History YMMV / TheWardstoneChronicles

** [[{{Satan}} The aforementioned Fiend]] is the master of the dark and [[BigBad main antagonist]] of the series who tries to bring the world to a new age of darkness. Having control of practitioners of the dark, he sentences his enemies as well as people who make deals with him to [[AndIMustScream eternal torments]]. Fathering many children with witches, he [[OffingTheOffspring kills those]] who are neither humans nor witches, as he [[WouldHurtAChild killed Grimalkin’s baby son]], earning her hatred. He prevents Bill Arkwright’s ghost parents [[BarredFromTheAfterlife from reaching the light]], condemning them to haunt their mill. When the witches release him from his plane, his mere presence on earth causes many wars. He [[KillAndReplace murders and takes the appearance]] of the bargeman Matthew Guilbert in order to lure Tom and his master into a trap. After failing to convert [[TheHero Thomas Ward]] to his cause, he challenges him to face his daughter Morwena with the threat of killing his friends if he refuses or gets killed. He later tricks Tom into [[DealWithTheDevil selling his soul]] and when his other daughter [[AntiAntiChrist Alice]] prevents him from claiming it, he [[AbusiveParents curses her to share her friend’s fate]]. He submits her to unspeakable torture and allows Tom to hear her cries. When Grimalkin [[EyeScream takes one of his eyes]], he [[BadBoss threatens his followers with eternal damnation]]. Finally, he sends the Vampire God Siscoi against Tom and sends his agents to murder Tom’s brother James [[EvilIsPetty out of spite]].

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids?: The books have a recommended age group of "10 and up" despite the sheer amount of death, horror, and violence contained in each entry. Although they're still geared towards a younger audience, they're still pretty grim and frightening right from the very beginning of the series.

* NightmareFuel: a ''lot'' of it. This is a DarkFantasy novel after all.
* ParanoiaFuel: In book eight, [[spoiler: The blood jar getting weaker throughout the book.]]

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids?: The books generally have a recommended age group of "10 and up". Considering the amount of violence and dark material (particularly in the later novels), however...
** And they're damn scary.

* ClicheStorm: A prophecy that can only be fulfilled by TheChosenOne? Check. Medieval Europe setting perfect for a fantasy adventure? Check. An evil and one-dimensional villain with mundane goals and a strong preference for black and red robes who lives in an evil lair? Check. An ordinary farm boy who's swept up in a grand adventure full of magic and wonder to defeat an evil overlord with the help of his friends? Check. An old wizard who takes the hero under his wing to be his apprentice with a tendency to speak in riddles? Check. A generic love interest who's a FlatCharacter and betrays her evil overlord to assist the heroes? Check. A magical object that the heroes must protect lest it fall into the wrong hands? Check.
** To be slightly fair, the source material was also guilty of some of these cliches as well, but it's no wonder that the film bombed as massively as it did. Audiences and critics alike were reported to have been disinterested from just the trailers and the synopsis alone because the film is presented as a run-of-the-mill fantasy adventure film with nothing that makes it stand out from the rest of its ilk.

* MisaimedFandom: The film was doomed for failure when you realize that it had no audience to hope for to rake in the cash, in addition to being placed in a [[DumpMonths dump month]] for release, which is a pretty big red flag. The fans of the novels were already pissed off at all of the creative liberties taken with the source material, to the point where it barely resembles the first book, and the trite and predictable plot was also a turn-off for the general audience with the groan-inducing cliches and tropes present in just the trailer alone. This film had no hope for success.

* StillbornFranchise: The open ending certainly left room for at least one more sequel, despite how much different this film is from the first book (this was because the film cobbled together several elements of the novels into one), but the disastrous box office and pitiful reviews pretty much doomed any possibility of a potential franchise. It's nothing the book's fans would be complaining about though.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: The first trailer already showed many things that pissed off the fans of the books, like: Tom and Alice being significantly older, them kissing (their relationship in the books is straight UnresolvedSexualTension), AdaptationalAttractiveness for BigBad Mother Malkin, including creatures not from the book (like a dragon or a four-armed man), Gregory using magic and martial arts moves...

* MagnificentBastard: the Fiend;
** Tom's mother as well, though [[GuileHero a more benevolent version]].

