| Darkness Falls | |
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Film poster |
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| Directed by | Jonathan Liebesman |
| Produced by | John Fasano John Hegeman William Sherak Jason Shuman |
| Screenplay by | Joe Harris James Vanderbilt John Fasano |
| Story by | Joe Harris |
| Starring | Chaney Kley Emma Caulfield Lee Cormie |
| Music by | Paul Andrews Brian Tyler |
| Cinematography | Dan Laustsen |
| Editing by | Timothy Alverson Steve Mirkovich |
| Studio | Revolution Studios |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | January 24, 2003 |
| Running time | 96 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $11 million |
| Box office | $47,488,536 |
Darkness Falls is a 2003 American horror film written by Joe Harris and John Fasano and directed by Jonathan Liebesman.
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The story of the town Darkness Falls, (which is based on the town of Fall River, Massachusetts) begins with the legend of a widow, Matilda Dixon, who was adored by all the town's children. Matilda gave them gifts and gold coins when they lost a tooth, thus earning her the name "Tooth Fairy."
After a fire in her home left her horribly disfigured with an extreme sensitivity to light, she wore a porcelain mask, and only went out at night.
Although the children adored Matilda, the adults were suspicious of her and one day, when two children went missing, the townspeople quickly blamed Matilda and hanged her, ripping off her porcelain mask and exposing her face to the light. Out of anger and betrayal, Matilda promised her vengeance. Soon afterward, the two missing children returned home unharmed. The town, realizing their mistake, quickly buried Matilda's body along with their secret.
The story of Matilda Dixon, the Tooth Fairy, is told to many generations after the murder, and it is believed that her spirit visits children on the night they lose their last baby tooth, where she seeks her vengeance if they see her.
The story begins when Kyle Walsh, an antisocial teenager, befriended only by his secret infatuation, Caitlin Greene, loses his last baby tooth. He soon realizes that the story of Matilda Dixon is not just a fable when he sees her in his room. Realizing that light is her weakness, he shines a flashlight into her face and hides in the bright lights of the bathroom. His mother, in trying to convince him there's nothing in his room, is killed after seeing the Tooth Fairy. The next morning, as the police arrive, Kyle is taken to a mental hospital after speculations that he himself killed his mother.
Twelve years later, Caitlin Greene calls a secluded Kyle to ask for his help with her younger brother, Michael, who refuses to sleep in the dark. After a visit to the hospital to talk to Michael - with his bag of flashlights, his "peace of mind" - Kyle soon realizes that Michael has had an encounter with the Tooth Fairy. Michael, like Kyle, now has a gripping fear of the dark, and is thought to have gone insane. Afraid of the truth, Kyle at first denies any relation to his condition, and walks away from Caitlin.
United with his childhood neighbors, Kyle attempts to warn others of the Tooth Fairy and tells them to stay in the light. The ridicule that he faces leads to the death of many townspeople. He soon gains allies as they realize the truth within his story. To add to the terror, a storm causes a disturbance in the power grid for the town, just as Kyle loses his bag of flashlights to the police when he is arrested and questioned about the sudden rise in the death toll. After convincing the police that his story is true, Kyle, Michael and Caitlin decide to lead the Tooth Fairy to the largest source of light in the town - the lighthouse. They are assisted by several medical personnel, all of whom are killed by the Tooth Fairy on the way.
In an attempt to destroy her, Kyle truly faces the demon as he rips off her porcelain mask and ignites her. This fate is tested when another young child loses his last baby tooth and awaits the Tooth Fairy, only to find, to the audience's knowledge, that his mother replaces the tooth with a gold coin, indicating that the story is over and the tooth fairy has been destroyed forever.
Darkness Falls was panned by critics upon its release. According to review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, 9% of critics gave the film a positive review out of 126 reviews, with an average rating of 3.3/10; the critical consensus is: "A derivative movie where the scares are few and things don't make much sense."[1]
Darkness Falls fared better commercially, opening at number one in the American box office and recouped its $11 million budget in its opening weekend on January 24, 2003 making $32,551,396 domestically and $47,488,536 worldwide.[2]
Joe Harris wrote Darkness Falls: The Tragic Life of Matilda Dixon, a prequel comic, which was published by Dark Horse Comics. Author Keith R. A. DeCandido wrote a novelization of the film which was published by Pocket Books in December 2002.
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