Need help with name of 1970s horror flick (1 Viewer)

[Jose Robles]

Ok, this goes out to all you people out there who have a keen knack for knowing obscure, old horror movies.
I remember as a kid watching a horror/thriller movie sometime in the 1970s (more likely late 70s) that involved this couple who had moved into this house and obviously had some problems with it (no not Amityville). The problems were these little trolls/gremlins/ghoulies that apparently only the wife ever saw. I recall that they would come out from a furnace "vent" however, this vent led all the way down to I guess well below the house. It reminded me of those old vents that boiler rooms were used with. Well anyways, the other thing that I remember is the ending where these creatures managed to knock the wife unconscious and slowly drag her to the vent area and eventually take her under. By this time the husband started believing her but was unsuccessful in saving her. It ended with the creatures talking amongst themselves and then the wife saying that he would come back...they always do.
Now, what is the name of this movie???? I've not seen this movie for over 20 years now and I'd love to find out what it's name is and if it's available anywhere out there. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks everyone.
Jose

 

[Jordan_E]

It was a MOW, wasn't it? Starred Kim Darby? DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK? 1973.

 

[Kevin Matthews]

Yes that is Don't be afraid of the Dark. I still have it taped from when it played on HBO in 1990 on Halloween night.

 

[Rex Bachmann]

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark an ABC 1973 tv movie
stars Kim Darby and Jim Hutton (Timothy's father)
(VHS availability?)
IMDB summary by Philip Berry

"A neurotic housewife named Sally and her business exec husband move into Sally's family house, a spooky two story Victorian mansion. When Sally starts the redecorating along with her pompous decorator she comes across a locked room in the house. After arguing with the handyman who insists she should leave the room locked, she finally gets the key. But once she opens her father's old study and has the bricks from the fireplace removed, strange things begin to happen. Sally begins to see small creatures everywhere, but no one will believe her. Her husband dismisses her as neurotic and her friend thinks Sally may be loosing her mind. But things take a deadly serious turn when the decorator trips at the top of the stairs and falls to his death. Sally sees a rope lying across the place where he tripped, but when she picks it up to take it, a horrifying little creature pulls it from her grasp. Is she crazy? Or has Sally released demons in the house, demons her father summoned?"
This was directed by John Newland, of One Step Beyond fame.
The creepiest part about this movie is the whispering voices of the trolls, which only the wife can hear, as they discuss what they're going to do to her. Great effect.

 

[Justin_S]

Yes, as the above three said, it is DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK. Great film by all means, and my tape of it is all worn out. I want a DVD release very badly! Also, this film is being remade by the guy's who made FINAL DESTINATION.

 

[Berk]

Are the creatures in this movie light sensitive? I recall a similar movie where at the end the woman is being dragged away by these creatures and she is using the flash of a camera to scare them away. She eventually runs out of flashes and is taken away.

Is this the same movie? If not, does anyone know the title of this film?

HELP!

 

[Peter M Fitzgerald]

Yup, you are all correct, it's the TV-Movie DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK (1973), with Kim Darby (the girl from the John Wayne movie, TRUE GRIT (1969)). Amazingly, my local Blockbuster Video has it on VHS, on a legit tape dating from the mid-1980s. Saw it recently, for the first time in about 20-25 years, and it still holds up pretty well. The movie must've made quite an impression on young minds of the 1970s (like mine!), as half-remembered (but basically accurate) queries about this particular flick seem to pop up every few months, both here and on other movie/video forums I've visited. It's a Lorimar film, so current DVD rights would belong to Warner Bros.

 

[Butch C]

Yes they are light sensative...that was sooo freakin scary back in the day...the trolls whispering about snuffing her was chilling...
I would think about this movie on a regular basis but havnt seen it since my first viewing at about 8 yrs old! That is truly amazing that I still remember it...

Anyone remember the name of this film(trying to save thread space)
A young boy is being taught by his grandmother how to project his soul (or sumthin)so the kid inhabits a flying crow (or sumthin)and the crow lands on a pitchfork in a hayloft (or sumthin)...plus someone has a rat for a pet and other random creepyness...around the same era as the above movie.

 

[Kevin M]

Butch, that was called The Other
The Other (1972)
In the summer of 1935, 9-year-old twins Niles and Holland Perry live with their family on a Connecticut farm. Their loving grandmother Ada has taught them something called "the game" (this plot point involves the scene with the crow & the pitchfork as well as other interesting aspects to the story....muaahhh.haaaa.haaaa!). A number of accidents begin happening, and it seems to Niles that Holland is responsible. It is Ada who begins to see the truth, and she is the only one who can stop this macabre game of murder.

 

[Butch C]

Question...HOW DO YOU PEOPLE KNOW THIS!!! where do you enter these plot points to find the synopsis?

Oh...and ...THANKS!

Hey Kevin...you DO have an accent...you certianly dont talk like me or anyone in my neighborhood.

 

[Kevin M]

Butch, I remember The Other because it was a favorite of mine when I was a kid & they played it on AMC not too long ago. And we get the quick plot out lines from Internet Movie Data Base.
........whaddaya meen I got's an akcent?

 

[Jose Robles]

OMIGOD! You guys rock! That's exactly the movie that I was talking about. Sorry it took me so long to reply back but I was away for the past week and almost forgot that I had posted this.
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark. Hmmm, I'll have to check and see if I can find a place that has that movie. I would love to watch it again. It was so creepy when I watched it as a kid.
Thanks for the help everyone. Greatly appreciated!
Jose

 

[GregC]

Thanks for posting this query. I have wanted to watch this film again but it never seems to be on the tube. And even if it was, I couldn't remember the title or the stars, just the prune-head people (brssshhhh rswsdssshhh)!

Anybody know a source for purchase?

 

[Jose Robles]

So after a year and a half of originally posting this thread I've heard that a DVD version of this movie was recently released. Did anyone else hear this and if so, any ideas where one could purchase it? Amazon.com doesn't seem to carry the DVD so I'm wondering what other sites might.

Jose

 

[Kevin M]

It was!?!?

 

[Jose Robles]

Yes. If you go to amazon.com and look up the vhs copy of the movie and start reading through some of the more recent reviews it's mentioned there. Apparently some 30th anniversary edition or something along those lines. I don't expect very much in regards to dvd extras but to at least have the movie would be sufficient enough.

Jose

 

[Kevin M]

Keep in mind that those Amazon reviews are written by...well let's just say that I wouldn't believe everything you hear at Amazon.