User Reviews

How apt that a story about sight requires some close scrutiny in order to be understood.

The real impetus of this movie occurs in the details. Some random examples:

*Lucas' name means "light."

*The pattern on his pajamas resembles prison stripes, perhaps symbolizing the entrapment and immobility that he fears from impending blindness.

*The dual nature of the knitting needle--a)descriptions like 'sharp' and 'penetrating' apply to its function as well as to a person's insightful abilities, and b)the veiled sexual reference of the act of stabbing as a displacement for the impotence Lucas feels, both in losing his sight as well as for the basic powerlessness of childhood.

*He sees through a telescope/he calls his knitting needle a telescope...telescopes are supposed to bring the distant object close, but they also fold inward on themselves, a diminution of what they were. They reveal, and then they collapse.

*The color blue, mostly missing from the film's palette, is used mainly for tiny details like picture frames (something which contains our visions...rather like Lucas' eyeglass frames contain his actual vision); a cabinet (also something which contains, even locks up, and can withhold its contents from view as opposed to putting them on display); the baby sister's beautiful blue eyes, praised even as Lucas' eyes are ever more distorted through his lenses; the knitting his mother makes for the baby, surely an unusual color for a female infant--but is it really blue or has Lucas completely lost sight of reality by now? Even his demeanor is "blue" as he becomes increasingly more detached, both from reality and from the people and events around him.

His detachment is partly a result of his confusion. He can hardly see, and what he thinks he sees, he can't trust. Therefore, his responses to people become odd and then almost nonexistent. For the most part he stops reacting to them. He is in the process of disappearing from his own life. The world is becoming invisible, and so, it seems, shall he.

He further detaches from the world around him as people remain blind to his bizarre inner landscape and the worries besetting him. There is a lovely dichotomy in the scene where he is across the street from the wedding crowd. Without his thick lenses, the people appear to be ineffectually stabbing about with canes and dark glasses. When he puts his lenses back on, the people look normal. They can't see when he can't see, but they can when he can. One of his fears is that the world will be as uncomprehending of him as it will be incomprehensible to him, when he is blind.

There is also the fear that other senses aren't to be trusted. Notice the scene where Toby is trying to get in the window: the squeeching of the soapy rag against the glass blends with the dog's eager whines until the noises and suds somehow become the signs of a crazed, foaming beast. The deterioration of Lucas' senses and the destruction of what he loves become one and the same.

No wonder this is a terrified little boy. And if he can be impelled by his dark visions to kill Toby, whom he loves, what might he do to baby Tess who is, at the very least, an object of ambivalence? Interesting that the name Tess means 'harvester' or 'reap.' To reap is to glean (a common synonym for comprehension, as in "what can you glean from this situation?"). It is to collect, to gather--also terms for pulling oneself together. A harvester is productive, someone who expedites growth (crops in the field) into sustenance (grain for the bread), just as the emergence of baby Tess brings about the full flowering of Lucas' fears, feeding them to the point of his fateful act.

Tess is the final catalyst, personifying the loss that Lucas so dreads. He has lost big sister Rose to marriage and eventual motherhood, his parents to their absorption with the baby, his pal Toby is dead, his grip on reality is loosening, and he is losing his vision and with it, his freedom. For all he knows he could even lose his life in the impending eye operation. All this loss solidifies in the diminutive image of Tess. The periphery of his world has narrowed until the only focus is this new little baby who hasn't seen anything yet, and so he takes her. To preserve her? To show her his view of the world? To make her the repository of his last vision? Or for something more sinister? At this point the action is pretty ambiguous. I can't tell what his intentions are, and maybe he can't, either. However, in looking at the clues provided in the names (father Frank, means forthright, let's-be-frank; mother Miriam, biblical namesake protects the boy Moses; sister Rose, roses signify purity, love; brother-in-law Tony, means 'praiseworthy'; Lucas and Tess, lucidity and reaper) I tend to think a positive outcome is intended all along.

