It's no real surprise that the residents of a town rejoicing in the name Darkness Falls are in line for some pretty sleepless nights.
And that's exactly what they get, because the vengeful ghost of the 'Tooth Fairy' sneaks up on them in the dead of night.
After being accused of snatching nippers, kindly old Matilda Dixon is strung up by a bloodlusting rabble only for the kids to turn up safe and sound.
A century has passed and hate-fuelled Matilda still makes her nocturnal visits when the town's children lose their last baby teeth.
The latest victim is nine-year-old Michael (Cormie), who is having nightmares about the hideously disfigured crone invading his sleep.
At her wit's end, Michael's sister Caitlin (Caulfied) calls up her old schoolfriend Kyle (Kley), who was fostered when Matilda murdered his mother.
Still traumatised by those terrible events 12 years before, he keeps the demon at bay with the combination of pills and flashlights.
Director Liebesman's first feature pretty much achieves what it sets out to and he knows when to call it a halt.
The acting never rises above the competent while there are holes in the plot that you could drive a truck through.
However, he succinctly builds up the tension and adeptly combines visual trickery with impressive sound effects.
Matilda herself is a wonderfully eerie creation from Oscar-winning special effects master Stan Winston, who was behind the Terminator and Jurassic Park's T-Rex.
A banshee-like ghoul, she swoops down from above although her mystique wears off towards the end because we see too much of her.
It's the perfect six-pack of beer and bucket of popcorn movie - just do what the man says - "Don't peek."
Tim Evans
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