Darkness Falls (2003)

Director:

Jonathan Liebesman

Writers (WGA):

Joe Harris (story)
John Fasano (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

24 January 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Every Legend Has Its Dark Side.

Plot:

A vengeful spirit has taken the form of the Tooth Fairy to exact vengeance on the town that lynched her 150 years earlier. Her only opposition is the only child, now grown up, who has survived her before.

Plot Keywords:

Tooth | Tooth Fairy | Boy | Darkness | Light

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Chaney Kley	...	Kyle Walsh
Emma Caulfield	...	Caitlin Greene
Lee Cormie	...	Michael Greene
Grant Piro	...	Larry Fleishman
Sullivan Stapleton	...	Officer Matt Henry
Steve Mouzakis	...	Dr. Peter Murphy
Peter Curtin	...	Dr. Travis
Kestie Morassi	...	Nurse Lauren
Jenny Lovell	...	Nurse Alexandra
John Stanton	...	Captain Thomas Henry
Angus Sampson	...	Raymond 'Ray' Winchester (as Angus Murray Lincoln Sampson)
Charlotte Rees	...	Marie Winchester
Joshua Anderson	...	Young Kyle Walsh
Emily Browning	...	Young Caitlin Greene
Rebecca McCauley	...	Margaret Walsh (Kyle's Mom)
Daniel Daperis	...	Young Larry Fleishman
Andrew Bayly	...	Officer Andy Batten
Aaron Gazzola	...	Billy (Little Boy)
Cecelia Specht	...	Little Boy's Mother
Matt Robertson	...	Little Boy's Father
Mark Blackmore	...	Bartender
Joshua Parnell	...	Store Clerk
Rayne Guest	...	Spilled Beer Girl
Andrew Dauchy	...	Drinking Buddy (as Andrew T. Dauchy)
Bruce Hughes	...	Medical Examiner
Roy Edmunds	...	Police Officer
Philip Reilley	...	Police Officer (as Phil Reilley)
Mark Wickham	...	Police Officer
Marnie Statkus	...	Police Officer
Gary A. Hecker	...	Tooth Fairy Vocal Effects (voice) (as Gary Hecker)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Antony Burrows	...	Matilda Dixon (uncredited)
Gerard Cogley	...	Security Guard (uncredited)
Christopher T. Warren	...	Onlooker (uncredited)

Directed by
Jonathan Liebesman

Writing credits (WGA)
Joe Harris		(story)
John Fasano		(screenplay) and
James Vanderbilt		(screenplay) and
Joe Harris		(screenplay)

Produced by
Lou Arkoff	....	executive producer
Derek Dauchy	....	executive producer
Irene Dobson	....	line producer
John Fasano	....	producer
John Hegeman	....	producer
Lauren Kisilevsky	....	associate producer
William Sherak	....	producer
Jason Shuman	....	producer

Original Music by
Brian Tyler

Cinematography by
Dan Laustsen		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Timothy Alverson		(as Tim Alverson)
Steve Mirkovich

Casting by
Maura Fay
Lynn Ruthven		(as Lynne Ruthven)

Production Design by
George Liddle

Art Direction by
Tom Nursey

Set Decoration by
Rebecca Cohen

Costume Design by
Anna Borghesi
Judy Bunn
Shane Phillips
Roberta Shaw
Jane Summer-Eve

Makeup Department
Nadia Cowell	....	hair stand-by
Nadia Cowell	....	makeup stand-by
Vivien Mepham	....	makeup designer (as Viv Mepham)
Todd Tucker	....	special makeup effects artist
Erica Wells	....	makeup artist
Cheryl Williams	....	key hair stylist

Production Management
Laura May Alcock	....	unit production manager
Jim Conrads	....	post-production supervisor
Kristopher Kasper	....	post-production supervisor: Imaginary Forces
Grayden Le Breton	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert Brown	....	first assistant director: second unit
Greg Cobain	....	second assistant director: second unit
Greg Cobain	....	second second assistant director
Miranda Colman	....	third assistant director
Jamie Crooks	....	first assistant director
Jason Faulkner	....	second assistant director
Hamish Roxburgh	....	third assistant director: reshoots

