Darkness Falls 2003

John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press: Knowing that they don't have the scariest movie around, it would seem as if the filmmakers have vowed to make it the loudest. Read more

Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: More silly than scary, it's the horror movie to give horror movies a bad name. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: The film revels so brazenly in genre cliches that it eventually earns admiration for boldly going where nearly everyone has gone before. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: It begins with not one but two prologues; one character turns up out of nowhere, his introduction no doubt left on the cutting-room floor; and the paltry 85-minute running time includes 15 minutes of end credits. Read more

Janice Page, Boston Globe: Sadly, the makers of Darkness Falls can't find that flair, even with a bag of high-powered flashlights. Read more

Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times: It's a downer to see so much effort expended on such junk. Read more

Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle: Nothing about this makes sense, even by the standards of bad horror movies. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: Read more

Bruce Fretts, Entertainment Weekly: Like something salvaged from Stephen King's wastebasket. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: Pretty much the whole of this unholy horror flick is shot under cover of night, the small-town-in-New-England kind where the woods are deep and the barometer always points to rain. Read more

Gary Dowell, Dallas Morning News: Darkness Falls is the movie to see if you've ever wondered what a movie plays like with all the unimportant stuff -- narrative, character development -- cut out and the action kept in. Read more

Dan Fienberg, L.A. Weekly: While it took three screenwriters to come up with Darkness Falls' countless variations on 'Stay out of the dark!,' many more may have been necessary to provide an interesting plot or developed character. Read more

Gene Seymour, Newsday: If you need to be really scared of the dark, you're better off making up stuff from the shadows in your own room. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: About as scary as a ride on a minor roller coaster, it unrolls its amplified butcher-block shock effects within the first five minutes. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: As far as semi-abandoned midwinter Hollywood compost goes, though, Darkness Falls basically brings home the bacon for horror fans. Read more

Carla Meyer, San Francisco Chronicle: Announcing her presence with a phlegmy wheeze, the Fairy strikes swiftly and sometimes even scarily, thanks to Stan Winston's ace special effects. But the movie's premise ... telegraphs her appearances and eliminates suspense. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: There's not a jot of originality in Darkness Falls, but there are a few good scares. Read more

Time Out: All semblance of plausibility is extracted, leaving a cast of TV actors to struggle with a plot with more gaps than an eight-year-old's grin. Read more

Joe Leydon, Variety: It's an instantly disposable and shamelessly derivative piece of work, but first-time feature helmer Jonathan Liebesman shows a savvy flair for atmospheric visuals... Read more

Alex Pappademas, Village Voice: This is horror-flick boo-ya at its most rote. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: Oy, how it falls. Read more