* ClicheStorm: A prophecy that can only be fulfilled by [[TheChosenOne]]? Check. Medieval Europe setting perfect for a fantasy adventure? Check. An evil and one-dimensional villain with mundane goals and a strong preference for black and red robes who lives in an evil lair? Check. An ordinary farm boy who's swept up in a grand adventure full of magic and wonder to defeat an evil overlord with the help of his friends? Check. An old wizard who takes the hero under his wing to be his apprentice with a tendency to speak in riddles? Check. A generic love interest who's a [[FlatCharacter]] and betrays her evil overlord to assist the heroes? Check. A magical object that the heroes must protect lest it fall into the wrong hands? Check.

* MisaimedFandom: The film was doomed for failure when you realize that it had no audience to hope for to rake in the cash, in addition to being placed in a [[DumpMonths]] for release, which is a pretty big red flag. The fans of the novels were already pissed off at all of the creative liberties taken with the source material, to the point where it barely resembles the first book, and the trite and predictable plot was also a turn-off for the general audience with the groan-inducing cliches and tropes present in just the trailer alone. This film had no hope for success.

* InternetBackdraft: Hoo boy. Just from the trailer of the film: [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks Tom being a young man instead of a 12-year boy, emphasis on action rather than scares, showing random creatures not from the book,..]]

* MisaimedFandom: The film was doomed for failure when you realize that it had no audience to hope for to rake in the cash, in addition to being placed in a [[DumpMonth]] for release, which is a pretty big red flag. The fans of the novels were already pissed off at all of the creative liberties taken with the source material, to the point where it barely resembles the first book, and the trite and predictable plot was also a turn-off for the general audience with the groan-inducing cliches and tropes present in just the trailer alone. This film had no hope for success.

** [[WickedWitch Elizabeth of the Bones]], commonly known as Bony Lizzie, is a sadistic [[WouldHurtAChild child-killing]] witch who harvests bones for rituals. Posing as Alice Deane's aunt, she's actually her [[AbusiveParents mother]], having conceived with [[{{Satan}} the Fiend]]. She once had a brain-eating familiar, and Lizzie didn't interfere when it targeted her daughter. She first plots to free her dreaded grandmother Mother Malkin by tricking Tom into giving her blood cakes and abducting a little boy as a meal. She inflicts Tom with [[MindRape nightmarish hallucinations]], before she tries to [[{{Fingore}} take his thumb bones]]. After taking over the isle of Mona, she murders a miller who challenged her authority, [[AndIMustScream trapping his soul in limbo]], sentences John Gregory, Adriana and Commander Stanton to be fed to the Buggane, drinks the blood of a yeoman and leads raiding parties slaughtering entire families. When Alice ruins her plans of world domination, [[OffingTheOffspring she attempts to take her life]] then successfully kills Adriana and her fiance. The flashback of the twelfth book reveals that she killed a Spook before torturing his soul and attempted to kill thirteen children for a ritual, while in the present day, her ghost ambushes Alice and Thorne to be interrogated and tortured by the daemon Beelzebub. In ''The Dark Assassin'', Lizzie treacherously delivers the witch assassin Grimalkin and Thorne to another daemon.

** [[WickedWitch Elizabeth of the Bones]], commonly known as Bony Lizzie, is an infamous malevolent witch who harvests bones for dark magic rituals, and WouldHurtAChild. Posing as [[AntiHero Alice Deane]]'s aunt during her traineeship, she’s later revealed to be Alice's [[AbusiveParents mother]], having conceived with [[{{Satan}} the Fiend]]. In the first book, she plots to free her equally-awful grandmother Mother Malkin by tricking Tom into giving her cakes made with Alice's blood, abducting a three-year-old boy as a meal. She later captures Tom, forcing him to consume a potion [[MindRape giving him nightmarish hallucinations]], before she tries to [[{{Fingore}} take his thumb bones]]. A short story reveals that she had a brain-eating familiar she gave to her servant and did not interfere when it targeted her daughter. In the seventh book, after taking over the isle of Mona, she kills a miller who challenged her authority, [[AndIMustScream trapping his soul in limbo]]; sentences John Gregory, Adriana and Commander Stanton to be fed to the Buggane; drinks the blood of a loyal yeoman and leads raiding parties against the landowners and farmers, slaughtering entire families. When Tom and Horn tries to stop her, she kills the latter and tries to slice off the thumbs of the former. After her daughter ruins her plans of world domination, [[OffingTheOffspring she attempts to take her life]]. She causes the deaths of Adriana and her fiancé Simon in her escape. The flashback of the twelfth book reveals that she killed the Spook Jacob Stone before torturing his soul and attempted to kill thirteen children for a ritual, while in the present day her ghost ambushes Alice and her ally Thorne when they trespass in the dark to be interrogated and tortured by the daemon Beelzebub. In her final appearance in "Dark Assassin", Lizzie offers her help to the witch assassin Grimalkin and Thorne but then leads them to the daemon Tanaki. Ruthless and {{sadist}}ic, Bony Lizzie is one of the worst witches Tom and his master John Gregory ever faced.

