Darkness Falls

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Darkness Falls

PG-13

Released Jan 24, 2003

1h 25m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Popcornmeter

10%

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131 Reviews

34%

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50,000+ Ratings

In Maine, the residents of Darkness Falls are all aware of the legend of Matilda Dixon, an old woman who was tragically murdered by a mob in the 1800s because the townspeople thought she was killing children. Now Darkness Falls has to contend with Matilda's supernatural wrath. Childhood friends Kyle (Chaney Kley) and Caitlin (Emma Caulfield) return home to uncover the truth behind the legend after Caitlin's little brother (Lee Cormie) has recurring nightmares about Matilda.

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Critics Consensus

A derivative movie where the scares are few and things don't make much sense.

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Alexander Walker

London Evening Standard

The title refers to a town as well as a state of mind. Neither is worth a detour.

Jan 10, 2018

Full Review

Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: D

Sep 7, 2011

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

So bad it's almost painful. Skip it.

Rated: 1/5

Dec 22, 2010

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Paul Lê

Bloody Disgusting

All the initial criticisms remain spot on: the undercooked script, the paper-thin characters, and a shortage of scares. Pushing past that, however, there is still the chance for some meager fun in this insubstantial but attractive ghost story.

Rated: 2.5/5

Jan 24, 2024

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Matthew Rozsa

matthewrozsa.com

It is hard to imagine that Liebesman is at fault: His "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" prequel is one of the best horror films of the 21st century. Yet here he whiffs.

Rated: 2/4

Jun 18, 2021

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Debbie Lynn Elias

Behind The Lens

Obviously funding for this film was supplied by energy providers like Edison, DWP and PECO who must have known that one look at Darkness Falls will make everyone flick on the light switch - and it won't be to ward off the Tooth Fairy.

Nov 7, 2019

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Justin T

It is a really cool concept for the story. Shame that the cast are so forgettable. It’s beautifully shot, especially for a film of this time. Really beautifully made film. And it sounds good too. There’s a really cool stunt where they crash a car into a tree, in fact there are lots of great sequences. This is one of the best Hollywood horrors from this time. It does lose its energy and interest in the middle, it could have done with more layers, but then it really picks up in the final act. Some of the extras don’t react to extreme situations like when the guy is violently arrested and the doctor just stands there. Overall I really enjoyed it, shame the casting wasn’t better.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/07/25

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Luis Otavio F

Darkness Falls lacks scares and good tense moments, a poor script that insists on saying the phrase "Stay in the light" basically the entire film, could have more shine.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

04/18/25

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James B

Darkness falls has a good premise and puts an interesting twist on the tooth fairy but it's quite slow and some things don't make sense.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/06/25

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Brian B

Slow and suspenseful. Enjoyed the backstory and the acting.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/25/25

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Dan R

2003's 'Darkness Falls' is a film built on clichés and genre tropes. SYNOPSIS: 'A vengeful spirit has taken the form of the Tooth Fairy to exact vengeance on the town that lynched her 150 years earlier. Her only opposition is the only child, now grown up, who has survived her before.' On its release, 'Darkness Falls', was probably ok but on a rewatch now it's just horror copy and paste. And it doesn't even do that very well. Tropes aplenty, shitty special effects, cheap scare tactics and a comically bad script all add up to a senseless cinematic waste of time. Not good! 4/10

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

09/17/24

Full Review

Ricardo d

Na época do seu lançamento eu considerava um filme bem assustador. Hoje, percebo muitas falhas no roteiro. Sendo um filme que fala sobre luz, temos muitos momentos onde a personagem diz para ficarem na luz, mas ficam em espaços escuros. Tipo tem lanternas mas ao invés de apontarem para si, apontam para o caminho. Dentro do carro não tem luz, mas os faróis acesos do carro já resolve. Este filme merece um reboot com melhor tratamento.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

08/08/24

Full Review

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Jonathan Liebesman

Director

Chaney Kley

Kyle Walsh

Emma Caulfield

Caitlin

Lee Cormie

Michael

Grant Piro

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Sullivan Stapleton

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Darkness Falls: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

In Maine, the residents of Darkness Falls are all aware of the legend of Matilda Dixon, an old woman who was tragically murdered by a mob in the 1800s because the townspeople thought she was killing children. Now Darkness Falls has to contend with Matilda's supernatural wrath. Childhood friends Kyle (Chaney Kley) and Caitlin (Emma Caulfield) return home to uncover the truth behind the legend after Caitlin's little brother (Lee Cormie) has recurring nightmares about Matilda.

Director: Jonathan Liebesman
Producer: John Fasano, John Hegeman, William Sherak, Jason Shuman
Screenwriter: John Fasano, James Vanderbilt, Joe Harris, Joe Harris
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Production Co: Revolution Studios
Rating: PG-13 (Horror Images|Brief Language|Terror Images)
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 24, 2003, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 17, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $32.1M
Runtime: 1h 25m
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Dolby A, SDDS, DTS, Surround, Dolby Digital, Dolby SR

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