Written by Musgo Del Jefe
This review really starts over 30 years ago. On a cold, wet Friday night in the mid-'70s, ABC reaired their 1973 made-for-TV horror film entitled Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark. LIttle Musgo had yet to see Jaws and he was years away from The Exorcist. Little Musgo had only been exposed to the Universal Horror films like Dracula and Frankenstein on his parent's newly acquired cable television. This movie telecast freaked out little Musgo to no end - he would have his grandparent's change the channel each commercial break, vowing never to watch it again. But before each set of ads were done, he'd be back on the channel until its terrifying conclusion.
I've blamed lots of sources for my continued interest in horror films and literature. Certainly my completely random and default purchase of two Stephen King paperbacks The Shining and The Stand at the Little Professor Bookshop in Southland Mall on an expiring gift certificate were partially to blame. So too was the continuous airing of Universal Horror films on Ch. 41 out of Battle Creek every Friday night. But this particular film also stands tall.
For years, I never forgot the film and I scoured video shelves to prove that it wasn't part of my imagination - this film was truly scary. The longer I couldn't find it, the more obsessed I became with it. The movie became kind of a Holy Grail of my video searches. I knew it was out there and in the days before eBay, Amazon and BitTorrents - I would find a listing for a 16mm version of the film or an elusive European VHS release. It wasn't until the late '90s that I obtained a tape of one of the TV airings complete with commercials. At that time, it was amazing how clear my memory of the movie was 20 years after its release.
Now, thanks to the wonderful folks at The Warner Brothers Archive Collection, the movie is available to order online only. I knew this day was not too far away when I first read word of a remake being produced by Guillermo del Toro and starring Katie Holmes. And timing it to be available to a whole new couple of generations in time for Halloween is just good business.
Seeing the film for the first time in almost a decade, and finally seeing it in pristine shape - I wondered how critically I could view the film or if I'd still be a seven-year-old in my grandfather's chair watching the show. I'm happy to say that the film holds up pretty well.
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