Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

"Now you see them, now you don't...now you die."

1973 1h 14m EN

😐

6.1

MID

🍅

75%

FRESH

⭐

6.5

IMDB

★6.1TMDB · 104🍅75%Rotten Tomatoes★6.5IMDB · 4,648

HorrorTV Movie

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A young couple inherits an old mansion inhabited by small demon-like creatures who are determined to make the wife one of their own.

“Now you see them, now you don't...now you die.”

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Cast

Kim Darby
Sally Farnham
Jim Hutton
Alex Farnham
William Demarest
Mr. Harris
Barbara Anderson
Joan Kahn
Pedro Armendáriz Jr.
Francisco Perez
Lesley Woods
Ethyl
Robert Cleaves
Doctor
Sterling Swanson
Policeman

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Newland
Writers: Nigel McKeand
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 74-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

53 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Newland, shot by Andrew Jackson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Original score by Billy Goldenberg. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Michael McCroskey shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Kim Darby and Jim Hutton and William Demarest carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Now you see them, now you don't...now you die.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0069992 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Newland directs. Andrew Jackson behind the camera. Billy Goldenberg scores. Michael McCroskey cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 74-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
253 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by John Newland, shot by Andrew Jackson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Billy Goldenberg. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Michael McCroskey shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Kim Darby and Jim Hutton and William Demarest carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Now you see them, now you don't...now you die.".
8IMDB entry: tt0069992 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 9 themes, including "haunted house", "fireplace", "inheritance", "creature".

The technical file

Cinematography: Andrew Jackson
Original score: Billy Goldenberg
Editing: Michael McCroskey
Production design: Ed Graves
Runtime: 74 min · 1h 14m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (1973)
Rotten Tomatoes: 75% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 6.5/10 · 4,648 votes
MPAA: Unrated

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John Newland

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-11-07
★ 8/10
Sally, we want you, we want you. There are times in a horror fans youth that a certain film will leave an impression that will be carried forward for ever more. In my case one such film is "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark". A cheaply made for TV picture starring Kim Darby, Jim Hutton and William Demarest. The plot on the surface is standard. Alex and Sally Farnham inherit a big old mansion from their deceased grandmother, it has a basement den room with a bricked up fireplace. Sally wants to unblock the fireplace but is advised by the family handyman that it should be left as it is. Naturally Sally goes ahead and has the fire opened up, and pretty soon she starts to hear voices and see what she thinks is little men in her midst... "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" terrified me as a child because it played on one of my basic fears, a fear that is shared by many an impressionable child. That of something being under the bed at night time, or in the cupboard, and yes, in the walls behind the fireplace. Of course now as an adult revisiting the film it has lost the power to truly terrify me. But not once since that time as a child have I not cast a nervous smile in the direction of all the open fireplaces I've come across over the years. This is something I think one should always remember when revisiting such films from your youth, the impact back then is what's important. Now to me the film is a nostalgic trip that still retains the power to prick up those goose-bumps, and with each goose bump comes back memories of believing there was such a thing as little troll like demons out to get us. It's a cracking little chiller is this, the cast give it their all (particularly Darby) and while the effects and production are evidently low, it still carries a charm that 70s TV movies seem to carry for those that blossomed during it. Very much a cult film over the years, horror fan pressure has led to it finally getting a DVD release in August 2009. All those fans are just like me, they remembered the night that "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" actually meant that we "would" be afraid of the dark. First time viewers to it now are unlikely to get much, if anything, from it. But don't mock or be scornful towards us, for we was there, and we carried with us that first chill for ever more. 8/10

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