I’m Not Scared has a moment of horrific resonance for anyone who has watched the news over the last two months about halfway in. The little blonde child who has been kidnapped and hidden in a muddy hole is confronted by our ten year old hero Michele for questions about his family. “They are all dead, I am dead,” says the waif in return. A little bit too close to this story. It is rather jarring but is about the only smell of a serious theme in the film.
The aim seems to be to make a macabre Night of The Hunter/ Spirit Of The Beehive go at view adult horrors though the prism of a child (they should stop making children out of prisms). And the lead is cute enough, but his reaction to finding a kidnapped child of a similar age seems wrongheaded. He keeps it secret, does not tell anyone – not even his friends – and almost savours it. His actions are almost akin to torture themselves, especiallly when his daily visits are so brief. He could have saved the kid a good week before the climax precipitates violent action, so you cannot help but feel that he deserves what he gets.
Perhaps the problem is that the scenario is straight out of the Famous Five. And Blyton has conditioned a British viewer to think along the lines of child-like derring-do. Michele here has a gang who seem massively bored with their day to day games, why would he keep this secret. It is also a touch unclear who the title refers to, as Michele is scared for large chunks of the movie, and I’m Not Very Smart might equally make sense as a title.