Last week I saw a commercial for a movie trailer that caught my attention, almost as if a cold clammy little hand poked out from under the couch and pulled me toward the heat duct…DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK.
Are they kidding?!
This movie single handed-ly gave me a bladder the size of a rugby ball when I was a kid. It was my first monster movie and I can still recall the creepy little voices whispering, "Saaalllllyeee… Saaaalllllyeee…" in the dark. The glimpse of the little ghouls/demons that I could only describe as having a piece of caramel corn for a head, still swim through my head. I was haunted by this movie well into my 20's.
Now they are remaking it? I am sure their intention is to traumatize an entire new generation of children. After witnessing this movie, I would not go to the bathroom by myself at my grandparents' home, because it was up a flight of stairs all by itself. It didn't matter if it was noon and the sun was shining bright. I would not get out of my bed at night to go to the bathroom and barely wanted my head above the covers. Any noise, however slight, would set me on edge for hours in my bed.
After seeing the new trailer for DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK, I was spurred on to research some of the other movies that added to my fears as a child. Remember THE WORLD BEYOND with its Mud Man and his severed arm that had a life of its own and THE MONSTER CLUB with its little stories of fog, ghouls, vampires and other creepies? These three are the apex of terror for me. I can only hope my kids will build an apex of their own to look back on and laugh….
— Heather
Monster Club was a huge deal to me. I saw it once on a lazy Sunday afternoon at my Grandma's house when I was 6 and spent the next 15 years trying to find a way to watch it again. That final story, which that clip is from, haunted me for years….and I am so glad I stumbled across it all those years ago.
No matter just how goofy THE MONSTER CLUB may be, the scene you've spotlighted here always sends chills down my spine and should be hailed as one of the most genuinly creepy moments in horror film history. Choosing to tell the town's past by using pictures instead of filmed images is a stroke of genius. It's too bad the rest of the movie dosn't live up to this, but the first story about the creature who can whistle someone to death seems to work well too.