Steineded How sad is this?

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Edison Witt The first must-see film of the year.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

Andy Howlett My main reason for writing this is to ask if there is another version of this story, possibly as an episode of an anthology series like 'One Step Beyond' (another Newland triumph)? The story is very familiar - the neurotic wife, the creatures that come from the bowels of the house to attack her, the disbelieving husband etc. Yet I don't think I have ever seen this telefilm, and the title does not ring a bell. Confused. I've given it a score of 8 as with Newland at the helm it can't miss!

Theo Robertson This is one of those movies you might have seen on TV late one night in your childhood years and you forget all the details such as what the plot is , and who starred in it and eventually you forget the title and yet you can quite clearly and vividly the imagery of it - that of a young woman being trapped in a dark house with a group of malevolent demons with fright inducing faces . I seeing this too from my childhood and it is very remarkable that a TVM from the 1970s has so far seen a grand total of over 160 people come to this page to comment on it . This must be one of the great masterworks of made for television films musn't it ? Sadly after seeing this 35 years after seeing it for the first time I came to this website and looked through a fair amount of comments that summed up my feelings and that is my memory cheated and much of my affection I carried towards this TVM might mainly be down to nostalgia . Reading a comment from 2008 it appears DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK had an average rating of 7.3 and now it's dropped considerably to 6.9 which isn't too bad for a made for television production and far far higher than a great number of Hallmark and SyFy productions get but one knows the rating will fall further as more people either having seen this many years ago and rewatching it as an adult or people hearing of its great reputation and seeing it for the first time will be disappointed To be fair a lot of thought has gone in to the realisation of the demon people . . They're never entirely convincing but some congratulations for the effects crew for putting some imagination in to their creations . They are somewhat daft and yet when they're revealed their never as silly looking as they could have been . There is also something practical about the way they use implements such as a coat hanger to switch off lights as they stalk Sally . They do work best when they're unseen and whisper in cold unearthly tones . Little else is outstanding and the cast are very wooden especially Jim Hutton who is capable of giving light comical performances even in the most mediocre of movies yet seems entirely bored with everything here . I don't know if it's the fault of the cinematographer or if I saw a disgracefully poor print copy but I often couldn't see was happening on screen to due scenes being dimply lit and DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK - BE FRUSTRATED BY IT would have been a more appropriate title

atinder I seen the remake before only one time. I did not like at all, i found very meh and very boring and I didn't like the final out come at all.This wasn't not great but was a lot better then remake, It did have some cool scenes in this movie, the attack scenes could have been a lot better.I loved the way those things looked in this movie a lot more creepy there the ones in the remake.I really shocked how the movie ended as I didn't think that would have ended at all, Nice for change wen't movies don't end to predicable.The acting was really good in this movie6 out of 10

trashgang This 1973 flick made for television has so many followers that it became a classic in the horror genre. It was made in a time when horror wasn't that popular but being broadcast at a normal hour in the US some kids were really scared and as a grown up they still talked about this creeper.John Newland, the director was well known for making TV series but he made a few television flicks too like Crawlspace (1972) but let Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark being his most famous one. Due being a television production they brought in two popular names for the main leads. Kim Darby playing Sally came out of TV series to make this flick and went back to television and some other famous horrors like Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Meyers as Debra Strode. The other name, Jim Hutton also came from television series but also appeared in some classics like The Green Berets aside John Wayne. Sadly he died in 1979 at age 45 due liver cancer. They did a great job in this flick.But it was those scary little voices that made the movie. And of course the story line itself. It had a bit of fantasy over it and that attracted the little viewers but how many did watch under their bed years after watching this flick. The buggers itself doesn't look very frightening up to today's standards but it was the way it was filmed and edited that made it believable. Still, if you watch it nowadays it is outdated but it's a must see how they made a creepy flick just before the heydays of horror.Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Story 4/5 Effects 3/5 Comedy 0/5