''Fear(s) of the Dark'' (french: Peur(s) du noir) is a 2007 French

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

animated horror

anthology film An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film, package film, or portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of several shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme ...

on the subject of

fear Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear ...

produced by Prima Linéa Productions and written and directed by several notable

comic book creator developed specialized terminology. Some several attempts have been made to formalize and define the terminology of comics by authors such as Will Eisner, Scott McCloud, R. C. Harvey and Dylan Horrocks. Much of the terminology in English is un ...

s and

graphic designer A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, ...

s. It was premiered at the 2007 Roma Film Festival and released in France in February 2008.

Plot

Throughout the film are a series of two-dimensional computer-animated

intervals Interval may refer to: Mathematics and physics * Interval (mathematics), a range of numbers ** Partially ordered set#Intervals, its generalization from numbers to arbitrary partially ordered sets * A statistical level of measurement * Interval est ...

written, designed and directed by Pierre di Sciullo.Twitchfilm review
/ref> *In these intervals, the disembodied voice of a woman is heard; she expresses her fears through a

monologue In theatre, a monologue (from el, μονόλογος, from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes a ...

, making confessions from trivial

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...

, grotesque

nightmares A nightmare, also known as a bad dream, Retrieved 11 July 2016. is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong emotional response from the mind, typically fear but also despair, anxiety or great sadness. The dream may contain situations of d ...

, to crippling sadness. These extend into the credits where the last thing the woman states that she is afraid of is being nice to people. She asks how life has been and gets a response from a male voice who simply utters "nice". The first story is a

traditional animation Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation in cinema until computer animation. Proce ...

written, designed and directed by Christian "Blutch" Hincker. *A sinister,

sadistic Sadism may refer to: * Sadomasochism, the giving or receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation * Sadistic personality disorder, an obsolete term proposed for individuals who derive pleasure from the s ...

old

marquis A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

and his four vicious dogs, whom he restrains on leashes, trek through the countryside; one-by-one, the marquis sets and releases each dog on a victim. The first dog is unleashed on a small young boy with black soulless eyes, the second on a constructionist while his fellow workers watch in terror, and the third is released on a dancing woman (who is also given

cunnilingus Cunnilingus is an oral sex act performed by a person on the vulva or vagina of another person. The clitoris is the most sexually sensitive part of the human female genitalia, and its stimulation may result in a woman becoming sexually aroused ...

by the same dog). The marquis then begins dancing gleefully and happily at his misdeeds, but fails to notice his fourth dog, who after staring at its reflection in a mirror suddenly turns on its own master and disembowels him. The second story is a

three-dimensional Three-dimensional space (also: 3D space, 3-space or, rarely, tri-dimensional space) is a geometric setting in which three values (called ''parameters'') are required to determine the position of an element (i.e., point). This is the informal ...

computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes (still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refe ...

written, designed and directed by Charles Burns. *An elderly obese-looking man named Eric awakens from his sleep to prepare for his "medication" and recounts a story in his youth. In the flashback as an intelligent

introvert The traits of extraversion (also spelled extroversion Retrieved 2018-02-21.) and introversion are a central dimension in some human personality theories. The terms ''introversion'' and ''extraversion'' were introduced into psychology by Carl J ...

with a passion for

entomology Entomology () is the science, scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such ...

, Eric discovers and captures a mysterious humanoid

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

; it escapes, and yet the boy seems haunted by it. Once he begins attending college, Eric becomes infatuated with a female classmate named Laura. He invites her to his house one night, and they end up sleeping together. The next morning, Laura awakens with a deep gash in her arm, but she seems composed and nonchalant about it. Nevertheless, Eric bandages her arm. Laura soon becomes obsessed with cooking food, having sex with Eric, and begins acting more dominant. When Eric returns from class, he discovers that Laura had cut her hair short, dressed in more masculine clothes, and reveals that her gash has produced a small limb resembling the beetle's. He is rendered unconscious from a drink that Laura poured and wakes to find that he is tied up and now has a small gash on his hand. Laura arrives and removes a small egg from it. Back in the present it is now revealed that Eric is now covered with gashes and appears to have been mutated into an egg carrier of sorts. Laura arrives with a group of larger people-sized beetles (presumed to be her offspring) that enter the room and serve him food. Eric states that he wishes Laura still loved him or "at least pretended to". The third story is a two-dimensional computer animation written by Romain Slocombe and designed and directed by

Marie Caillou Marie Caillou (born 1971) is a French graphic artist who works on illustration, comic books and animated films. She was born in Montbéliard and studied at the . Marie went on to study cartoon design in Brussels and began working with digital grap ...

