First of all, I think there are probably about 40,000 of us obsessed about this movie -- who were in 2nd through 5th grade when it originally came out. Most of us about 9 or 10 -- still in the 'magical thinking' stage where this might be possible even though we knew it wasn't supposed to be.
Although I (we, at this age) had been brought up to not really believe in ghosts, fairies, and other fantasy things, I was of the age begining to hear opinions other than those of my parents and teachers. We were of the age when we were starting to realize that what our parents and teachers said were only their beliefs, and sometimes reality was different than what they thought.
We were starting to be exposed to UFO accounts and 'true' ghost stories, and maybe this sort of thing (DOn't be afraid of the dark) COULD happen.
Every kid who had a T.V. on this channel when it aired was affected, I think. There's hardly been a day gone by that I don't think about it. Yet, oddly enough, I feel this movie enriched me, somehow -- because I know that little ghoulish things can be small and still very threatening. Though I've seen their faces clearly on various internet webpages (we weren't shown much in the movie and if you blinked or were looking away you missed it), I'll always imagine them as much creepier and much nastier than they were actually portrayed. And transformation into one of them or something equally as foul and dark has always seemed a possibility if they get you.
Not only could they take you away to dark and dismal places but they could make you smaller than you'd ever been in your born life (we were trying to grow up), and horribly UGLY (we were wanting to look attractive for the first time) and isolated from our peers, family and loved ones (we wanted to be accepted and loved). What could happen to us if this were true made us feel very vulnerable and insecure, especially since no one would believe us or help us if this were to happen to us,
Ah, but anyhow -- to answer your question --
Why was Hutton not warned by the caretaker earlier? I don't think anyone who knew about these things were really sure about their powers of being able to know what you did or said. What might they do if you told?
(nothing that didn't happen anyway, I guess)
These creatures were more than animals, as they seemed to be able to 'hide' in spaces not accessible to us, and could be anywhere. I think he was afraid of what the creatures might do to him. Kill him? Take him?
'convert/transform' him? Or, maybe he himself was just afraid of looking crazy.
If I were aware of such a reality, I might doubt my own sanity but try to usher people away from the threat by making more believable excuses for them to stay away. I'd believe Sally, of course, but probably let HER do the talking to her husband and hope he'd just see that she was having a breakdown and needed to be away from the house. If I said too much I wouldn't be believable even if Sally could coaborate my story.But most of all, I think, he feared the creatures themselves.
Being a nuts-and-bolts kind of guy, he probably just wanted to keep people clear of the menace to the best of his ability, but knew better than to 'get involved.' People would think HE was crazy, and THEY (the creatures) might kill him or take him.
And 'cause' never was the reason for the evening,
--Or the Tropic of Sir Galahad.
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nemesis6669
17 years ago
I always thought the reason Demarist doesn't reveal anything to Hutton is because he had already been threatened by the creatures. When he went to gather his tools from the room with the fireplace they close the door and attack him slashing his arm with a screwdriver. "Remember what happens to those who tell?"they ask him. Í'd be keeping my mouth shut too!!
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