It is a nice moment at the end when Lucas tells the nurse, "I like to look," whereas before, looking had become a frightful, confusing exercise. He watches her knitting needles as shadow puppets on the wall, but instead of something horrific they are just...knitting needles. Nothing more. Real is real.

That's how I see it, anyway. Someone else might have a different interpretation. I have to love a movie that lends itself to alternate views.

The boy cannot see the external world very well, so he has developed an enhanced internal vision, or imagination (first third of film plus other brief scenes). He is terrified of going blind because blindness makes one vulnerable to all sorts of dangers (hence the title). So he uses his fantasy world to empower himself. I think that's the point of this film. For example, there is no actual person who slashes blind people. This is one of his imagined threats. And he figures out a way to defend himself.

Whole this movie kept me interested in what would happen next. The boys acting was superb, and you couldn't work out what he would do next... an awful scene involving a beloved dog will forever be ingrained in my mind.

If you don't mind dead animals on screen (and this was pretty in-your-face, then give it a shot. It's good. But if like me, you get upset when an animal is killed (and certainly not humanely) then move on.

I wish someone had written that down before I watched it..

Young Lucas, an adventurous young boy, is seen as a fearless creature who seems to be in the wrong place, at the wrong time. When we first meet him, he accompanies his mother to a sort of care center for the blind. There are reports of a slasher that is cutting the faces of some of the blind people that attend the center. When he follows one of the women, who leaves nearby, he watches in horror as her face is slashed by the intruder. Lucas flees to the cemetery nearby, where he likes to play. It's at this point that we realize something is wrong with Lucas, who ends up spying on his half sister posing for a photographer.

Then, everything changes.

The mere reality is that everything one has witnessed is just not so. The fact is that Lucas is going blind if he doesn't have the operation to save his sight. His loving parents, Frank and Miriam, are ecstatic because they are expecting another baby, something that doesn't play well in the young boy's mind. Lucas, who probably feels jealousy toward the unborn baby, thinks of ways of dealing with the intrusion in his life. His obsession with knitting needles prove to be a dangerous proposition.

Mark Peploe, who co-wrote the screen play, creates a film that will be disorienting for a lot of viewers, but which ultimately, satisfy the ones that stay close to the story. There are many indications the first section of the movie is just how Lucas' mind work, just the opposite of what one sees on the screen.

Ben Keyworth, who plays young Lucas, is perfect for the role. He makes the most of his Lucas, by just being where he is. This boy is an enigma who is not immediately understood and has to assert himself. James Fox and Fanny Ardant play the parents. The supporting cast does fine under Mr. Peploe's direction.

"Afraid of the Dark" is a film that makes the viewer think because it's not what one sees what's really is going in Lucas' mind.

I asked myself what kind of comments I could make on this movie without having them contain spoilers. It is a challenge and the following paragraph is what I could come up with.

This movie is a thriller, but don't expect a thrill a minute. It has an austere feel, with even pacing punctuated by moments of horror. There are scenes that made me wince, scenes that I found repugnant, and a couple of scenes that made me gasp. But, as with most movies in this genre, the tension builds in anticipation of the intense scenes; the music aids in creating this tension. The action is seen primarily through the eyes and imagination of eleven-year-old Lucas (Ben Keyworth) who is rather withdrawn and reactive. How you respond to the one major plot twist will determine whether you think this is an interesting movie, or whether you think it is confusing with enough improbabilities and plot holes only to irritate.

**Spoilers here** The revelation mid-way that what we have seen are dreams or hallucinations that Lucas has been having in response to his potentially going blind give meaning to the title beyond what one initially thinks. I knew only what I had read in Maltin's book before seeing the movie, but the mid-story revelation was not a total surprise, since we had been living in an unreal world until then. There were never any indications of normal life going on - an unreal world where no cars were on what should have been busy streets, and no people to be seen but those directly involved in the scene at hand. Lucas transforms his fear of the surgeon's scalpel into the razor of a serial slasher praying on blind people. His mother is blind (signifying her inattention to Lucas' agony?) and his father is a policeman who is unable to locate the slasher (signifying his impotence to deal with Lucas' problem?) In the final episode of this first-half mad sequence Lucas tracks the slasher down and kills him in a symbolic attempt to exorcise the eye surgeon from his life.

