Instant Favorite.

Expected more

Beautiful, moving film.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

A trip of tiny gnome-like creatures who reside inside the fireplace of a big old mansion decide they want to bring young lass Sally (a fine and sympathetic performance by Kim Darby) into their secret netherworld.Director John Newland keeps the absorbing story moving at a steady pace, does an ace job of creating and sustaining a supremely spooky atmosphere, makes the most of the sprawling large house main location, and grounds the fantastic premise in a believable everyday reality. Nigel McKeand's intelligent and intriguing script wisely keeps things pleasingly ambiguous right until the very chilling end; you're never quite sure why exactly these little goblins are after Sally or what they plan to do to Sally once they get their clawed hands on her. The excellent acting by the sturdy cast helps a lot: Jim Hutton as Sally's insensitive careerist husband Alex, Barbara Anderson as Sally's loyal and concerned best gal pal Joan Kahn, William Demarest as amiable handyman Mr. Harris, and Pedro Armendariz Jr. as likable interior designer Francisco Perez. Felix Silla, Patty Maloney, and Tama De Treaux portray the creepy and diminutive monsters who prowl about in the dark and speak in scary whispers ("Sally, we want you"). Both Billy Goldenberg's spare shivery score and Andrew Jackson's sharp, yet shadowy cinematography further enhance the overall eerie mood. Worthy of its cult classic status.

This was the film that gave nightmares to a whole generation of children, who were afraid of what might be in the closest, behind the door, or under the bed: mysterious and evil little creatures who laugh maniacally to each other as they plan to harm a young newlywed couple(played by Jim Hutton & Kim Darby) who have moved into their home, after the wife foolishly opens the grate in the cellar, releasing them from their underground prison.Though short in length, and threadbare on character development and plot detail, this creates an unsettling mood of fear, and atmosphere of dread, that it overcomes these issues to be an effective little gem; and of course there is that ending, the stuff of said nightmares...

"We want you, Sally. We want you." Some people can't leave well enough alone. A young woman (Kim Darby; True Grit) inherits a mansion from her dead grandmother, insisting on using a closed-up fireplace, sealed for appropriate reasons she will soon discover to her horror. The old family carpenter (William Demarest; My Three Sons) forewarns Sally (Darby) about leaving the ash door to the fireplace alone, but curiosity gets the best of her and in opening it with a wrench releases a long dormant evil. "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" is definitely one of those "the monsters in the dark of the cellar are out to get you" movies. I was quite amazed at how faithful Guillermo Del Toro was to this film with his remake (starring Katie Holmes , except featuring a little girl as the one desired by the fireplace creatures), applying many of the basics presented here. John Sutton (The Twilight Zone) is the frustrated husband who believes his wife is delusional, her ravings about hearing and seeing monsters inspired by the elderly construction worker, who was insistent upon not opening the fireplace. Alex (Sutton) is on the fast track at his firm, at that time in his life when promotions and a promising career are of great importance to him. Sally feels he is more concerned with success than their marriage, but this soon plays second fiddle to the danger of hostile monsters who know how to run and hide, their sensitivity to the light her only real weapon against them. While I'm certain you will be screaming at the screen for them just to leave (echoing similar feelings for couples who live in the cursed Amityville house), there wouldn't be a chiller if that were the case; making a rational decision to stay elsewhere when the fear of being harmed is palpable isn't proper for horror cinema. Anyway, the creatures reminded me of the Zulu doll from Dan Curtis' Trilogy of Terror (with Karen Black the one under assault), and it seems as if stop motion might have been used. Carefully submerging them in the dark as not to fully expose the creatures as puppets, it was a good idea and that threat of them lurking somewhere in the house, small enough to stay just out of sight, pop out when they are least expected, able to move about freely (…because who but Sally believes these things exist?) is always reminded to us. Darby presents a confused, bothered, and frightened victim of these beings, her situation amplified because Sutton criticizes her for talking such "crazy nonsense". Demarest has a key role in the film because his character knows more than he can reveal. Barbara Anderson also has an unceremonious part as the friend, Joan, who cares and is concerned for Sally, willing to listen even if what she hears sounds a bit far-fetched. Bleak ending is actually lifted exact for the remake and I still don't care for it because it just seemed silly and nonsensical to me. This 70s made for television dark house movie has a cult reputation, celebrated by those who grew up with it during the time when it first aired (and perhaps times shown late at night afterwards). I think the doom and sinister of the scenario and house itself are well directed, even if the payoff didn't quite work for me personally. The motive behind the behavior of the monsters is never quite fully explained, perhaps this is acceptable and welcomed by many, but I found it rather unsatisfying. That said, I did find this rather enjoyable for the most part...I think it is more about mood and suspense than a remarkable storyline. When it is taken into account that the film was made in like two weeks, I have to give all involved a pat on the back for accomplishing what they do within such a limited schedule.

I was surprised this was a made for TV movie. As a child I was a Fangoria magazine reader and loved horror movies and Halloween was and still is my favorite 'Holiday'. Even as an adult, when people tried to scare me, I would not flinch a millimeter and drove them crazy. THIS movie was the only 1 of 2 movies I can ever remember to 'scare' me as a child. For those who have watched it and remember the centerpiece fright, that was one that got me (do not consider this a spoiler because it in no way gives away what happened and at what time). My mother had a centerpiece on the table VERY similar to the one in the movie and I eyeballed that damned thing for a good year. I really cannot say this was a well made, high budget movie, but as a whole, it measure up perfectly in suspense, the actors did well (a lot better than remake, that's for sure) and I wound up getting the DVD, clear from overseas, just a few years ago. Debated on an 8, 9 or 10 rating before finally settling on a 10 based on 'when' it was made and not against everything SINCE then./if you wonder what the 'other' movie was that scared me, it was one of the 'Buried Alive' movies from this same era. The movie 'bothered' me actually more than scared me. The scare came from rolling out of bed w/o waking up, then rolling in under my bed and waking up, trying to sit up and slamming my head into cross boards and having the entire movie flood my head. Happened the NIGHT after I watched it.