Art Department
Sean Ahern	....	foreman
Liala Allain	....	set painter (as Laila Allain)
Lance Beriman	....	carpenter
Timothy Blaikie	....	set builder
Martin Bruveris	....	head scenic artist
Ross Cairns	....	props carpenter
Graeme Callander	....	storyboard artist
Lusia Carovola	....	assistant set dresser
Reece Cliff	....	greensman
Monica Cogan	....	set dresser
Dominic Connor	....	carpenter
Richard Crowe	....	standby props
Jesse D'Angelo	....	storyboard artist
William Davidson	....	set builder
Rohan Dawson	....	set painter
Alex Devcic	....	prop maker
Elliot Doig	....	carpenter
Toni Forsyth	....	set dresser
Diana Freeman	....	art department coordinator
Timothy Gale	....	welder
Dean Hagers	....	set builder
Rain Hart	....	illustrator
Phin Hernworth	....	set builder
Jenny Hitchcock	....	set designer
Brett Laker	....	welder
Eugene Land	....	senior set builder
Fergus Leese	....	construction coordinator
Marcus Lewis	....	set dresser
Matthew Love	....	set builder
Peter Luscombe	....	prop maker
Andrew Macintyre	....	set builder
Annette Mackie	....	design assist (as Annette Vandenberg)
Dale Mackie	....	illustrator
Robert Molnar	....	assistant set dresser
Robert Moxham	....	standby props
Kate Murray	....	assistant set dresser
John Noble	....	welder
Mitchell O'Sullivan	....	carpenter
Brian Osmond	....	welder
Peter 'Babylon' Owens	....	prop maker (as Peter Owens)
George Papadimas	....	prop maker
Janie Parker	....	assistant property master
Janie Parker	....	props buyer
Matthew Parker-Charlton	....	set builder
Mario Peraic	....	greensman
Slavko Peraic	....	set dresser
Renata Petanceski	....	set painter
Rolland Pike	....	property master
Patrick Plummer	....	art department accountant
Ivan Poa	....	carpenter
Wayne Porter	....	steel foreman
Amy Robinson	....	set painter
Andy Robinson	....	paint foreman (as Andrew Robinson)
Cameron Ross	....	set builder
Brianna Seale	....	art department assistant
Chris Sidwell	....	senior set builder (as Christopher Sidwell)
Jeremy Sparks	....	construction manager
Craig Sutherland	....	set builder
Stuart Symes	....	carpenter
Daniel Talbot	....	set builder
Gregg Thomas	....	greensman
Brendan Tolley	....	storyboard artist
Patrick Vaughn	....	carpenter
Karin Wemmering	....	carpenter
Matthew Weston	....	foreman
Paula Whiteway	....	set designer (as Wendy Paula Whiteway)
Carly Williams	....	set painter
Max Williams	....	welder
Tony Williams	....	assistant art director
Simon Wood	....	graphics
Stefan Dechant	....	storyboard artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Christopher Barnett	....	re-recording engineer
Chris Barron	....	digital sound transferer (as Christopher Barron)
Michael J. Benavente	....	supervising adr editor (as Michael Benavente)
Tim Burby	....	digital sound transferer
Lisa Chino	....	assistant sound editor
Sean England	....	machine room operator
Frank E. Eulner	....	supervising sound editor
Ben Faiman	....	boom operator
Will Files	....	assistant sound designer
Ken Fischer	....	sound editor
Alison Fisher	....	dialogue editor
Lisa K. Fowle	....	sound
Jonathan Greber	....	digital sound transferer
Vincent Guisetti	....	foley artist
Scott Guitteau	....	sound effects editor
Todd Harris	....	assistant sound editor
Gary A. Hecker	....	foley artist (as Gary Hecker)
David Hunter	....	digital editorial services
Jason W. Jennings	....	sound effects editor
Pamela Kahn	....	foley artist
Noah Katz	....	digital editorial services
Tricia Linklater	....	first assistant sound editor
Howard London	....	adr mixer
Brian Magerkurth	....	machine room operator (as Brian D. Magerkurth)
Charles Maynes	....	temp sound effects editor
Chris Navarro	....	adr recordist
Andrew Neil	....	adr mixer
Brandon Proctor	....	sound mix technician
Mark Purcell	....	machine room operator
Gary Rizzo	....	sound re-recording mixer
Kyle Rochlin	....	foley mixer
Ronald G. Roumas	....	machine room operator (as Ron Roumas)
Brian Ruberg	....	foley mixer
Dean Ryan	....	boom operator
Jurgen Scharpf	....	sound mix technician
John Schiefelbein	....	production sound mixer
Randy Thom	....	sound designer
Randy Thom	....	sound re-recording mixer
Eric Thompson	....	adr mixer
Steven Ticknor	....	supervising sound editor
John Torrijos	....	video services

