5/5 the artwork of charles burns...
  by N. Huston (at large)
...looks just as good animated as it does on the printed page. easily the standout segment in this anthology, in my own humble opinion.

'fear(s) of the dark' really is a classy production all around, belonging to the school of horror that sinks into your mind and messes with your perceptions of the orderly sunlit world, as opposed to the less introspective hack-and-slash, gore-for-gore's-sake movies that are more likely to plant butts in theatre seats.

beautifully animated in black and white, each segment represents the work and style of a different animator, each of whom is probably better known as a cartoonist. the variety of styles represented is very pleasing to the eye; each very different from the last, yet meshing together rather than working against each other. thematically, each segment deals with fear on a very intimate, very personal level: isolation, persecution, struggle, invasion, betrayal. where does the actual 'dark' begin and our perception of it end? i'll be thinking this one over for a while - with the lights on.

having read the other review (at this time, there is only one) on amazon, i'll admit i was puzzled: isn't this just a horror movie? what's with the politicking? fortunately, that reviewer had no idea what he or she was talking about. this is, to my eyes, an agenda-free film, and hooray for that.

it seems unlikely, in this age of unlimited 'saw' sequels, prequels and knockoffs, that a movie like this could ever be approved for any kind of funding. i'm awfully glad it did, though - it's a keeper.

5/5 Fear of Fear
  by Michael A. Scheurich (California)
Not being released yet due to its controversial subject matter and the fact our government still considers France's going against U.S. policy traitorous to our goals in the Middle East, this movie portrays the difficulties of the French people in trying to adjust to the every changing political climate of the world. An animation by 5 world famous French cartoonist. The same subject matter is not censored for American film makers for instance "Lord of Wars" has not been censored. Political cartoonists have never been sanctioned by a ruling party in any country that I know of and classical novels such as "Catcher in the Rye", "Farewell to Arms". "1984", "The Grapes of Wrath", "Gone With the Wind" were all banned at one time in the U.S. I consider myself fortunate to have been able to rent a copy and hope others will check it out. It depicts how our fears make us prisoners. It sends an excellent message which hits home with almost everyone.