Editorials
Disney’s Terrifying Original Movie ‘Don’t Look Under the Bed’ Turns 20!
Twenty years ago, on October 9, 1999, a Disney Channel Original Movie premiered on television that instilled nightmares for a generation. If you were a kid growing up in the ‘90s, then there’s a high probability this movie and its nightmarish imagery embedded itself into your skull and never left. For many, Don’t Look Under the Bed is considered Disney’s most terrifying original movie. It was one of the rare titles to earn a PG-rating for its scary scenes. Perhaps too scary; the Disney Channel ultimately stopped airing the film at the request of unhappy parents that complained it was too much for their kids to handle. Two decades later, the film is still a standout for its bold take on the boogeyman and grown-up themes.
The movie is set in the small town of Middleberg, where a series of strange pranks is setting its residents on edge. Alarm clocks are going off hours too early, dogs wind up on the roofs of homes, and even the school’s pool is filled with gelatin. All signs seem to point toward teen Frances Bacon McCausland (Erin Chambers) as the prank mastermind. Frances suspects the culprit is new kid Larry Houdini (Ty Hodges), but it quickly becomes clear that only she can see him. It turns out that Larry is an imaginary friend, and Frances’ only ally in her fight against the true villain- a terrifying boogeyman that really has it out for her.
That plot set up doesn’t exactly scream “scary” does it? For a good chunk of the first act, Don’t Look Under the Bed feels like pretty standard Disney fare. Except for one tiny little motif that keeps recurring, indicating something very foreboding ahead; the freaking dolls. Frances is constantly in a state of defense and confusion as the scapegoat of the prankster, so only the audience is aware that something sinister has invaded her home. How? The porcelain dolls in Frances’ room move on their own accord when no one is looking. That’s nightmare fuel for a grown-up, let alone a kid.
As the narrative progresses, the more we get to know and like imaginary friend Larry Houdini. But Larry also starts to undergo bodily and personality changes. It’s not of the puberty variety, either. Poor Larry is slowly transforming into a boogeyman. Gnarly long fingernails. Glowing purple eyes. And the teeth. Sharp, pointy rows of teeth. It’s pretty creepy, actually. Especially when he crawls along the floor. Never mind that this is before Frances’ baby brother is dragged under the bed into a bizarre boogeyman world for an exhilarating third act showdown.
Between the haunting atmosphere, subtle touches, and full-on creepy boogeyman design, it’s not so surprising in hindsight that this movie would have put parents on edge. It is surprising, though, to realize just how mature and timeless the central themes are. Larry is turning into a boogeyman because the child he was attached to stopped believing in him far too soon, before the child was ready. Being forced to face adulthood doesn’t seem outside the norm for Disney, but the why of it is.
It turns out that Larry’s kid buddy was Darwin, Frances’ baby brother. Throughout the film, the McCausland family references Darwin’s former bout with illness. It turns out he’s in remission from Leukemia, and Frances pushed Darwin to shun his imaginary friend out of her own fears. It’s not just growing up too soon that permeates this film, it’s the tangible and adult fears of death. Of cancer or illness that threaten to claim your loved ones. When Darwin crawls into his sister’s bed and confesses that he’s afraid to get sick again, it’s heartbreakingly mature. Don’t Look Under the Bed offers up the one-two punch of both supernatural and real-world horrors.
Disney has been on a spree announcing exclusive titles for their upcoming streaming service, including tons of Disney Channel Originals. Luckily, they’ve announced this movie as part of its exclusive offerings. Don’t Look Under the Bed earned its PG rating and its reputation as “too scary for kids.” Even twenty years later, its unexpected depth and complex approach to the scares still holds up well. This one deserves to haunt a whole new generation.
From child-eating witches to village-burning dragons, fairy tales have always had a foot in the horror genre. That’s why it makes sense that, for every The Hobbit and The Chronicles of Narnia, there are also darker and more adult-oriented stories about magical worlds inhabited by ravenous monsters and cruel villains.
Funnily enough, these sinister tales were precisely the ones that I gravitated towards back when I was a kid, and I was reminded of this while watching Netflix’s recently released I Am Frankelda, Mexico’s first ever feature-length stop-motion animation and one hell of an entertaining parable about the intersection between fiction and reality.
