Peur(s) du noir (2007)

NIGHT 10

       "You have to see your dream through to the end, if you want to be cured."

Peur(s) du noir (2007) [Fear(s) of the Dark] is a French, animated, horror anthology film.

This film contains four animated stories all written and directed by noted comic book and graphic designers and presented in high contrast black and white.

One thing I like about this film is the stories are all very solid stories, each playing with the concept and representing different takes on fear. Even if you don't like one short the others are varied enough that you're bound to find something you like in this film.

I'm not sure I understand the layout and framework of this film, to be truthful. The true framing story is just an old woman talking about her fears, which kind of ties into the short that follows? But then there's a second framing story that is simple, it's just a man unleashing each of his dogs on different victims (not seeming to care much). But the weird thing is that both of these frame stories not only continue throughout the film, they interrupt the other three stories in the film for little or no reason? Honestly there might be a reason to it, but the way it seemed to me was the "walking the dog" story didn't have enough actual content on it's own so they decided to spread it out through out the rest of the film?

I also think too much of this film instead of trying to be scary just ends up trying to be as weird as possible. Not that this is a bad thing, but having worked with animators quite a bit I know this is actually just because animators are the weirdest people you will ever meet and more often than not, their shorts seem to reflect that. I would have preferred to see at least one short try to be as terrifying as possible.

And like most anthology films, despite this film's unique take on the concept, it still ends up being really uneven. Some stories actually have a really good story, while others are just a small concept and others are so bat-shit weird that they'll leave you scratching your head.

I think the most interesting thing about this film is the concept. I loved the idea of this film when I heard about it, and I think they pulled off the concept very well. I really love how the film uses a variety of different animation mediums with each film. It's a unique take on the anthology horror film, it just seems to fall victim to the problems with animated shorts and anthology films at the same time.

The best thing about this film over all is the design work in it. Even if you watch this film on mute you'll be blown away by how good the designs are. This film contains some of the best design work I've seen in a film (animated or otherwise) in years! It's really a thing to marvel at. These guys are graphic artists and they certainly can prove it.

I also really liked the 3rd story (or is it 4th?) directed byh Lorenzo Mattotti, about the mysterious beast mauling people in the French countryside. This short was my favorite by far. It's wonderfully animated, it has a very interesting story and it is very cinematic too.

Fear(s) of the Dark (2007), is a very interesting film, it's a mixed bag but you're bound to find something you like in it. And the design work through out makes the whole experience worth it.

4/5 Stars.

Happy watching!




This review is part of my 2014 run of 13 Nights of Macabre Movies! Tune in tomorrow as I review a Canadian anthology horror film from the same year, Trick 'r Treat (2007).

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