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
In 1993, the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence Project receives a transmission detailing an alien DNA structure, along with instructions on how to splice it with human DNA. The result is Sil, a sensual but deadly creature who can change from a beautiful woman to an armour-plated killing machine in the blink of an eye.
A "National Geographic" film crew is taken hostage by an insane hunter, who takes them along on his quest to capture the world's largest - and deadliest - snake.
Val McKee and Earl Bassett are in a fight for their lives when they discover that their desolate town has been infested with gigantic, man-eating creatures that live below the ground.
Arthur and his two children inherit his uncle's estate: a glass house that serves as a prison to twelve ghosts. When the family, accompanied by a nanny and an attorney, enter the house they find themselves trapped inside an evil machine 'designed by the Devil and powered by the dead' to open the Eye of Hell. Aided by a ghost hunter and his rival, a ghost rights activist out to set the ghosts free, the group must do what they can to get out of the house alive.
After a tragic accident, six friends reunite for a caving expedition. Their adventure soon goes horribly wrong when a collapse traps them deep underground and they find themselves pursued by bloodthirsty creatures. As their friendships deteriorate, they find themselves in a desperate struggle to survive the creatures and each other.
A young couple, Rosemary and Guy, moves into an infamous New York apartment building, known by frightening legends and mysterious events, with the purpose of starting a family.
A diplomatic couple adopts the son of the devil without knowing it. A remake of the classic horror film of the same name from 1976.
American tourists David and Jack are savaged by an unidentified vicious animal whilst hiking on the Yorkshire Moors. Retiring to the home of a beautiful nurse to recuperate, David soon experiences disturbing changes to his mind and body.
Traveling businessman David Mann angers the driver of a rusty tanker while crossing the California desert. A simple trip turns deadly, as Mann struggles to stay on the road while the tanker plays cat and mouse with his life.
An immigrant in search of the American dream is forced to take a room in a boarding house and soon finds herself in a nightmare from which she can't escape.
On a desolate country highway, two homeward-bound teens are nearly run off the road by a maniac in a beat-up truck, and later spot him shoving what appears to be a body down a sewer pipe.