Special Effects by
Peter Armstrong	....	special effects technician
Aaron Beaucaire	....	special effects coordinator
Brian Jeffrey Belcher	....	special effects technician
Gillian Farrow	....	special effects technician
Clint Ingram	....	special effects technician
Andrew Jones	....	special effects technician
Paul Katte	....	special effects makeup
Lindsay MacGowan	....	art department: Stan Winston Studio
Keith Marbory	....	special effects supervisor
Nick Nicolaou	....	special effects makeup
Ali Pearce	....	special effects assistant
Brian Pearce	....	special effects supervisor
Cassie Pearce	....	special effects assistant
John Sanderson	....	special effects technician (as Phillip John Sanderson)
Evan Schiff	....	special effects: Stan Winston Studio
David Trethewey	....	special effects technician
Peter Trethewey	....	special effects technician
Lisa Wang	....	special effects coordinator
Steve Wang	....	special effects
Stan Winston	....	tooth fairy designer

Visual Effects by
Victoria Alonso	....	visual effects producer
Christian Boudman	....	digital compositor
Christian Boudman	....	lead artist
Chris Burn	....	digital compositor: Animal Logic
Aimee Campbell	....	roto/paint: SPI
Debbie Denise	....	executive visual effects producer
Brandon England	....	visual effects
Jeanmarc Furio	....	digital compositor: Animal Logic
Joshua Geisler-Amhowitz	....	digital matte painter
Damien Gray	....	animator
Leah Hardstark	....	visual effects research
Anthony Harris	....	digital color timer
Bernadette Hayes	....	animator
Christian Hejnal	....	digital production manager
Richard R. Hoover	....	visual effects supervisor
Kevin J. Jolly	....	visual effects editor: SPI
Steven Anthony Khoury	....	3D visual effects
Steven Anthony Khoury	....	lighting technical director
Richard J. Landon	....	creature construction team
Jolene McCaffrey	....	digital compositor: Animal Logic
Todd Mesher	....	visual effects compositor
Robert Davis Oh	....	film recording technician
Jeff Olm	....	Inferno artist: SPI
Sunit Parekh	....	technical director: Animal Logic
Murray Pope	....	visual effects executive producer
Dan Schmit	....	visual effects supervisor: additional effects
David Short	....	lead technical director: Animal Logic
Doug Spilatro	....	visual effects
Barry Weiss	....	senior staff: SPI
Carsten Dietz	....	Inferno artist: main titles (uncredited)
Michael Halford	....	texture artist (uncredited)

Stunts
Amanda Buchanan	....	stunts
Tom Coltraine	....	stunts
Michelle Comerford	....	stunts (as Michelle Commerford)
Morgan Evans	....	stunts
Ashley Fairfield	....	stunt rigger
Ashley Fairfield	....	stunts
Collette Hardcastle	....	stunts
Selina Harmen	....	stunts
Tony Lynch	....	stunts (as Tonny Lynch)
Emma Moran	....	stunts
Nicole Moro	....	stunts
Andy Owen	....	stunts
Brett Praed	....	stunts
Glenn Ruehland	....	stunt coordinator
Greg Stuart	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Glenn Suter	....	stunt rigger
David Wald	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Glenn Arrowsmith	....	grip
Tov Belling	....	first assistant camera
Steven Cook	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Karl Engeler	....	chief lighting technician
Bradley Galgon	....	electrician
Robyn Good	....	rigger
Tiny Good	....	rigger
Adrian Goodwin	....	grip
Luke Green	....	lighting stand-in: "Michael"
Chris Hansford	....	grip
Rob Hansford	....	key grip
Damian Heckendorf	....	grip (as Damien Heckendorf)
Gillian Huxley	....	rigging gaffer
Andrew Jerram	....	assistant camera
James Kalisch	....	video assist
Grant Kennelly	....	key rigging grip
Paul Kurzke	....	construction electrician
Justin M. Lubin	....	still photographer: pre-production
Harry Panagiotidis	....	camera operator
Harry Panagiotidis	....	steadicam operator
Mark Rogers	....	additional still photographer
Juan Ruiz Anchía	....	cinematographer: prologue and end titles
Geoff Skilbeck	....	second assistant camera
Martin Turner	....	director of photography: second unit
Richard Turton	....	electrician
Anthony Veith	....	electrician
Stephen F. Windon	....	additional photographer
Suzy Wood	....	still photographer

