Over 150 years ago in the town of Darkness Falls lived Matilda Dixon, an elderly and generous woman who gave children in the community a coin for every baby tooth that fell out. When a fire disfigured her and forced her to present herself to the world with a porcelain mask and shelter from the sun's rays, the citizens began to fear her, eventually executing her for the alleged murder of two missing children. The day after the execution, however, the children, who had only gotten lost in the woods, were found alive. Since then, while Darkness Falls has tried to forget the unjust and brutal execution, the legend that the spirit of Matilda Dixon reappears to take the last baby tooth of every child in the town, ready to kill anyone who dares to look her in the face, has become a children's fairy tale. So much so that when Kile's mother is killed by the ghost of the old lady, the child is accused of the murder and locked away in a psychiatric clinic far from Darkness Falls. It will be Caitlin, his ex-girlfriend from school days, who calls him back to town to help her little brother, apparently a victim of the same irrational fear of the dark as Kile. The nightmare is returning to haunt the unsuspecting Darkness Falls...
Tremble, people, tremble! After Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, comes... the Tooth Fairy! No, it's not a joke: the new golden goose of American horror cinema is indeed her, the Tooth Fairy, the protagonist of a film that, despite being initially destined for home video, grossed over $10 million at the box office, becoming a real cinematic phenomenon.
What is phenomenal about this film is really a mystery.
Arriving in Italy with a prestigious advertising campaign and a dedicated website, this "Fallen" by Jonathan Liebesman leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. Starting with the trivial aspects (which in a horror film are not trivial at all!), despite some special effects being well-made (especially in the characterization of the main antagonist, thanks also to the good old Stan Wilson behind the scenes), in this film there is not a drop of blood, except for a few scratches, more or less deep, and two or three pools of blood scattered here and there. Moreover, every time the Tooth Fairy strikes, we only hear some screams, a bit of wind, and the victim disappearing into her arms. It's true that splatter is not everything, just as it's true that psychological horror can be much more frightening, but in "Fallen" there is nothing scary, nothing unsettling, nothing that leaves you breathless: every time you jump, you do so more for the acoustic explosion that accompanies some sudden frames than for a real fear dug into the stomach, and sometimes you can even predict how and when the terrifying Tooth Fairy will appear.
As if that were not enough, the characters are flat and stereotypical, mediocrely acted, and, since their past and present are almost entirely unknown to us, built exclusively to move and agitate on the screen. As if that were not enough, the film is full of small inconsistencies and unclear passages: why does little Kile, after twelve years, look like a thirty-year-old instead of a twenty-year-old? Where did Caitlin's little brother come from, and why is he so small that he seems like her son? But why doesn't the Tooth Fairy suffer from the light of the flashes during the storm? It's true that these are unimportant questions, but the greatness of a film is also built through its credibility.
Director Jonathan Liebesman, making his cinematic debut here, does not manage to convince: far from wanting to criticize a very young man who will certainly refine his technique in the years to come, the direction is at times flat (with few camera movements in the quiet scenes), at times confused (especially in the hectic sequences during which, also due to a frantic editing not quite up to par, it is not at all clear what is happening on the screen).
For those looking for a great film with darkness as the absolute protagonist, along with a good dose of unease, fear, and helplessness, the advice is to watch "Darkness" by one of the most promising directors of the moment, Jaume Balagueró. If you just can't resist the temptation to watch "Fallen," don't expect anything other than a mediocre action movie with some paranormal elements, packed with the typical clichés of American teen horror that appeals to young people but offers little surprise to more demanding viewers.
The only unsettling shiver this film gives us is the damned fear that horror cinema may no longer have much to say.
In our hearts, we hope it's not so...
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