After that catharsis we supposedly return to the real world, but things get a little confusing then. We come to feel that not only has Lucas been driven to fantasy by his fear and anxiety but perhaps he has also been driven a bit mad. Children can certainly respond in exaggerated and irrational ways to perceived threats (well, adults can too), so I could believe the first half as that kind of reaction, but in the second half, when Lucas hallucinates in real time, I began to question his sanity.

I suppose fear and anxiety can drive one to madness, but the way Lucas would drift in and out of reality (usually being in when he had his glasses on and out when not) struck me as borderline schizophrenia and I believe that that is a more organic disorder than a response to fear and anxiety. But, in the final scene, after the operation, Lucas seems to have returned to normal, even questioning if he had killed the neighbor's dog. So, go figure.

If there is a message to be taken from this it is that people should try to be a little more in tune with what is going on in the minds of others. We are inclined to put a smiley face on situations where there is clearly something bad going on. It is clear that Lucas is having some serious problems, but his parents are more than happy to take him at his word when he says that things are just fine, even when they can sense at some deep level that that is not the case.

A young boy, Lucas(stunning, haunting performance from young Ben Keyworth)who is slowly going blind, dreams up a horrifying nightmare about a serial slasher of blind women nearby his London home(..with a graveyard located outside his window, no less). It seems to take shape when he places his thick-lensed glasses on which might mean that the impending surgery of his eyes has created such a subconscious fear it has taken shape in reality. A poor dog, Toby, becomes a victims of this. Those in reality, Tom Miller, a locksmith(David Thewlis), a window washer, and photographer Tony(Paul McGann)all seem to become foreboding possible killers in the horrifying fantasy. Lucas' step-dad Frank(James Fox), in reality a florist, is a cop on the case of the slashings of the blind women in his nightmare. Mother Miriam(Fanny Ardant)is pregnant in reality with perfect sight(..who says she would rather be the one going blind rather than her son)but blind in the nightmare which has the young lass worried for her safety..and later the child after it's born, although the film paints the possible picture he'd rather harm the infant than keep it safe. Rose(the beautiful, fine-figured Clare Holman)is Frank's daughter in reality on the verge of marriage with Tony, but in the nightmare also blind, married to someone else blind, who is possibly threatened by Tony, anything but the person in real-life.

In the nightmare we follow the boy as he canvases the area around where the serial slasher might frequent, but watch his unusual, cold manner about things..he's an observer who seems almost unphased at the terror occurring around him. His voyeuristic activities has him seeing people from a different perspective because..and this is the powerful aspect in the nightmare I think..most are blind except Frank, the policeman, an ice-cream vendor who lusts after Miriam, the locksmith, window washer & photographer. So obviously he sees what the innocents do not..how certain people truly are. In the reality, we also see a cut-away Lucas who seems like Waldo amongst a group of people existing as if he's not there. I don't think he is for the most part..his on-coming blindness and the pregnancy about to take place take shape over everything else. The surgery is also the main event that truly terrifies him..the doctor who will have the knife is a scary blind hobo in Lucas' nightmare(one of his eyes has an albino white tint for extra ominous effect).

I'm afraid this flick will be frustrating to many who might not attach to the lead character who can be quite creepy, and detached, for most viewers. I saw this as an interesting approach seeing him as a young boy struck with fear losing his sight, both mentally and physically. I think this film goes into some dark psychological places..treads onto that territory of fear using blindness and impending blindness as catalysts to tell the dark tale. The slasher, the glasses and what they see when Lucas puts them on and removes them, and the knitting needle which seems to be his weapon of protection..all seem to represent symbolic images of the blindness he fears of.

A young boy, facing impending surgery on his eyes to try to stave off blindness, wanders his quiet London borough.

