Fear(s) of the Dark (Peur(s) du noir) reviews
Review by on 26 Sep 2008
Beautiful and vibrant animation and spine-tingling sound design can’t save this collection of French horror vignettes from leaving the audience unsatisfied.
Subjects as diverse as male castration, rape, patricide and child murder are tackled in this dark and sometimes haunting collection, all painted in hues of charcoal, velvet black and snow white.
However, whilst it is at times thrilling and genuinely disturbing, the film suffers from an incoherence of directorial vision between the different animated segments and a distinct lack of clarity in its narrative. This obscurity gives birth to a growing sense of visual fatigue and frustration within the viewer as they gradually come to realise that the filmmakers aren’t offering any explanations for the relentless succession of, admittedly breathtaking, images.
This ambiguity would only be satisfying if the images created a powerful emotional or physical reaction in and of themselves. It is unfortunate then that FEAR(S) OF THE DARK is only moderately effective in this regard.
If the purpose of this film is to illustrate the universal fears that reside within every human psyche then it is neither shocking enough nor sufficiently nasty to be truly frightening. Non-of the bone chilling quality of horror classics such as THE SHINING, nor the eerie oddness of David Lynch’s surrealist work is present here.
There is a fine line between ambiguity and complexity in storytelling and pretentious incomprehensibility and, despite the best intentions of its talented creators, for most of its duration FEAR(S) OF THE DARK falls into the latter category.
Tom Hadfield, Festival Daily
Beautiful and vibrant animation and spine-tingling sound design can’t save this collection of French horror vignettes from leaving the audience unsatisfied.Subjects as diverse as male castration, rape, patricide and child murder are tackled in this dark and sometimes haunting collection, all painted in hues of charcoal, velvet black and snow white.
However, whilst it is at times thrilling and genuinely disturbing, the film suffers from an incoherence of directorial vision between the different animated segments and a distinct lack of clarity in its narrative. This obscurity gives birth to a growing sense of visual fatigue and frustration within the viewer as they gradually come to realise that the filmmakers aren’t offering any explanations for the relentless succession of, admittedly breathtaking, images.
This ambiguity would only be satisfying if the images created a powerful emotional or physical reaction in and of themselves. It is unfortunate then that FEAR(S) OF THE DARK is only moderately effective in this regard.
If the purpose of this film is to illustrate the universal fears that reside within every human psyche then it is neither shocking enough nor sufficiently nasty to be truly frightening. Non-of the bone chilling quality of horror classics such as THE SHINING, nor the eerie oddness of David Lynch’s surrealist work is present here.
There is a fine line between ambiguity and complexity in storytelling and pretentious incomprehensibility and, despite the best intentions of its talented creators, for most of its duration FEAR(S) OF THE DARK falls into the latter category.
Tom Hadfield, Festival Daily
Review by on 25 Sep 2008
A real treat to see the variety of powerful animation styles in this portmanteau film. The stories were rather slight - but still very enjoyable.
A real treat to see the variety of powerful animation styles in this portmanteau film. The stories were rather slight - but still very enjoyable.
Film details
Fear(s) of the Dark (Peur(s) du noir)
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Director: Blutch
Director: Marie Caillou
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Director: Jerry Kramski
Director: Lorenzo Mattotti
Director: Richard McGuire
Director: Michel Pirus
Director: Romaine Slocombe
Director: Marie Caillou
Director: Pierre Di Sciullo
Director: Jerry Kramski
Director: Lorenzo Mattotti
Director: Richard McGuire
Director: Michel Pirus
Director: Romaine Slocombe
France, 2007.
85 mins. French with English subtitles.
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