Fear(s) of the Dark (2008)

The first time I tried this, I gave up after the first sequence; the animations were disappointing (read: somewhat rigid), as was the story. But, in all honesty, there was a lack of focus on my side. Out of the two recurring themes I liked the ones with the dogs best.Years later I gave it another try, and with good results. The recurring theme with the neurotic thoughts of a French housewife with abstract animations worked just fine as an intermezzo, and the first sequence was actually very doable - rigid animations can have their charm and the story was 'fun' enough. The same goes for the second sequence (the legend of the Samurai); fun animations with some particular highlights.But then, the 'second half': sequence three (the crocodile) and four (man imprisoned in a house) were nothing short of captivating on account of the astounding animations, especially those in sequence three. The stories of these sequences were certainly doable, but for all parts I can say that they weren't the most important ingredients.A good 8 out of 10, and one I would want to see again sometime soon.

Fear(s) of the Dark isn't the horror film I was hoping for. It's creepy, twisted and dark, but is also distant. It's really a portfolio of work collected by a number of talented animators. Every animation focuses on fear and nightmares in some way. Each of the individual tales has a dreamlike quality, allowing the films to avoid any responsibility they may have to tell a story. Complaining about the story may seem too harsh, but I the end I really had no connection to what was going on. The artistic skills on display can't be challenged in anyway, but so much more could have been achieved with the expansion of just one story. Certainly worth a look for some imaginative imagery.

For a long while, we could count on a Tournee of Animation every year; then it was Spike & Mike; then there were a couple of years of Animation Celebration; but it's been awhile since there was an animation anthology until The Animation Show 4 hit town last year. (No idea about Shows 1-3.) These collections almost always get a 5 rating from me, because the multiple installments are of wildly varying quality (some gems, some stinkers), and they usually average out to mediocre.Here's the exception, a French import done entirely in B&W, with a collection of dark (and in some cases grisly) short features of remarkably poor drawing quality. The last of these is almost entirely black screen, with occasional half-seen glimpses of strange things fitfully illuminated by candlelight. This would be the ideal background on which to project the all- white subtitles, but no, it's almost entirely silent as well as dark. For the rest of the movie, the all-white subtitles are projected on a background which is itself all white at least half the time. Result: total incomprehensibility.I got the distinct impression from the parts of the film that I could dope out that I wouldn't have liked it very much anyway. The subtitles were the killer touch. What could the idiot distributors have been thinking of?

Peur(s) du Noir is essentially 5 short black and white animations interspersed by segments of a woman droning on about her fears, illustrated with interesting animated black and white shapes (I should note, I watched the film in French, and as my French is not perfect, I did not catch everything she said, but got the general impression that she was your typical anxious overachieving yuppie).The five shorts all used different animation techniques, but were overall pleasingly creepy. There was a cruel aristocrat and his dogs, an Italian village ravaged by a mysterious beast, a budding scientist and his insect specimens, a Japanese girl bullied by classmates/ghosts, and a refugee from a snowstorm shacked up in a Victorian house. This final short was, I thought, the most effective. It was done in pure black and white, and the only light shed in the house (with wonderfully Goreyesque wallpaper) came from a candle the traveller carried with him in his explorations. This allowed for some great reveal moments, and additionally built up the tension extremely well.Overall, a must see for fans of art-house animation. If it comes to a cinema near you, take the opportunity to see it, because I suspect it will be difficult to find on DVD.