The only problem is he believes that a slasher is stalking blind women....

The last time I heard anything about this movie, was when it was released in 1991, the film had a limited release, and I never heard of it again, much like an Ex who I owed money to.

I found the film the other night on MGM HD, and just had to kill the curiosities I had when I was 13.

And the film didn't disappoint at all, in fact it threw me a right doozy within the first hour. When we start the film, Lucas is surrounded by blind people (one of whom is played by the woman who played Cassandra in'Only Fools...'), one whom in particular is very beautiful, which the director noted, as sh is the only one who doesn't wear glasses.

So far it's eerie, and has a very 'don't look now' feel about it. Bu then we have the inclusion of a man who carries a razor to cut blind people up for no good reason.

Could it be David Thewlis?, could it be the weird looking window cleaner? Could it be the Ice Cream man? It's not the Mcgann brother who was good in Paper mask, surely?....

And then the film takes a very 'Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' turn, it turns out that this was some sort of delusion from the main character, who is losing his sight, and as it turns out, his mind to some extent.

The title reads differently now doesn't it?.....

With this movie, the director has turned it from some quaffable slasher pic, to something intriguing, and sometimes that tense, you won't want knitting needles in the same room as a child ever again.

The performances are first rate, especially from the the boy who played Lucas, and the Girl who played Rose.

The rest of the cast are good also, but these two stand out, particularly when you realise they haven't really done anything this big since.

A strange, dystopia of a film, heavily dated thanks to the fact that us Brits couldn't part from yuppies at this time, but a film to keep you guessing until the very end.

**Spoiler Alert: Possible explanatory SPOILERS ahead, necessary for my review**

"Afraid of the Dark" is a movie about a young British boy, Lucas, who suffers from an eye condition which, if not corrected with a surgical operation, will certainly cause him to go blind. The movie shows how he mentally fades in and out of his "real" world, often times creating a hellish imaginary world that only a young, impressionable, and, namely, SCARED little boy could create.

I saw it once, didn't understand it, and didn't much care for it, as it seemed a confusing, unentertaining hodge-podge of an art-house film – although I did enjoy the dark, moody, atmospheric feel to it. I also liked the London row-house setting. It is a quiet movie, a virtually humorless movie, with a rather somber, at times slightly eerie soundtrack.

Interestingly, I had recorded it on tape, and, not wishing to re-record something over it without giving it at least another chance, I decided to watch it again… surprisingly, it was more compelling viewing the second time through, and I'm glad I saved my tape.

It helps to understand that the movie combines healthy doses of artistic license as well as portrayal of events that are purely a child's fantasy, which, upon first viewing can be so confusing and off-putting that I can see why the average viewer might not like this movie. You will spend a lot of time wondering what's real, and what's not.

But give it a chance. You may have to watch it twice, like I did, but you will be rewarded. Just remember that many of the "twisted" scenes in the movie are not real: they are scenes that merely reflect a nightmare world as concocted by the hyper-imaginative mind of the scared young boy, Lucas, who is terrified of his upcoming eye operation/possible blindness. So I must give the film great credit for not only being imaginative, but also very sobering, as it is a thought-provoking glimpse into the frightened mind of a child faced with possible blindness.

Afraid of the Dark is that rarest of beasts in the current gore and effects driven market---a thriller that pulls it's punches and leaves you wondering what the hell is actually going on. Though not as good as either Repulsion or Peeping Tom, Afraid of the Dark is a decent addition to the tradition of British psychological cinema. The first half of the film is essentially a fantasy seen through the eyes of a young boy (played very well by Ben Keyworth) who...oops, musn't give too much away. The viewer only starts to get a hang on reality during the final two reels, and by the time the film ends we can only really guess at what has actually happened, and (more importantly) why.