. *The story begins with police investigating a murder. Ayakawa Sumako is a meek girl who is receiving clinical treatment for her

, her doctor being a scientist who continues to sedate her to experience them again. She begins attending school in rural

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

where the students begin brutally picking on and torturing her due to being a newcomer and for living in an ancient house near a cemetery where a

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

named Hajime is buried. Sumako tries walking home through the woods, but comes across Hajime's burial sight. As she tries to leave, she is accosted by a

Chōchin-obake ' is a Japanese ''yōkai'' of ''chōchin'' (a type of lantern), ''" helantern-spook (chochinobake) ... a stock character in the pantheon of ghouls and earned mention in the definitive demonology of 1784."'' They can also be called simply ''ch ...

, a

Kasa-obake 一柳2008年77頁。 are a mythical ghost or ''yōkai'' in Japanese folklore. They are sometimes, but not always, considered a ''tsukumogami'' that old umbrellas turn into. They are also called ,造2007年 76-77頁。初見2009年 73頁。 ,水 ...

, a

Rokurokubi ''Rokurokubi'' (ろくろ首, 轆轤首) is a type of Japanese ''yōkai'' (apparition). They look almost completely like humans with some differences. There is a type whose neck stretches and another whose head detaches and flies around freely ...

and various

yōkai are a class of supernatural entities and spirits in Japanese folklore. The word is composed of the kanji for "attractive; calamity" and "apparition; mystery; suspicious." are also referred to as , or . Despite often being translated as suc ...

and other entities resembling her classmates. When she comes to, she is clearly possessed by the spirit of Hajime. She returns home, picks up a knife and presumably murders her family. As Sumako awakens, the scientist asks her if she saw the end of her dream. When she answers in the negative, the scientist tells her that she needs to see it to the end in order for her to be "cured". In response, Sumako breaks down into tears. The fourth story is a traditional animation written by Jerry Kramsky and designed and directed by

Lorenzo Mattotti Lorenzo Mattotti (born 24 January 1954) is an Italian comics artist as well as an illustrator. His illustrations have been published in magazines such as ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'', ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'', ''The New Yorker'', ...

. * An unnamed man recounts his time as a young boy living in rural France. Having lost his uncle in a

poaching Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

trip, the boy confides in his friend, a mysterious

orphan An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

, who claims that the uncle could have been "mauled" by a beast from the sky. The friend disappears and a searching party is sent out to look for him. The boy encounters an inhumanly-breathing creature of some kind and becomes convinced that the beast and his friend are somehow one entity and the same. Later on, a professional

ranger A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

is hired to hunt down the alleged beast. He sets a trap and kills and captures a giant

crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...

that is displayed in their local church. The town is convinced that this was the beast as people have stopped disappearing. One night, the boy awakens in the middle of the night to see a shadowy figure peaking through his window before disappearing. As he looks out the window, he sees a tailed figure hopping away into the distance, seemingly confirming the boy's hypothesis. Back in the present, as he checks on the crocodile hanging in the church, he laments that he never saw his friend again and wonders what other secrets he has kept from him. The fifth story is written by

Richard McGuire Richard McGuire (born 1957) is an American illustrator, graphic novelist, children's book author, and musician. His illustrations have been published in ''The New York Times'', ''The New Yorker'', and ''Le Monde''. His short story ''Here'' is a ...

and Michel Pirus and designed and directed by McGuire. * A burly mustached man breaks into a seemingly abandoned mansion to escape a

blizzard A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow is not falling b ...