Casting Department
Lisa Wright	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Julie Nixon	....	costume buyer
Damir Peranovic	....	costumer
Keryn Ribbands	....	costume supervisor
Roberta Shaw	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Marlen Hill	....	negative cutter
Kristopher Kasper	....	editor: main titles
Tim Mirkovich	....	assistant editor
Chris Regan	....	color timer
Donna Smith	....	apprentice editor

Music Department
Paul Andrews	....	composer: song "Gunboat"
Brent Brooks	....	music editor: temp music
Gary Krause	....	music editor
Joe Lisanti	....	music editor
Ernie Mannix	....	music editor: special edition
Dana Niu	....	orchestrator
David Polemeni	....	film music producer
Brian Tyler	....	conductor
Brian Tyler	....	orchestrator
Jeff Vaughn	....	scoring mixer
Mark Jan Wlodarkiewicz	....	music editor: temp

Transportation Department
Stephen Lack	....	action vehicle coordinator

Other crew
Ahmet Ahmet	....	title designer
Devin Bailey	....	production assistant (as Scott Bailey)
Antony Burrows	....	stand-in
Lachlan Collins	....	double: "Michael", second unit
Kyle Cooper	....	title designer
Luke Coulson	....	production assistant
Nadia Cowell	....	production assistant
Andrew Dauchy	....	assistant: Mr. Shuman & Mr. Sherak (as Andrew T. Dauchy)
Lara Deam	....	stand-in
Edwin Dunkley	....	video services (as Ed Dunkley)
Suzanne Evans-Booth	....	production coordinator: gold coast
John Fox	....	armorer
Kristine Fraser	....	assistant to producers and director: gold coast
Victor Fukushima	....	unit assistant
Phillip Gore	....	assistant accountant
Luke Green	....	stand-in
Judy Hallin	....	production coordinator
John P. Husky	....	production assistant
Lyn Jones	....	production accountant (as Carolyn Jones)
Mike Lane	....	client services
Rachael Leslie	....	assistant: Mr. Liebesman
Patrick Lussier	....	visual consultant
Annette Mackie	....	production assistant (as Annette Vandenberg)
Michael Madigan	....	assistant location manager
Brian Mah	....	title designer
Brianna Mann	....	production secretary
Kristijana Maric	....	assistant accountant
Michael Muehlhelm	....	production assistant
Eva Napolean	....	client services
Ira Napoliello	....	assistant: Mr. Dauchy
Gordon Ng	....	client services
Joe Pampanella	....	safety supervisor
Shane Phillips	....	production assistant
Patrick Plummer	....	assistant accountant
Alistair Reilly	....	location manager
Brianna Seale	....	production assistant
Fiona Searson	....	unit publicist
Kath Sinclair	....	production assistant (as Katherine Sinclair)
Ellen Stafford	....	producer: main titles
Jo Weeks	....	script supervisor
Michelle Whitehurst	....	assistant production coordinator
Steve Wyld	....	production assistant (as Steven Wyld)

Thanks
Shirley Jaffe	....	in memory of

Production Companies

• Revolution Studios (presents)
• Distant Corners Entertainment Group Inc. (as Distant Corners)
• Blue Star Productions (as Blue Star)
• Village Roadshow Pictures

Distributors

• Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) (2003) (worldwide) (all media)
• Columbia Pictures (2003) (USA) (theatrical)
• Revolution Studios Distribution Company (2003) (USA) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (2003) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Film Distributors (2003) (UK) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Film (2003) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films (2003) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Italia (2003) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Entertainment (2003) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (2003) (Argentina) (all media)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2003) (Germany) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2003) (Switzerland) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2003) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (2004) (Argentina) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (2004) (Argentina) (VHS)
• RTL Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (TV) (RTL5)

Special Effects

• Animal Logic
• Blue Star Productions
• Makeup Effects Group Studio
• Sony Pictures Imageworks (SPI)
• Stan Winston Studio (creature designed and created by)

Other Companies

• Imaginary Forces  prologue and end titles
• Motion Picture Lighting  lighting
• Showtech Australia  drapes supplied by
• Showtech Australia  rigging crew and equipment supplied by
• Skywalker Sound  post-production sound services
• Varèse Sarabande  soundtrack

Also Known As:

"En la oscuridad de la noche" - Argentina (imdb display title), Peru, Venezuela
"Der Fluch von Darkness Falls" - Austria, Germany
"Темнота наступает" - Russia
"A sötétség leple" - Hungary
"Al calare delle tenebre" - Italy
"Darkness falls: La ville des ténèbres" - Canada (French title)
"Die Legende von Darkness Falls" - Germany
"En la oscuridad" - Spain
"Fovos sto skotadi" - Greece (DVD title)
"No Cair da Noite" - Brazil
"Nuits de terreur" - France
"Terror na Escuridão" - Portugal (imdb display title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for terror and horror images, and brief language