* StrangledByTheRedString: Tom and Alice share two scenes before they kiss and confess their love for each others. In the books, it takes several novels before Tom acknowledges he might have feelings for her.

** [[WickedWitch Elizabeth of the Bones]], commonly known as Bony Lizzie, is an infamous malevolent witch who harvests bones for dark magic rituals, and WouldHurtAChild. Posing as [[AntiHero Alice Deane]]'s aunt during her traineeship, she’s later revealed to be Alice's [[AbusiveParents mother]], having conceived with [[{{Satan}} the Fiend]]. In the first book, she plots to free her equally-awful grandmother Mother Malkin by tricking Tom into giving her cakes made with Alice's blood, abducting a three-year-old boy as a meal. She later captures Tom, forcing him to consume a potion [[MindRape giving him nightmarish hallucinations]], before she tries to [[{{Fingore}} take his thumb bones]]. A short story reveals that she had a brain-eating familiar she gave to her servant and did not interfere when it targeted her daughter. In the seventh book, after taking over the isle of Mona, she kills a miller who challenged her authority, [[AndIMustScream trapping his soul in limbo]]; sentences John Gregory, Adriana and Commander Stanton to be fed to the Buggane; drinks the blood of a loyal yeoman and leads raiding parties against the landowners and farmers slaughtering entire families. When Tom and Horn tries to stop her, she kills the latter and tries to slice off the thumbs of the former. After her daughter ruins her plans of world domination, [[OffingTheOffspring she attempts to take her life]]. She causes the deaths of Adriana and her fiancé Simon in her escape. The flashback of the twelfth book reveals that she killed the Spook Jacob Stone before torturing his soul and attempted to kill thirteen children for a ritual, while in the present day her ghost ambushes Alice and her ally Thorne when they trespass in the dark to be interrogated and tortured by the daemon Beelzebub. In her final appearance in "Dark Assassin", Lizzie offers her help to the witch assassin Grimalkin and Thorne but then leads them to the daemon Tanaki. Ruthless and {{sadist}}ic, Bony Lizzie is one of the worst witches Tom and his master John Gregory ever faced.

** [[WickedWitch Elizabeth of the Bones]], commonly known as Bony Lizzie, is an infamous witch who harvests bones for dark magic rituals and has no qualm about [[WouldHurtAChild murdering children]]. Posing as [[AntiHero Alice Deane]]'s aunt during her traineeship, she’s later revealed to be Alice's [[AbusiveParents mother]], having conceived with [[{{Satan}} the Fiend]]. In the first book, she plots to free her equally-awful grandmother Mother Malkin by tricking Tom into giving her cakes made with Alice's blood, abducting a three-year-old boy as a meal. She later captures Tom, forcing him to consume a potion giving him nightmarish hallucinations, before she tries to [[{{Fingore}} take his thumb bones]]. A short story reveals that she had a brain-eating familiar she gave to her servant and did not interfere when it targeted her daughter. In the seventh book, after taking over the isle of Mona, she kills a miller who challenged her authority, [[AndIMustScream trapping his soul in limbo]]; sentences John Gregory, Adriana and Commander Stanton to be fed to the Buggane; drinks the blood of a loyal yeoman and leads raiding parties against the landowners and farmers slaughtering entire families. When Tom and abhuman Horn tries to stop her, she kills the latter and tries to slice off the thumbs of the former. After her daughter ruins her plans of world domination, [[OffingTheOffspring she attempts to take her life]]. She causes the deaths of Adriana and her fiancé Simon in her escape. The flashback of the twelth book reveals that she killed the Spook Jacob Stone before torturing his soul and attempted to kill thirteen children for a ritual, while in the present day her ghost ambushes Alice and her ally Thorn when they trespass in the dark to be interrogated and tortured by the daemon Beelzebub. Ruthless and {{sadist}}ic, Bony Lizzie is one of the worst witches Tom and his master John Gregory ever faced.

