Actually quite scary for kids, I had no idea that “Are you afraid of the Dark” was that good until I watched the DVD. Very compelling, the script reaches more than the pre-teen/teen thrill crowd as it certainly entertains no matter what mature age group. Nicely acted, well written and even some nice twists and surprises make up the 3 part episode of “Carnival of Doom”.
“Are you Afraid of the Dark?”
Part One: “Submitted For Approval”
Part Two: “Opening Night”
Part Three: “Destroy All Tophats”
The episodes takes place in Argento a small town in Oregon. Rachael a teenager has moved to a new town from Idaho with her mother Hannah and it’s the first day of her new school. Living next door is a teenager named Gavin her and a silent friendship starts early with the help if Hannah.
At school her teacher is Mr. Jones and she meets Graham who sits behind her in class. He introduces himself and they become friends because they each like the horror genre. Rachel gets invited to a party in the woods where they offer her a membership in their horror group called The Midnight Society. But, before she can become a member she must write a horror story that’s acceptable to the group.
It’s the beginning of a nightmare that will be played out at a carnival where a ticket can get you more than a scary night. The production value, including some very nice direction, eerie music, wicked sets, make-up and locations, does the trick of creating some very good fear factors, making the series worthy of good grades.
BONUS FEATURES include some original episodes from the past
“The Tale of Laughing in the Dark” (1992)
“The Tale of the ghastly Grinner” (1994)
“The Tale f the Dead Man’s Float” (1995)
“Are You Afraid of the Dark” is not rated by the MPAA, but contains gruesome images, and minor violence. Think PG for mature viewers. Now on DVD.
Nickelodeon’s Are You Afraid of the Dark?, a three-part reboot of the hit ‘90s series was 2019’s number-one co-viewed show across all TV and each of the three installments won their time slot, ranking as the number-one live-action series on basic cable with Kids 2-11, 6-11 and tweens 9-14.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A good DVD for teens and mature pre-teens. (3 out of 4 Stars)
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Lyliana Wray, Sam Ashe Arnold, Miya Cech, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Tamara Smart
Created by: BenDavid Grabinski, Ned Kandel, D.J. MacHale
Genre: Adventure, Family, Fantasy
TV Rating: Not Rated, contains gruesome images, minor violence.
Running Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes
Video Release Date: August 11, 2020
Original TV Release Date: 2019
Language: English
Reviewed Format: DVD
Audio: Dolby Digital English 5.1, French Stereo, Spanish Stereo
Video: Widescreen, 16×9, Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
Subtitles: Closed Captions available while playing each feature
Number of Discs: 1 Disc
Distributed by: Paramount Home Entertainment
Released on: DVD
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
