Are You Afraid of the Dark?

“Are You Afraid of the Dark returns in this nightmarish three-part limited series event filled with scorpions, eyeless men, disappearing children and the creepiest carnival of all time! Rachel has a chance to join the secret Midnight Society. All she has to do is tell a truly terrifying story. But when the chilling events of her “Tale of Mr. Tophat and the Carnival of Doom” start to actually come true and her friends’ lives are at stake, Rachel must face her fears and end Mr. Tophat’s reign of terror.”

Perhaps some of my favorite television-watching memories from my childhood involve Nickelodeon and the vast array of shows, from their content geared toward my age at the time like Salute Your Shorts and Hey Dude, etc. as well as the Nick at Nite where I was educated in some of the great comedies of television history. During all of that, however, one of the household favorites to watch with my siblings was Are You Afraid of the Dark?, perfectly geared toward children of that age who want to explore some of the scarier stuff that television and movies had to offer. It had probably been close to twenty-five years since I’ve seen the original show, but I’m able to remember certain episodes as clear as day. For a show that didn’t have much consistency to it, it sure has a long shelf-life for those like me who grew up watching SNICK.

Needless to say, my days of watching Nickelodeon have long since passed, so learning of a new take on the show in the form of a mini-series, I was pretty excited to check it out. Although a lot of things have changed from the show format, it’s something that has improved the overall story. Instead of a serialized format in which we don’t learn much about the ones telling the stories, The Midnight Society is now the focus, specifically on Rachel Carpenter (Lyliana Wray), who has moved to the small town of Argento, Oregon, and meets up with Gavin Coscarelli (Sam Ashe Arnold), Akiko Yamato (Miya Cech), Graham Raimi (Jeremy Ray Taylor), and Louise Fulci (Tamara Smart), who all are fans of scary stories and induct Rachel into their secret society after she tells a particularly frightening tale of a figure she has nightmares about, Mr. Tophat (Rafael Casal).

For the kids of Herbert West Middle School, their midnight storytelling becomes real life terror as things from the story begin to happen in real life as The Carnival of Doom rolls into town. The story that Rachel tells inspires the entire mini-series that has quite a bit of mystery to it, scares, and some very funny moments, all age-appropriate for children which adults will find entertaining as well. It’s this shift toward a story involving the kids of The Midnight Society that I found most interesting about this new reboot, just different enough to add some excitement for those interested in checking it out that might have been fans of the original series.

The kids all do a great job in their respective roles, most probably recognizing Jeremy Ray Taylor from the new It films. The villain, Mr. Tophat, is a bit exaggerated and over-the-top, not at all creepy or scary to me, but to a younger kid who this is geared toward may find some scariness to him. There are some effective scares, but a carnival just isn’t that scary of a place in my opinion, nor did I ever think that regardless of my age. Still, what scares one person might not another, but the series does succeed in creating a wonderful atmosphere for kids to explore that curiosity inside themselves.

Video

The video is presented in Standard Definition Widescreen 1.78:1 on DVD. This transfer looks to be in good shape, despite the lack of High Definition quality. There are a lot of dark moments in the series that particularly look good, and for a min-series you’d see on Nickelodeon, this isn’t bad at all.

Audio

The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. Not the greatest of mixes, but it does its job at creating a creepy atmosphere with a good use of the surrounds. Dialogue is clear and concise, with no defects noted.

Special Features

This is perhaps the best thing about the set. Although there are no extras pertaining to this mini-series itself, it does contain three fan-favorite episodes from the classic series, something I was overjoyed in seeing. If nostalgia hadn’t gotten you hooked from the name alone, this just might do it.

These episodes include:

• The Tale of Laughing in the Dark
• The Tale of the Ghastly Grinner
• The Tale of the Dead Man’s Float

Are You Afraid of the Dark? has lasted decades, and it’s great to see it reincarnated into something that is so different than the original show. This series is still a great introduction for kids to stories on the scarier side, complete with entertainment and great lessons to learn.