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA | Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG | Portugal:M/16 | Italy:T | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15PG (original rating) | Ireland:15 (video rating) | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Ballarat Street, Yarraville, Victoria, Australia

Company:

Revolution Studios

Trivia:

The sound of Matilda Dixon's wailing throughout the film is really the sound of an elderly woman's groaning in bed. The sound was both sped up in the parts where Matilda screams, and slowed down in the places where she gurgles and breathes heavily.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the beginning of the film, young Kyle has two small (unexplained) scratches on the upper part of his left cheek which appear to be about an inch and a half at most. The next morning, a close-up of Kyle shows two very large (approx. 4"-5") slashes on the upper and lower portion of his cheek, as well as what may be a third across his left collar bone. In the preceding and subsequent shots, Kyle is seen with the original small scratches.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator:It is said that over 150 years ago, in the town of Darkness Falls, Matilda Dixon was adored by all the children. Whenever they would lose a tooth they would bring it to her in exchange for a gold coin, earning her the name, the Toothfairy. But fate was not kind to Matilda...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

Soundtrack:

Look Out Below

I enjoyed it more on my second viewing

Kyle Walsh (Chaney Kley) returns to the small town of Darkness Falls to help his childhood girlfriend, Caitlin Greene (Emma Caulfield), whose brother is hospitalized with severe night terrors. It seems that a town legend of the "Tooth Fairy" is haunting his imagination, and Walsh had similar experiences. Is the "Tooth Fairy" more than just a childhood myth?

It's so much fun watching films multiple times. It's very rare that my opinion remains the same on a film from one viewing to the next. Sometimes my rating goes down, sometimes it goes up, and sometimes it stays the same, but I like or dislike the film for different reasons than I did on my first viewing. Darkness Falls (2003) is a case where my rating has gone up quite a bit since my last encounter with it. I think the difference this time was for two primary reasons--one, when I first saw this in the theater it was in the midst of a slew of horror films that had similar themes, and maybe I was getting tired of it by the time I watched this one, and two, I think the positive aspects worked well enough for me this time that I was more forgiving of the few flaws the film has.

And it does have flaws. Let's get those out of the way first. The main flaw for me was some of the super-fast editing during the horror "action" scenes. Occasionally it was so fast that I couldn't very well tell what was going on. However, I also realized this time that at least occasionally, the editing is perfect for the scene. For example, there is a scene set the small town police station that is inherently chaotic. Chaotic editing is the only thing that would fit.

The other flaw is that there are occasional lapses in plot logic. The most crucial for me occurred during the climax, where there were a couple actions taken that I was a bit confused about. It didn't help that the climax is also slightly marred with hyperactive editing.

However, in both of those cases, the good stuff far outweighed the bad for me. The villain in Darkness Falls is excellent in conception and design. The backstory is captivating. When it's initially told through a "slideshow" during the opening credits, I was thinking that I would have preferred them to give me a 10-minute historical prologue, but in retrospect, I'd prefer to see an entire film that's a prequel telling the villain's story. I loved the small town setting of the film, and the interactions of the characters in the script. They seemed like real people to me, with entwined pasts. I loved the three main characters, and thought their performances were very good. Since I'm a big Buffy The Vampire Slayer fan, that might have supplied Emma Caulfield with some unconscious bonus points, but I loved her acting here.

What really matters in a film like this is the horror material, and director Jonathan Liebesman handles it skillfully. Although I'm not usually a fan of modern films having shorter running times (it was more understandable back in the days of literal A and B films on the same bill at a theater), Darkness Falls is compact because there is little "dead time" between the suspenseful material. Liebesman only spends as much time as necessary with "serious drama" to amplify the horror. These types of scenes were handled well enough to make me either forget or not care if there were any rules broken when it comes to keeping the villain at bay.

Although I'm not someone who finds films scary, I can see Darkness Falls working for many viewers in terms of frights. Many primal fears are touched upon. There is an excellent extended bit in complete darkness (you only hear the soundtrack), and of course darkness and things coming out of the darkness is a major theme throughout. You also get scenes of claustrophobia, loss of control, elevators, hospitals, and many other situations that should work on more receptive viewers' sensibilities.

This one is worth seeing, but approach it more in the frame of mind of a fun roller-coaster ride than a literary masterpiece.