Fear(s) of the Dark.

"A collection of superbly wrought black-and-white animated vignettes, Fear(s) of the Dark trades in disturbing youthful memories and ghastly tactility," writes Nick Schager in Slant. "Produced by six exceptional French graphic artists, this concise, creepy compilation isn't truly terrifying, its aim being not to deliver jolt scares but, rather, to generate a mood of ominous unease."

One of the contributors, Charles Burns, is also "one of the most solid pillars of the domestic graphic novel world," notes Chris Barsanti at Film.com. His is "the most plot-driven of the film's stories..., a Twilight Zone-esque account of a lonely young student's infatuation first with bugs and then with the flirtatious woman in the library. The two prove not to mix well in a body-invasion scenario straight out of the Cronenberg playbook. Burns's lush black-and-white artwork has a dramatic starkness that gives it the feel of a lost 1950s B-movie, all mashed up with the adolescent alienation and violent sexuality that's permeated his graphic novels like Black Hole." James Van Maanen chats with him.

Updated through 10/24.

"While Burns works in high-contrast monochrome, Richard McGuire and Michel Pirus utilize it even more beautifully in their inescapable haunted-house tale, a chestnut rendered lyrical and abstract through wordless storytelling and a white-on-black canvas," writes Aaron Hillis in the Voice. "Samurai ghosts, 18th-century demon dogs, and a childhood remembrance also figure into the film, each entertaining if not particularly scary, while the single sore thumb - a recurring bit in which contorting polygons dance to a woman's monologue of her sociopolitical fears—plays like an innocuous Agnès Varda parody."

"Shot in luminous whites, pulsing blacks and gorgeous grays, the stories explore sexual insecurity, rural superstition and sociopolitical anxieties with an inventiveness that's seldom scary but never less than mesmerizing," writes Jeannette Catsoulis in the New York Times.

"As in any episodic movie, the quality varies from moment to moment," writes Chicagoist Rob Christopher. "But stylish pictorials and evocative sound design impressed us throughout."

Online viewing tip. Erik Davis has clips at Cinematical.

Updates: In the L Magazine, Henry Stewart finds Fear(s) to be "the sort of Gorey- and Addams-esque creepery that Tim Burton pastiches for a living. Animated by an impressive list of international illustrators, the film, like Persepolis (also French), has the look of a Barnes and Noble Graphic Novels section set into black-and-white motion."

"Traditional horror fans may find few hair-raising moments in Fear(s) of the Dark, and even comics enthusiasts may consider it a mixed bag," writes Nicole Rudick for Artforum. "But if mundanity makes your skin crawl, don't watch this before bedtime."

"Though it seems that in animation it's easier to convey an 'idea' of fear to an audience than impart in the viewer fear itself, the film nevertheless pleasantly lodges in the brain," writes Michael Koresky at indieWIRE. "Like the famed 60s compilation Spirits of the Dead, which wisely saved Fellini's astonishing Toby Dammit for its just-desserts course, Fear(s) of the Dark sends us out on a high, low note."

"As a whole, Fear(s) has the experimental feel of people trying things out in somebody else's laboratory and hoping that the results will mesh," writes Phil Nugent at Screengrab. "A minor work that draws on some major talents, it seldom achieves anything like the obsessive charge that some of these artists have been able to generate with their work on the printed page."

Update, 10/23: "As a holistic experience, Fear(s) of the Dark feels at odds with itself, torn between highlighting its contributors' distinct voices and enforcing an artificial unity," writes Simon Abrams. Also in the New York Press, Brian Heater talks with Burns.

Update, 10/24: "These stories are frightening, but they contain few shocks or flinches; they're deeper and more psychological, more about adult anxiety than pure terror," writes Tasha Robinson at the AV Club. "They're more likely to impress animation buffs than scare horror fans, but around Halloween time, adults are likely to appreciate scary entertainment with more on its mind than a simple, shallow 'Boo!'"

Posted by dwhudson at October 22, 2008 6:17 AM