In honor of this special kind of horror-adjacent fairy tale, today I’d like to share this list recommending six Dark Fantasy films that horror fans might enjoy.
For the purposes of this list, we’ll be defining Dark Fantasy as fantastical stories that don’t shy away from the more macabre elements that fuel classic fairy tales. That being said, don’t forget to comment below with your own grim favorites if you think we missed a particularly thrilling one.
With that out of the way, onto the list!
6. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)
I’m fascinated by bizarre attempts at blockbuster filmmaking – especially when the resulting movies are somehow still fun despite their corporate-mandated origins. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters is precisely one of these strangely compelling studio projects, as this surprisingly successful action-thriller boasts a lot of heart (and tongue-in-cheek humor) for a CGI-heavy creature feature.
Directed by Dead Snow’s Tommy Wirkola, Witch Hunters re-frames the classic fairy tale as an origin story for a duo of badass monster-slayers. Of course, it’s the flick’s anachronistic aesthetic and overall visual flair that make it stand out from other action-horror endeavors from around the same time.
5. The Wolf House (2018)
Made in the tradition of faux cursed films in the same vein as Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever Made, the eerie backstory to 2018’s Chilean animated flick The Wolf House (La Casa Lobo in the original Spanish) already makes it a nightmarish experience before the flick even really begins.
After all, the movie is presented to us as a faux propaganda film produced by the leader of a death cult (heavily inspired by the real life Colonia Dignidad), with this hybrid animated feature using complex movie magic to simulate a single uninterrupted shot as it tells the story of a lazy young girl who runs away from an isolated colony and encounters a creepy old house in the woods.
4. The Brothers Grimm (2005)
Out of all the Monty Python alumni, Terry Gilliam has had the most interesting career outside of the original comedy group. From fascinating canceled projects (such as his scrapped adaptation of Watchmen) to dystopian parodies that feel more relevant by the minute (1985’s Brazil), even his “lesser” films are still intriguing in their own way.
2005’s The Brothers Grimm is one such project, with this peculiar movie attempting to combine the comedian-turned-filmmaker’s unique visual style with a more blockbuster-oriented plot reimagining the titular brothers as con-artists rather than mere writers. The end result isn’t exactly a masterpiece, but it’s still a legitimately fun ride with plenty of memorable monsters and wonderful performances by both the late, great Heath Ledger and Matt Damon.
3. Dante’s Inferno: An Animated Epic (2010)
2010’s Dante’s Inferno game may have a reputation as something of an unapologetic God of War clone, but I’d argue that the now-obscure game was aesthetically unique enough to deserve a bigger fanbase. However, while the title remains trapped on the seventh console generation, its highly underrated anime adaptation is a lot easier to get a hold of!
Animated by 6 different studios in order to make the 9 circles of hell feel unique from each other, this may not be a completely faithful adaptation of Dante Alighieri’s poem, but it’s still one heck of a great (not to mention gory) time that I’d highly recommend to fans of Netflix’s take on Castlevania.
2. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009)
My personal favorite entry in the Underworld franchise, Rise of the Lycans, is a highly ambitious prequel that actually works better if you haven’t had the story spoiled to you by the previous Underworld films.
While the rest of the series features plenty of urban fantasy elements as the movies combine machine guns and modern environments with gothic storytelling, Patrick Tatopoulos’ prequel fully embraces its fantastical origins and tells a classic tale about a doomed romance between a werewolf and a vampire amid a medieval uprising.
And the best part is that we get a lot more Michael Sheen as the fan-favorite Lucian.
1. Solomon Kane (2011)
One of my personal favorite movies on this list, MJ Basset’s criminally underseen adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s other iconic warrior is thoroughly steeped in horror ambience and features plenty of memorable monsters. However, it’s also a classic origin story for a swashbuckling hero that wouldn’t feel out of place in a tabletop RPG.
While I’ve already written about how the film deftly combines both horror and fantasy elements without breaking the bank, I’ll never pass up an opportunity to recommend the bizarre movie where James Purefoy expertly plays a puritan John Wick.
It’s just too bad that we never got the other films in this intended trilogy.
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