Day 19 - Darkness Falls (2003)
I used to think Darkness Falls was a terrible movie. In fact, I used to say it was THE worst mainstream horror movie I had ever seen. I have to admit now that I was probably a little bit too harsh. It is, however, a film that massively disappoints and gets worse the nearer it creeps to its risible climax.
It's all about the Tooth Fairy, a vengeful spirit of a woman who used to give children treats for their lost teeth before she was badly burned in her life and then wrongfully hung by the residents of Darkness Falls many years ago. Many years later, she still gets around albeit wearing a porcelain mask to hide her burnt features and not wishing to be seen. If anyone does see her then they have to die. This fate befalls everyone except a young lad named Kyle who grows up to be a . . . . . young man named Kyle. Kyle is on a ton of medication and carries a bag of flashlights wherever he goes. Where he goes, for this movie, is back to Darkness Falls after a phone call from a childhood sweetheart imploring him to help her little brother, who is experiencing similar "night terrors" to those Kyle was diagnosed as having. The Tooth Fairy wants vengeance. And did I mention that she has to stay in the dark as any light damages her fragile skin/body? No? Well that is, obviously, quite important.
What's so frustrating about this film is that it has a genuinely fantastic opening 10 minutes. Watching it, and being scared in all the right ways, makes you think you're in for a real treat. That is sadly not the case and the longer the film runs the greater the disappointment becomes.
The acting is okay, the script is fine (with some decent one-liners in there) and the look of the movie is pretty slick (and I must say I really enjoyed the sound design too, some fine spooky noises are thrown in here) but the film's major failing is its inability to stay within the rules it has set for itself. The Tooth Fairy hates light, finds it damaging, and stays in the dark. She is even held at bay by a small hand-held torch. Yet, as things heat up, she is unharmed while pursuing people in the middle of a thunder and lightning storm and even pops up at one point in a lighthouse. The clues are in the words there and things just seem flat when such well-prepped limitations are then broken. Never mind the fact that whenever The Tooth Fairy has a choice of victims, including the boy who has evaded her for so many years, she manages to pick Disposable Extra Number 2 and you may well groan as I did while the bubble of hope you had for this movie first deflates and then bursts. Now I know that horror movies are often unbelievable and/or illogical but I always believe that any film should stay within the rules of the universe it has provided us and this one simply does not do that.
Not the worst mainstream horror of recent years, but only worth seeing for the first half and, especially, those opening 10 minutes.
On The Dean's List Scale:
Darkness Falls (2003) gets
3 - Strap Me To A Chair 'Cause This One's A "Shocker"!
Day 20 - The Purge (2013)
From the producers of Paranormal Activity (as is all horror films these days) The Purge tells the story of a near future were crime is at an all time low and unemployment stands at under 1% of the US population, to compensate for one night a year all crime (including murder) is legal for 12 hours allowing society some kind of release.
The film revolves around the Sandin family who are confronted by a group of college students hunting a man on the night of the Purge who the family had allowed into their home after lockdown. The Purgers (lead by Rhys Wakefield) drastically try to break into the family's home causing James (Ethan Hawke) and Mary (Lena Headey) to protect their children from the invaders in order to survive the night.
The main problem with the film is the premise itself, whilst interesting is filled with flaws and holes that just make the whole idea ridiculous. Such as what happens to the serial killers and career criminals of this world? Do they just control their urges to kill or steal for the other 364 days until the next Purge, as well what if someone has a heart attack on the night of The Purge? Is it just a case of bad luck you chose the wrong night to need medical care?
Despite the flaws of the premise, the film repeatedly ignores the possibilities of the premise, instead of exploring the ideas behind the Purge or the events that occur on the night of the Purge from different perspectives and situations. Instead the film settles for a typical home invasion story that although done well, is nothing we haven't seen done in many other films. The Purge in the end seems to only be the premise of this film to stop the age old question of "Why don't they just call the police?" in home invasion films.
To the films credit it is quite subtle, there's a running theme that the Purge is just an excuse for the upper classes to exterminate the poor, driven by all the attackers wearing prep school blazers and the person they are chasing wearing dog tags around his neck. The film also contains some strong performances, especially from Ethan Hawke (Training Day, Lord of War) and Lena Headey (Dredd, Game of Thrones) who carry the film throughout. The film also has a twist near the end which allows the audience to get inside the heads of the people during this night.
That can't be said for the leader of the Purger's played by Rhys Wakefield (Sanctum, Home and Away) whose performance is slightly cringe worthy, he's trying to be psychotic yet in control of the proceedings but it just comes across as an amateur dramatic version of The Joker. He just never seems like a real threat and just a creepy next door neighbor.
The film also contains some bizarre and just plain weird set pieces, such as the families' son who builds a spy camera on a chard baby doll on the top of a rhino tank from Warhammer 40,000. The thing looks like a demented contraption from Sid's bedroom in Toy Story.
Overall, The Purge is an OK home invasion film, there are moments of suspense and a couple of jump scares are effective. The wasted potential of the premise is the films main downfall which could have lead to a more effective and possible original film then what we got in the end.
On The Dean's List Scale:
The Purge (2013) gets
3 - Strap Me To A Chair 'Cause This One's A "Shocker"!
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