An outstanding supporting cast adds depth to a film that brings into question the nature of reality and explores the illusion of the camera's gaze.

the problem for me with this movie was the texture. I thought, "oh OK Foucault, the panopticon" because of the way the first big section was all about spying on the part of this boy who seemed destined to see everything no matter where he looked, but then of course that's his imaginary narrative, and so it makes sense that the blind people don't act like real blind people, that the world seems completely fake, and yet. . . in order for all this to play, the blindness shouldn't be so formalized - the constant pulling apart and putting back together of the damn white canes, everyone staring ahead without sunglasses, looking for all the world like people playing at being blind who haven't really got it down. It's impossible to suspend ye old disbelief in this over stylized movie. Including casting of the mother who was such a giant compared to everyone else in the cast and OK she was from another country in reality she seems another species. Some apple carts were needed or something. I couldn't get over the unflagging "wrong look" of the whole dang thing. I don't care for symbolism served up with such an artificial touch.

I stopped halfway through to read about it here and some peoples' idea of the people being "blind" in some way is nice but watching the movie... I couldn't get through it. Funny to read reviews I guess something happens to the dog? Something bad! Poor Tobey!

OK. This movie starts out with a young boy. His mother is blind, his father is a policeman. While on vacation from school, he accompanies his mother to a class where they teach blind people how to knit. There is a man on the loose who terrorizes and slashes blind people with a razor. Then we see the little boy rescue his blind friend by stabbing the man who was about to kill her. Then it turns to the little boy getting dressed for a wedding. He has on thick glasses and it turns out his mother isn't blind at all. His blind friend becomes his half sister and everyone loses their roles. So by then I am so confused. This movie was good but only if the plot wasn't so confusing.

This psychological thriller limps along, but has enough substance to hold your interest. Lucas Hardy(Ben Keyworth)is a 12 year old boy that has disintegrating eyesight and must come to grips with the fact he may become totally blind like his mother Miriam(Fanny Ardant). Lucas overhears his policeman father(James Fox)as he brings home the news of a blind woman having her face slashed by an attacker during broad daylight. There is more than usual concern since the woman comes to the London eye clinic for the blind, where Miriam works. Since Lucas is on school vacation, he decides to open his own search for the blade wielding attacker, who has victimized another woman from the clinic. Have patience for you're sometimes watching through the failing eyes of a paranoid boy's concern for his mother. The cast includes: Paul McGann, Robert Stephens, Susan Wooldridge and most impressive Clare Holman.

Did you notice the name on the ice cream van in the movie? It was called Vigo rather than something Italian. Jean Vigo was one of Bernardo Bertolucci's favourite directors.

Mark Peploe was his brother in law and won an Oscar for co-writing The Last Emperor with Bertolucci.

Afraid of the Dark was Peploe's directorial debut. A psychological thriller.

Lucas Hardy (Ben Keyworth) is a young boy Spiderman fan with a blind mother Miriam (Fanny Ardant.) Suddenly the blind women in the neighbourhood are being slashed in the face, being left disfigured.

Lucas is worried and notices the strange men in the neighbourhood. Like the window cleaner whistling three blind mice. A photographer Tony (Paul McGann) who wants the young pretty blind women Rose (Clare Holman) to model for him. Lucas's father, Frank (James Fox) is a policeman investigating the case.

What starts as a slasher thriller becomes something else. It is Lucas whose eyesight is deteriorating, he has thick glasses and might become blind unless he has an urgent operation.

Now the characters are different but the actors remain the same. Miriam is not blind but is heavily pregnant. Rose is now his sister who is due to marry Tony the photographer.

It is Lucas that has succumbed to paranoia. He fears the loss of his vision, the loss of love from his mother. When Tony talks to Lucas on the wedding day. Lucas has gone off Spiderman, he says the villain always comes back, only with a different face.

The film is full of Freudian symbolism, it might be too subtle for most of the audience that includes me. Peploe struggled with the second half of the movie as it is Lucas who appears to be disturbed. A dog that befriended him is killed by Lucas. Later his baby brother is at risk when he arrives home.

Peploe adds an additional layer in that most of it could had been dreamt by Lucas when he was under the surgeon's knife.

It is eerie and unnerving in places but ultimately does not work as a psychological thriller.