dannydenshaw
The Children's Film (and Television) Foundation were famed for their second-rate B-movies made for screening at kids' matinées in the UK from the 1950s-80s. They were low budget efforts, despite featuring many A-list actors who participated for standard Equity rates (presumably just for the fun of it).Out of the Darkness was one of their last productions and truly broke the mold. Based on John Hoyland's novel "The Ivy Garland" (a favourite of mine as a kid) it features good cinematography and strong performances all round. It's also pretty scary in places and steeped in real-life history. I saw it as a tween on TV in the late 90s/early 2000s and never forgot it; now I am delighted to find that it's been made available as part of the CFFs re-releases on DVD.Educational and entertaining. Recommended for viewers of all ages (though a bit too scary for younger children).
Chris Gaskin
I've just seen Out of the Darkness for the first time and found it rather creepy. It's now available on DVD as part of the Children's Film Foundation Scary Stories collection, released by BFI.A family decide to buy a cottage in the plague village of Eyam, unaware the area is haunted. These hauntings are all connected to the plague, in particular the ghost of a boy. So, the brother and sister of the family and their friend decide to investigate...Rather creepy at times, Out of the Darkness was actually shot on location in Eyam and the surrounding area, including the Winnats Pass.Well worth a look, it's good to see that the BFI have released several Children's Film Foundation movies on DVD. I watched these when they came on TV back in the 1980s/1990s.Rating: 3 stars out of 5.
mehmoona_m
Saw this film when I was about 14 (now 25), and it's never left my memory.Excellent movie and adaptation of the true story about the Village of Eyam in Derbyshire which was hit by the plague.The way the film was made, was of a typical English village where you can really feel the film coming alive.At times it felt quite scary, when the ghost is first seen, and when one of the 3 kids gets lost in the woods and has to run through the graveyard.I'd love to watch this film again, but i'm having difficulty finding it. That's how great I thought it was.Highly recommended to anyone