My main reason for writing this is to ask if there is another version of this story, possibly as an episode of an anthology series like 'One Step Beyond' (another Newland triumph)? The story is very familiar - the neurotic wife, the creatures that come from the bowels of the house to attack her, the disbelieving husband etc. Yet I don't think I have ever seen this telefilm, and the title does not ring a bell. Confused. I've given it a score of 8 as with Newland at the helm it can't miss!

Unnerving TV-movie features Kim Darby and Jim Hutton as an upwardly mobile young couple who move into an old manor previously owned by Darby's now-deceased grandmother. The veteran handyman tells curious Kim not to open the bricked-off fireplace in the hidden room downstairs, but she unbolts the ash bin anyway and unwittingly unleashes a society of evil little goblins intent on adding her soul to their circle. Well-done thriller from director John Newland and writer Nigel McKeand might have benefited even more from a slightly larger budget and more time on the clock to expand on McKeand's scenario. As it is, "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" is so compact that it feels rushed, although the finale being cut short may actually work in the movie's favor: there isn't an opportunity to ask questions, only to ponder the possibilities--and the sounds we're left with linger in the mind. Loosely remade as a theatrical feature in 2010.

Although unavailable for decades, DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK has to be one of the best remembered US TV movie horrors of the 1970s, up there with the likes of DARK NIGHT OF THE SCARECROW. Nowadays an insipid remake hasn't put off the scores of fans who were traumatised by this film's scares when they first saw it as kids back in the day.The story is a simple 'haunted house' horror yarn about a married couple who move into a new abode. The wife becomes quietly obsessed with the blocked-up fireplace and grate in the basement, and sets about opening them up despite warnings not to meddle. Soon she finds herself assailed by miniature critters with designs on her very soul.I'd never seen this before so had no idea what to expect, but I was impressed with this TV movie's atmosphere, which is more oppressive and horrific than many a big-bucks Hollywood production of the era. In many ways it's an old fashioned production in which the scares are more subtle than in something like THE AMITYVILLE HORROR with its in-your-face fright sequences.The acting is fairly middling, with the exception of Kim Darby who puts her all into the role of the frightened housewife. The direction and cinematography are fine. The only problem lies with the creatures themselves, one of whom is played by Felix Silla (of BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY fame). We see far too much of them as the film progresses, and the fact they talk in drawling US accents means that they're not frightening in the least. They should have spoken inarticulately, in hisses or grunts, and they should have been kept in the shadows until the final reveal. Less would have definitely been more in this case.

This 1973 flick made for television has so many followers that it became a classic in the horror genre. It was made in a time when horror wasn't that popular but being broadcast at a normal hour in the US some kids were really scared and as a grown up they still talked about this creeper.John Newland, the director was well known for making TV series but he made a few television flicks too like Crawlspace (1972) but let Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark being his most famous one. Due being a television production they brought in two popular names for the main leads. Kim Darby playing Sally came out of TV series to make this flick and went back to television and some other famous horrors like Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Meyers as Debra Strode. The other name, Jim Hutton also came from television series but also appeared in some classics like The Green Berets aside John Wayne. Sadly he died in 1979 at age 45 due liver cancer. They did a great job in this flick.But it was those scary little voices that made the movie. And of course the story line itself. It had a bit of fantasy over it and that attracted the little viewers but how many did watch under their bed years after watching this flick. The buggers itself doesn't look very frightening up to today's standards but it was the way it was filmed and edited that made it believable. Still, if you watch it nowadays it is outdated but it's a must see how they made a creepy flick just before the heydays of horror.Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Story 4/5 Effects 3/5 Comedy 0/5