Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

Sally Farnham (Kim Darby) and her husband Alex Farnham (Jim Hutton) move to an old mansion that belonged to Sally's grandmother and they hire an interior designer and the carpenter Mr. Harris (William Demarest) to redecorate the manor.

Sally opens a locked door in the house and finds a sealed fireplace and ash pit. She asks Mr. Harris to open the fireplace but the old man argues with her and refuses to follow the order. Sally uses Mr. Harris' wrench to remove the bolts of the ash pit cover. Soon Sally finds that evil little creatures that fear the light have escaped from the underground through the ash pit and are threatening her. However, Alex and her friend Joan Kahn (Barbara Anderson) believe that Sally's imagination is affected by the words of Mr. Harris.

"Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" is a simple and effective horror film made for television released in Brazil only on VHS. The story of a young couple that moves to an old house and the wife Kim Darby, the unforgettable Miri of "Star Trek" and the girl Mattie Ross of "True Grit", releases demon-like creatures is original and developed in an adequate pace.

In 2010, Guillermo del Toro remade this film with a lame screenplay that included silly sub-plots and spoiled the original story. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Criaturas da Noite" ("Creatures of the Night")

Note: On 15 December 2021, I saw this film again.

Note: On 17 March 2023, I saw this film again in a recently released DVD.