; Sally ouvre la trappe qui bloque le foyer du bureau. En ce faisant elle ne sait pas qu`elle vient de relacher une puissance démoniaque qui s`en prend à elle. Les petites créatures horribles ne sortent que dans le noir pour s`en prendre à elle et pour la tirer dans la cheminéee et en faire une des leurs. Tout au long du film la jeune femme est témoins d`événements de plus en plus insolites qui la lance dans une paranoia extrème. Son mari completement concentré sur son travail ne lui porte que très peu d`attention. La tension du film augment jusqu`à la fin et culmine dans une série de scènes dont vous vous souviendrez longtemps. Définitivement un film à voir pour les amateurs de la vieille école. De plus un remake est en préparation pour cet été du brillant Del Toro et vous pourrez trouver le trailer sur le web qui est assez effrayant merci.

Great quotes:

Creatures: [opening lines] Will she come? Do you think she will come?
First Creature: She will. You know she will.
Second Creature: But when? When?
First Creature: Very soon. It's just a matter of time. Of waiting for a while. All we have to do is bide our time. Bide our time.
[laughs]
Creatures: But it's been so long. So many years. When will she come and set us free-set us free!
First Creature: Patience! Patience! We've all the time in the world.
[laughs]
Creatures: We've all the time in the world. In the world. In the world. To set us free! In the world!
[Maniacal laughter]
...
Sally Farnham: [on a shopping spree] Maybe Alex is right. Maybe I am losing my mind.
Joan Kahn: You know how a husband can tell you've lost your mind?
[laughs and takes her arm]
Joan Kahn: When you stop spending their money! So let's go spend some more of our husbands' money right away.

Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069992/fullcredits#cast

Entertainment rating: 7/10
Cast/acting rating: 6/10
Artistic rating: 5/10
Reflexion rating: 3/10
Production rating: 7/10
Adult factor: 8/10
Wide audience: 8/10
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Overall personnal rating: 8/10