PRESENTS

Despite her lackluster looks - which invoke less fearful oppressor and more phantom of the opera - Darkness Fall's 'Brothers Grimm-esque' toothfairy is marinated in enough early 2000's nostalgia to tip the scales from chintzy to charming. Other aspects of the film follow suit; starting with a story arch so easy to swallow it's almost forgettable and ending with an ensemble performance from the cast of 90's stars so middle of the road you could use it as a control group. These traits in a film with higher stakes would be damning, but in a short, mid budget, off-blockbuster feature like this one anything more than some cheap scares and a tried and true story arch risk overloading the B-horror ecosystem. Darkness Falls is just complex enough to keep from being boring and just short enough to not warrant more complexity.