Darkness Falls(2003)
2003 · Jonathan Liebesman · 86 min
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.
Thriller · Horror
5.6675 votes
TMDB score
2/5
Intensity
1/5
Gore
1/5
Stays with you
How Darkness Falls scares
Darkness Falls leans hard on the light-versus-dark gimmick, with the ghost only able to attack in darkness, which the movie uses as an excuse for constant blackout jump scares. The pacing is quick and shallow, throwing loud shocks at you every few minutes instead of building any real dread. It's a glowing-eyed, flying-monster type of scare rather than a mind-bending one, and it wears off fast once the lights come back on. Good for a quick, silly scare with friends, not for anyone looking to be truly unsettled.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, Darkness Falls rates psychological 2/5, visceral 3/5, gore 1/5, lingering effect 1/5, and overall intensity 2/5.
- Psychological: 2 of 5
- Visceral: 3 of 5
- Gore: 1 of 5
- Lingering: 1 of 5
- Intensity: 2 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 85 of 100 — leans Jump scares
Supernatural vs Real-world: 10 of 100 — leans Supernatural
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 25 of 100 — leans Fun-scary
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
A brief calm opening gives way to a steady climb of scares that keeps ramping up through a near-nonstop back half.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 4, 5, 4.
How scary is Darkness Falls?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, Darkness Falls rates 2/5 — moderately scary, delivering its fear through jump scares more than lingering dread. It works on both fronts, unsettling the mind while going for the body. Expect it to be restrained with gore and fun-first. The dread fades once the credits roll.
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