Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Andy Howlett 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!

Woodyanders A trip of tiny gnome-like creatures who reside inside the fireplace of a big old mansion decide they want to bring young lass Sally (a fine and sympathetic performance by Kim Darby) into their secret netherworld.Director John Newland keeps the absorbing story moving at a steady pace, does an ace job of creating and sustaining a supremely spooky atmosphere, makes the most of the sprawling large house main location, and grounds the fantastic premise in a believable everyday reality. Nigel McKeand's intelligent and intriguing script wisely keeps things pleasingly ambiguous right until the very chilling end; you're never quite sure why exactly these little goblins are after Sally or what they plan to do to Sally once they get their clawed hands on her. The excellent acting by the sturdy cast helps a lot: Jim Hutton as Sally's insensitive careerist husband Alex, Barbara Anderson as Sally's loyal and concerned best gal pal Joan Kahn, William Demarest as amiable handyman Mr. Harris, and Pedro Armendariz Jr. as likable interior designer Francisco Perez. Felix Silla, Patty Maloney, and Tama De Treaux portray the creepy and diminutive monsters who prowl about in the dark and speak in scary whispers ("Sally, we want you"). Both Billy Goldenberg's spare shivery score and Andrew Jackson's sharp, yet shadowy cinematography further enhance the overall eerie mood. Worthy of its cult classic status.

Foreverisacastironmess Very much like with "Dark Night of the Scarecrow" and "Don't Go to Sleep", this is another of those relatively unknown TV-produced horror pictures from back in the day that is all about slow but sure pacing and effective tension and dread that gently builds up to a chilling finish. I saw the remake way before I r watched this and I did like it a lot, I think it's one of the painfully few remakes that are actually well done, but after consideration I find this the much better film simply because it's very scaled down in comparison, and to me its elements of mystery and fear are a lot more deeper richer and satisfying for that, and you care about the poor victim a lot more. The story is a pretty simple and straightforward one, being of a timid young woman who unwittingly releases something awful and devious from a mysterious sealed-up old fireplace that fully intends to drag her back down into the dank hell from which it came and condemn her to a truly dark fate that's probably worse than death, and what can she possibly do to save herself when nobody will even believe her? You can put together where it's all heading fairly quickly, but there's still plenty of eerie suspense and atmosphere to it that it fills out the time nicely and it kept me interested all the way through, it has a great driving subtle build up to the grim ending. It was a wonderful little surprise to me, I'd certainly put it as a buried gem as well as a very early example of a miniature monsters on the attack based horror movie that's told with economy and skill and is a very worthwhile viewing experience, particularly if you're a fan of that crazy sub-genre. It's just trying to tell a good old fashioned spooky tale of encroaching doom in a big dark house with little goblins running around, and an ending that goes for quieter chills rather than obnoxious jump scare thrills and I love that, that's what we need more of today! I thought Kim Darby was very good, she projected just the right kind of vulnerability and for a little while it almost feels a bit on the psychological slant, like you're not totally sure if she's going mad or not.. She's so darn mousy though that's she's practically helpless and is basically easy prey for the evil relentless tiny fiends. I appreciate the odd onion/raisin head design of the twisted fairy folk, while you do see the age of the makeup effects, it's nice and practical and I think the weird and neat look of the things fits the tone quite well. It's so clever the way they filmed them in a scale that makes them appear a lot smaller than they actually were, it makes them a lot more creepy and effective. It tickles me the way they all jibber-jabber at once so that their demented high-pitched unnatural voices overlap and it sounds like they're all having a little chant! I love the bad ending, it works so well and is pretty sad and unsettling, with the foreboding exterior shot of the house with the spectral green lighting that appears whenever the creatures do, they've won and can wait forever for new 'friends' if they have to... I love the black cat of ill omen at the beginning, somehow very Halloweenish, which is a great time to watch this picture. Simplistic but very engaging and eerie tale of suspense and unseen lurking fears in the deep dark that are closing in... Excellent spooky hidden treasure of a movie that may possibly make you want to always leave a light on!

SnakesOnAnAfricanPlain Made for TV movie from the 70's about to get a glossy makeover. For a TV movie, this is wonderful stuff. They keep the number of characters low, use just a handful of settings, and concentrate on developing a twisted little atmosphere. It was complete in 2 weeks, but you could never tell. The little creatures are eerie and original without being comical. Things are whispered, things are moved, people are attacked, but it carries it off by keeping most things low key. The use of simple panning shots and quiet editing, makes it a film that builds tension with ease. If you are open to less obvious horror, with a love of practical effects, you should find a lot in this mini-treat.