Afraid of the Dark (1991)

*Get the film on Amazon here*

Mark Peploe, one of the Oscar winning screenwriters behind "The Last Emperor," comes up with his own tale of a little boy overwhelmed by his situation, and in the process scares the living daylights out of the viewer.

Lucas (Ben Keyworth) is a morose little boy whose blind mother Miriam (Fanny Ardant) dotes on him. His father, Frank (James Fox), is a cop and Lucas' hero. A madman is running around London slashing the faces of blind women, and the blind community is in a panic. Lucas is a little boy, hardly noticeable, and begins observing prime suspects. The ice cream man, the window washer, the photographer, and an overly helpful locksmith (David Thewlis) are all under the boy's suspicion. A neighborhood golden retriever is Lucas' only friend and confidant, and eventually Lucas has a showdown with the slasher- and then the film does a complete 180.

Ben Keyworth, as Lucas, is incredible. Some might see his delivery as flat and monotonal, but I thought his cold exterior was perfect. You will feel sorry for him, even in the latter part of the film. Ardant is great as his mother, and Fox is always reliable as the dad. Peploe's direction is so creepy it becomes uncomfortable often. The graveyard scenes are chilling, as are one character's hallucinations. Peploe also co-wrote the screenplay with Frederick Seidel, so he knows these characters better than anyone. None of them are stupid, or do horror-film-stupid things, and this adds to the squirm level. Plus, if you have any sort of phobia about things getting too close to your eyes, like I do, this may not be for you. The pace is slow, as Peploe builds his characters, and this is actually a relief. The entire cast is good, and Peploe should have directed more.

All in all, "Afraid of the Dark" is one of those films that you will find bothering you days after you see it. I highly recommend it.

Stats:
(1991) 91 min. (* * * * *) out of five stars
-Directed by Mark Peploe
-Written by Mark Peploe & Frederick Seidel
-Cast: Ben Keyworth, Fanny Ardant, James Fox, David Thewlis, Paul McGann, Clare Holman, Robert Stephens, Susan Wooldridge, Catriona MacColl, Hilary Mason, Sheila Burrell, Frances Cuka, Rosalind Knight
(R)