Fear(s) of the Dark

A black-and-white portmanteau animation written and directed by first-timers better known for work in comics seems like a recipe for tedium, and there are moments when ‘Fear(s) of the Dark’ strays into indulgence. But, a few interludes aside, this entertains and depicts ripping yarns of amorous giant insects and samurai ghosts.

Each segment has an identity, from Charles Burns’s blank-faced adolescent traumas to the shifting charcoal lines of the intense framing story about a pack of vicious dogs. It comes together magnificently in the final segment, an unnerving dark-house mystery told in high contrast, white faces looming from black shadows. A patchy, enjoyable experiment.