. He uncovers a

photo album A photographic album or photo album, is a series of photographic prints collected by an individual person or family in the form of a book. Some book-form photo albums have compartments which the photos may be slipped into; other albums have heavy ...

of a woman, possibly the mistress of the house, who apparently tried living a normal life after her parents' passing. Due to unexplained circumstances, she began pushing away people by cutting their heads and faces out of their photos in the album. The man falls asleep and has a nightmare that the mistress comes and slices his head off. He angrily tosses the album into the fire, but the pages fly out and he has to put them out resulting in his foot going through the floorboards and him losing a shoe. He decides to venture upstairs where the mistress' spirit seems to follow him. He comes to a closet with shoes and as he tries to put one on as a replacement, the closet door suddenly closes behind him. He discovers a hatbox with an emaciated head inside and panics. He finally manages to break a small hole to the outside and tries to get the attention of two children playing, but he only succeeds in scaring them away, leaving him trapped and haunted.

Cast

*Wraparound **

Nicole Garcia Nicole Garcia (born 22 April 1946) is a French actress, film director and screenwriter. Her film '' Charlie Says'' was entered into the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Her film ''Going Away'' was screened in the Special Presentation section at the 20 ...

as Le Femme (The Woman) *1st segment **Christian Hincker as L'homme Aux Chiens (The Man with the Dogs) **Lino Hincker as L'enfant (The Child) *2nd segment **

Guillaume Depardieu Guillaume Jean Maxime Antoine Depardieu (7 April 1971 – 13 October 2008) was a French actor, winner of a César Award, and the oldest child of Gérard Depardieu. Early life Depardieu was the son of actor Gérard Depardieu and his first wife, a ...

as Eric **

Aure Atika Aure Atika (born 12 July 1970) is a French actress, writer and director. Life and career The daughter of Jewish-Moroccan Ode Atika Bitton and Frenchman Michel Fournier (his father was born in Algeria from the Aimeur family of film actors and ...

as Laura **

Brigitte Sy Brigitte Sy (born 26 January 1956) is a French actress and filmmaker. Her directorial film debut, '' Les Mains libres'', was released in 2010 to critical acclaim in France. Life and career She is the mother of the actors Louis Garrel and Esther ...

as Mere de Eric (Eric's Mother) **Sarah-Laure Estragnat as Fille 1 (Girl #1) **Amélie Lerma as Fille 2 (Girl #2) **Gil Alma as L'acteur Cinema (Movie Actor) **Charlotte Vermeil as L'actrice Cinema (Movie Actress) *3rd segment **Louisa Pili as Ayakawa Sumako **Amaury Smets as Michio **Melaura Honnay as Rieko **Adriana Piasek-Wanski as Tomoko **Christian Hecq as Le Samourai / Le Docteur (The Samurai "Hajime" / The Doctor) **François Creton as L'instituteur (The Teacher) **Florence Maury as Mere de Sumako / 6 Yeux (Sumako's Mother / 6 Eyes) *4th segment **

Arthur H Arthur Higelin (born 27 March 1966), better known under his stage name Arthur H (), is a French pianist, songwriter and singer. He is best known in France for his live performances—four of his albums were recorded live. Life and career He is ...

as La Narrateur (The Narrator) *5th segment **Laurent Van den Rest as L'homme (The Man) **Nicolas Feroumont as Enfant (Child) **Andreas Vuillet as Enfant (Child)

References

Cinefantastique ''Cinefantastique'' is an American horror, fantasy, and science fiction film magazine. History The magazine originally started as a mimeographed fanzine in 1967, then relaunched as a glossy, offset printed quarterly in 1970 by publisher/editor ...

'' * * * * *
Review
at Horror Movies {{DEFAULTSORT:Fear(S) Of The Dark 2007 films Belgian animated films 2007 computer-animated films Films set in abandoned houses Films set in France Films set in Japan French animated horror films 2000s French animated films French black-and-white films French horror anthology films 2000s monster movies French supernatural horror films Japan in non-Japanese culture

Plot

Cast

References

External links