The Tooth Fairy -- 2006 -- NR

Got me a kind of graphic horror flick this time that is a twist on the traditional tooth fairy mythology. This time, the tooth fairy is a witch who longs for your last baby tooth, and once she takes it, she kills you rather brutally with an axe. She keeps the tooth which traps the soul of the child in limbo between heaven and hell.

Another kicker here is she lived in the house purchased by our main characters with the intention of turning it into a bed & breakfast. So we have kind of a Friday the 13th idea going on in that we not only have the little girl who has, of course, lost her last baby tooth, but the witch's spirit has been brought back due to all the wonderful renovations to her house. You'd think she'd be thrilled with the boost to the property value.

So one by one, the people who are staying in the house get hacked in graphic and disgusting ways dumping blood everywhere. Things are complicated by a weird hate relationship between the new owner and some guys in town who were squatting on the property. It's a weird kind of relationship, and seems thrown in only to add to the screen time, since their existence adds very little to the overall plot and doesn't forward the story really. I'm sure if the core story were over 90 minutes, these guys wouldn't even be here.

The characters themselves are pretty well drawn. We have a past and future for each of the main ones, and very quickly into the film, we actually hope for the best for them, which makes their deaths a bit of a bummer. The deaths themselves are hidden fairly well in the order they'll die. The first one (not the teaser, but after that one) is dead obvious not only who but how, but fortunately that telegraphing ended there (although an obvious weapon was setup kind of early).

As for the plot, it was decent. We had our share of dumb moves peculiar to the horror genre. The girl walks into a clearly abandoned shed, and still asks if anyone is there. Lots of "hello?"s here and there. People wandering into areas that no one in their right mind would wander into. People exploring strange noises even though they know there's a killer out there (seriously, people don't do this!). People getting left alone (often as more of a matter of convenience rather than need). One character was told that a certain item would slow down the tooth fairy. This item (which has unlimited use) was used once and for some reason discarded.

And let us not forget the cranky old person who knows the whole history of everything and visits once and is then visited later so we can learn all there is to know, including how to win. This person was the most underdeveloped, though without her, we'd've been confused.

The biggest downside is the suspense (or rather lack thereof). We are introduced to the danger when it comes up and kept abreast of what it is doing which (if you know anything about fear) does not inspire any kind of dread or suspense. It's a tad creepy at times, and there's a little dread when you know someone is going to be hacked, but when it comes to suspense, there is none. Once the tooth fairy picks someone, it is over pretty quick. No false scares. No wondering whether the person is in danger or not. Just there's the monster. There's the victim. Cut back and forth and whack! Game over, man. It's the weakest part of the whole thing, though suspense (strangely) is more a facet of thrillers than it is horrors, which focus primarily on the gore effects rather than the slow build of tension.

In the end, it was actually pretty good. We had a decent plot (though ripe with horror cliches), good characters, and some good action. For you horror buffs, there is lots of gore and yes, the required bare bosoms (can't get through a horror flick without 'em). So the film works better than most horror movies I've seen, and if you like horror, it's worth a look. Just don't look to be scared; only a bit creeped.