The Daily Dig: Fear of the Dark (2003)

A low-budget rendering of fear has the bones of something bigger and better, but “Fear of the Dark” lacks the bite of our best ghost stories.

Ryan is afraid of the dark and everyone makes fun of him for it but a night alone in the house with his brother proves his worst fears true as terror creeps in the dark and a storm threatens to kill the lights. Let’s dig into 2003’s FEAR OF THE DARK, directed by K.C. Bascombe!

As I See It

It’s hard to create a new mythology that can be ingested in the short time required for a film audience to understand and suspend reality enough to believe. That’s why there are so many films that rhyme. When you base a new monster on some well-ingrained tale of terror that may not be on the tip of everyone’s brain but at least occupies a large part of the horror zeitgeist, you’re competing with a head start.

The filmmakers utilized formless fear here. The ghosts who threaten Dale and Ryan are like pro wrestling jobbers who put on some left-over costumes and heavy prosthetic makeup — until you get to the old lady in the climax, which is what nightmares are made of. It makes up for the CGI roaches that just don’t work.

They do utilize some famous gags from earlier successful horror films.

The faces pushing through the wall can be linked to several films. Ryan is flipping through channels and lands on a cartoon which most likely is Looney Tunes. The TV keeps changing itself back to The Evil Dead, using a scene that has scared generations of young horror fans. They utilize the flying entity POV Raimi made infamous for a jump scare right after to minimal effect.

For as much as I can pick apart about this film, I still like what they did. Don’t forget fright fans, “It’s not the house, it’s the dark!”

Famous Faces

Rachel Skarsten (Heather) has been playing around in the DC Universe for over twenty years. First, she starred in the early 2000 series Birds of Prey as Dinah Lance (known as the Black Canary) and as the villainous Alice/Beth Kane in the contemporary Batwoman series, which ended in 2022. She also starred in the over-the-top, under-appreciated Jack Brooks – Monster Slayer, which is due for a Dig.

Jesse James (Ryan) has played the young version of many well-known actors, including Johnny Depp (Blow) and Ben Affleck (Pearl Harbor).

Kevin Zeggers (Dale) played Mel on Fear the Walking Dead, Evan in a fan favorite, Wrong Turn, and Terry in Zack Snyder’s remake of George A. Romero’s classic Dawn of the Dead.

Charles Edwin Powell (Eric Billings) was in the adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s Screamers and will feature in the upcoming horror film Stream, which has a cast that could be called the Expendables of Horror. It stars Daniel Roebuck (Rob Zombie’s The Munsters, 3 From Hell, The Lords of Salem, Halloween and Halloween II — every Zombie movie basically), Danielle Harris (Halloween 4 & 5, Rob Zombie’s Halloween films), Dee Wallace (Cujo, The Howling, Critters, E.T.), Jeffrey Combs (Re-Animator, The Frighteners), Tony Todd (Candyman), Terry Kiser (Weekend at Bernie’s), David Howard Thornton (Terrifier 1&2), Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp), Damian Maffei (The Strangers 2, Haunt), and Mark Holton (Leprechaun, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure). It is written and directed by producer Michael Leavy, who was involved with Terrifier 2 and made the riotous short Halloween 60 based on the trailer for Halloween ‘18.

Of Gratuitous Nature

There is a singular focus on fear. There are no attempts to utilize cheap scenes of nudity or sex to keep the viewer engaged. This easily could have been an episode of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps TV show or even Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Heartthrob

Kevin Zeggers looks like he could be related to Zach Efron. That’s enough for me.

Ripe for a Remake

It might seem like a big jump to say that the heart of this movie has the same DNA as films like The Conjuring. Of course, that franchise was executed with absolute precision. Every aspect of it is better, from marketing to production value, but it also has the benefit of time (technology), money, and adept filmmakers. I still would argue the intent is very similar. For that reason, I don’t see any value in bringing this back from the dead.

Spawns

No progeny to report.

Where to Watch

There is no high-definition physical release of Fear of the Dark, but Screen Media did include it on a triple-feature DVD along with Big Bad Wolf and Gangs of the Dead. You can stream it on Popcorn Flix or rent it on Apple TV.