DVD Reviews

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark: Special Edition - Warner Archive Collection Review

By Jeff Swindoll Aug 23, 2011, 22:35 GMT

It\'s back! The classic TV MOW that continues to cast a spell almost 40 years after it was first broadcast; in a new remastered and enhanced edition. Sally (Kim Darby) and Alex Farnham\'s (Jim Hutton) marriage has a sinister wedge driven through it; when her occult "imaginings" threaten to derail his career after they inherit Sally\'s grandmother\'s house. Also starring William Demarest. Enhanced Content: Superfan commentary track from horror fans ...more

We have the remake from producer Guillermo del Toro to thank, but the Warner Archive Collection has redone the 1973 original to coincide with the release of the redo.  In what I hope is a sign of things to come for the Archives collection, they even include some special features as well as a new transfer. 

Sally Farnham (Kim Darby) has inherited her grandmother’s old dark house.  Her husband Alex (Jim Hutton) is an ambitious attorney.  She sets about redecorating the mansion with an interior designer (Pedro Armendariz Jr.).  Mr. Harris (William Demarest) is an older man who did renovations for Sally’s grandmother and the couple has hired him to do repairs as well.

Sally and the designer come across a locked room but Sally tracks down the key.  When they open the room, they find her grandfather’s study and a bricked up fireplace.  Mr. Harris says that he bricked up the fireplace on her grandmother’s orders and he did it so efficiently that removing the bricks would destroy the fireplace. 

However, there’s an ash cleanout on the side that is just bolted over.  Sally is curious and unscrews the covering to look inside the fireplace.  She and Alex discover that Mr. Harris was right and that they’d have to tear the whole thing out.  However, her undoing of the steel door allows the little creatures that have been imprisoned in the fireplace to escape and they want Sally to return with them down into the darkness.

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is a well-remembered TV “movie of the week” from 1973.  It and that Zuni Fetish Doll are ones that often are cited when TV horror is mentioned.  Dan Curtis’ Trilogy of Terror was more accessible for many years, but the Warner Archives DVD-R burn-on-demand service has allowed much to get out of that stuffy vault… not just little otherworldly creatures.

I have to report that the film has a creepy atmosphere and is still very effective for something that appeared on the small screen.  Maybe the fashions didn’t hold up, but the film still has chills, unanswered questions that add to the mystery, and the bravery to go with an unhappy ending. 

Probably scared the crap out of those 1970s kids watching it in the dark, and more likely why it is still remembered for doing so.  I predicted in my original review that a wider release (meaning on manufactured disc and not DVD-R) might happen when the remake got closer to being released.  Happily (though fans of double dipping will not be amused) they have redone the title as a special edition.  Even better, they have remastered the film so it looks much better than the original release as well as adding some goodies. 

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is presented in fullscreen and vivid.  This new edition adds a commentary from Steve “Uncle Creepy” Barton from Dreadcentral.com, Final Destination screenwriter Jeff Reddick, and Fangoria writer Sean Abley.  The commentary is both funny and informative.  They do well in providing a good fan commentary in the film’s short running time.

Could there have been a bit more?  Sure, would’ve been nice to hear from Kim Darby or del Toro’s thoughts (again, there may be a special special edition when the remake hits home video) but I’ll take what I can get. 

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is still effective after all those years and this new special edition only adds to the buying value.  Some may do so begrudgingly if they have the original release, but there’s enough to offer that the re-release is worth the price (currently, it’s also on sale on their website).

Visit the DVD database for more information. Don't Be Afraid of the Dark: Special Edition can be purchased through the Warner Brothers Archive Collection.