I had an epiphany last night while I was in bed, unable to fall asleep after listening to one of the stories on Pseudopod. A complete "Aha!" moment that made me feel validated in what I had assumed was an irrational fear for years.
Let me start by saying that plenty of movies scared me as a child. Every time I watched Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, I thought the movie would change and Talbot (in wolf form) would finally catch Wilbur in the woods. The Tingler terrified me. The thought that not being able to scream, being paralyzed with fear, could lead to death...That's frightening. And let's not forget dolls. Anything involving dolls would prevent me from sleeping. I had a recurring nightmare about them after watching an episode of The Twilight Zone. They would walk from the kitchen, through the living room, to my bedroom. Hundreds of them. I can only assume they intended to kill me, based on the fear I felt when I woke up. I think I had that nightmare almost every night when I was seven years old. (I still remember it vividly, along with another recurring nightmare I had.)
But none of that compares to how unsettled I felt after watching Darkness Falls.
If you don't already know, Darkness Falls is about the Tooth Fairy. If you look at her on the night when she comes to take your last baby tooth, she will kill you. And if she doesn't kill you, she will stalk you all your adult life until she gets another opportunity to get the job done. The only thing that can protect you is staying in the light.
It sounds pretty ridiculous, right? It is. And yet, I spent years sleeping with the covers over my head so that if I opened my eyes in the middle of the night, I wouldn't see something I wasn't meant to see. Keep in mind, I was not a child when I watched this movie. So why was I so afraid? Last night, I figured out the answer to that question.
Darkness Falls taps into that fear of waking up in the middle of the night to find an intruder in your bedroom. What would you do? If you pretend you are asleep, maybe they won't harm you. ("If I don't move, open my eyes or make any sound, they won't notice me." Like they are a Jurassic Park T-rex.) However, once they realize you are awake, it's all over. And I think, subconsciously, that is what really disturbed me about that film for so long. Not the idea of the Tooth Fairy (I even acknowledged, to myself, that the movie was terrible and being afraid of it was pathetic), but the idea of anyone catching you sneak a glance at them while they are invading your home and what that would mean for your safety.
I am not the only person who was afraid of this movie. Everyone I talked to agreed that it was horrifying and if it was ever brought up during a late night conversation, it was guaranteed to make us lose sleep. Now I understand why. The Tooth Fairy is not going to try to kill you while you are sleeping, it is not possible. Someone breaking into your house and attacking you in the middle of the night is not beyond the realm of possibility though. So well done, Darkness Falls. Even being one of the most ludicrous movies I have ever seen, you still managed to scare everyone I know.
If you have yet to watch this movie, you should. Late at night, with all the lights off. There's nothing to be afraid of, right?
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