Director Colin Theys relates the engrossing story at a steady pace, takes time to develop the main characters, delivers a few bits of nasty gore, and ably crafts an eerie and unsettling mood along with a strong isolated small town atmosphere. However, Ashborough turns out to be run by a lethal race of ghastly underground-dwelling mutants. Michael Coyle (a solid and credible performance by Sean Patrick Thomas) leaves the hustle and bustle of New York City by moving his practice and family to the quiet and remote country hamlet of Ashborough. For those who are curious, it hits your home video shelves from Scream Factory this spring.ĭr. In this case, the shorter may be paced better.) Whether this is worth owning is really up to the viewer, but it is probably worth a watch or two.
(This may depend on the version you watch the full film is 100 minutes but was cut to 88 for TV. Had the surprise been saved until later, they could have milked more suspense out of the plot. And because the creatures appear so early, the film seems to run on too long. Indeed, the creatures are revealed a bit too early, and seem to be somewhat lacking in believability, looking possibly like a poor man's imitation of the creatures from "The Descent". The disappointment is understandable, as this overall good film has a flaw or two. The New York Times panned the film, expressing disappointment that the film did not live up to its full potential.
Shock Till You Drop gave the movie a score of five out of ten, stating that while it had some effective jump scares and a good cast, they felt that the film was mostly unmemorable. While this film may be lacking at times, it never lacks because of Thomas. Sean Patrick Thomas is a strong lead and a solid actor, providing much more emotional depth to his character than we typically see in horror films. One scene involving a plastic bag of eyeballs could have been silly, but he manages to make it deathly serious. Dean Stockwell has aged a bit since his glory days of "Quantum Leap", but he is still a commanding figure. One could probably compare all three films, but suffice it to say the inspiration is rather loose and this film is not the same as those other two. This film is based on a 2004 book by Michael Laimo (Dead Souls), which was influenced by the 1973 made for television film "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark", starring Kim Darby (not to be confused with the 2011 remake with Katie Holmes. Soon after arriving, however, he discovers the town's deepest secret: a terrifying and controlling race of creatures that live amongst the darkness in the forest behind his home. Michael Cayle (Sean Patrick Thomas) thought leaving the chaotic life-style of New York City behind for the quiet, small town of Ashborough would bring his family closer together.