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Fear(s) of the Dark
Metascore
69 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
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  1. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    90
    Sinister and beautiful, this mostly black-and-white animation from France culls the talents of six artists and designers.
  2. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Steven Rea
    88
    Fear(s) of the Dark, a French production, interweaves the shorts, linking the segments together thematically, and narratively.
  3. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Jeannette Catsoulis
    80
    Shot in luminous whites, pulsing blacks and gorgeous grays, the stories explore sexual insecurity, rural superstition and sociopolitical anxieties with an inventiveness that's seldom scary but never less than mesmerizing.
  4. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Christopher Borrelli
    75
    Works best when it works primal--which is not the same thing as working dumb.
  5. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Ty Burr
    75
    It makes a nicely grim little Halloween appetizer, although you may want to go home and hide under the bed afterward.
  6. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Bill White
    75
    Despite the cultural and artistic differences among the contributors, the overall production design maintains a unified tone, helped in part by Laurent Perez's eerie soundtrack.
  7. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Tasha Robinson
    75
    These stories are frightening, but they contain few shocks or flinches; they're deeper and more psychological, more about adult anxiety than pure terror.
  8. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Stephen Farber
    70
    Half a dozen directors from America and Europe contribute stories to this tasty potpourri.
  9. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Jeremy Mathews
    70
    A visually exhilarating trip through the darker regions of the subconscious.
  10. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Aaron Hillis
    70
    Though multi-director projects are patchy by definition, Fear(s) of the Dark hits with an all-star batting average.
  11. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Mark Olsen
    70
    None of the segments are really interested in jump/scare/slasher horror, but rather the slow, creeping terror of feeling something is wrong and something worse is coming, making the film a most frightful Halloween aperitif.
  12. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    63
    Some of the stories are pretty good, especially Charles Burns' tale involving a nasty and vaguely humanoid insect that burrows under the skin.
  13. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    63
    There isn't a dud in the 10 shorts, although some are more dud-ish than others.
  14. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Reyhan Harmanci
    50
    The result is more lyrical than frightening - and there are some misses mixed in with the hits - but it's well worth checking out.
  15. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Gregory Kirschling
    50
    Feels like a nonstarter.
  16. Variety
    Reviewed by: Jay Weissberg
    50
    An omnibus of black-and-white animation with a couple exceptionally clever episodes tied together by an unnecessary recurring monologue.
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