** [[{{Satan}} The aforementioned Fiend]] is the master of the dark and [[BigBad main antagonist]] of the series who tries to bring the world to a new age of darkness. Having control of practitioners of the dark, he sentences his enemies as well as people who make deals with him to [[AndIMustScream eternal torments]]. Fathering many children with witches, he [[OffingTheOffspring kills those]] who are neither humans nor witches, as he [[WouldHurtAChild killed Grimalkin’s baby son]], earning her hatred. He prevents Bill Arkwright’s ghost parents [[BarredFromTheAfterlife from reaching the light]], condemning them to haunt their mill. When the witches release him from his plane, his mere presence on earth causes many wars. He [[KillAndReplace murders and takes the appearance]] of the bargeman Matthew Guilbert. After failing to convert [[TheHero Thomas Ward]] to his cause, he challenges him to face his daughter Morwena with the threat of killing his friends if he refuses or gets killed. He later tricks Tom into [[DealWithTheDevil selling his soul]] and when his other daughter [[AntiAntiChrist Alice]] prevents him from claiming it, he [[AbusiveParents curses her to share her friend’s fate]]. He submits her to unspeakable torture and allows Tom to hear her cries. When Grimalkin [[EyeScream takes one of his eyes]], he [[BadBoss threatens his followers with eternal damnation]]. Finally, he sends the Vampire God Siscoi against Tom and sends his agents to murder Tom’s brother James [[EvilIsPetty out of spite]].

* CompleteMonster: [[WickedWitch Bony Lizzie]] is an infamous witch who harvests bones for dark magic rituals and has no qualm about [[WouldHurtAChild murdering children]]. Posing as [[AntiHero Alice Deane]]'s aunt during her traineeship, she’s later revealed to be Alice's [[AbusiveParents mother]], having conceived with [[{{Satan}} the Fiend]]. In the first book, she plots to free her equally-awful grandmother Mother Malkin by tricking Tom into giving her cakes made with Alice's blood, abducting a three-year-old boy as a meal. She later captures Tom, forcing him to consume a potion giving him nightmarish hallucinations, before she tries to [[{{Fingore}} take his thumb bones]]. A short story reveals that she had a brain-eating familiar she gave to her servant and did not interfere when it targeted her daughter. In the seventh book, after taking over the isle of Mona, she kills a miller who challenged her authority, [[AndIMustScream trapping his soul in limbo]]; sentences John Gregory, Adriana and Commander Stanton to be fed to the Buggane; drinks the blood of a loyal yeoman and leads raiding parties against the landowners and farmers slaughtering entire families. When Tom and abhuman Horn tries to stop her, she kills the latter and tries to slice off the thumbs of the former. After her daughter ruins her plans of world domination, [[OffingTheOffspring she attempts to take her life]]. She causes the deaths of Adriana and her fiancé Simon in her escape. The flashback of the twelth book reveals that she killed the Spook Jacob Stone before torturing his soul and attempted to kill thirteen children for a ritual, while in the present day her ghost ambushes Alice and her ally Thorn when they trespass in the dark to be interrogated and tortured by the daemon Beelzebub. Ruthless and {{sadist}}ic, Bony Lizzie is one of the worst witches Tom and his master John Gregory ever faced.

* InternetBackdraft: Hoo boy. Just from the trailer of the film: [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks Tom being a young man instead of a 12-year boy, emphasis on action rather than scares, showing random creatures not from the book,...]]

** Everything Gregory says due to the odd way Jeff Bridges speaks. Many reviews wondered if he spent the entire movie holding marbles inside his mouth.

* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: In contrast to Julianne Moore and Jeff Bridges, who go for HamAndCheese, Ben Barnes and Alicia Vikander try to take the {{Narm}}-filled CGI fest seriously.

* HilariousInHindsight:
** Kit Harrington being killed off at the start as Gregory's initial apprentice is amusing after the fifth season finale of ''Series/GameOfThrones'' - where his character's fate was left in doubt. MemeticMutation ensued about whether he was alive or not.
** Seeing Alicia Vikander as the lone good witch of the bunch is amusing if you watch her in ''Film/ExMachina'' where she [[spoiler: turns out to have been TheChessmaster playing the men around her]].

* TheWoobie: Alice has been raised for most of her childhood by her aunt ([[spoiler:who is actually her mother who temporarily abandoned her then took her back as an apprentice]]) Bony Lizzy, who was ruthless with her, forced her to learn black magic against her will, and [[spoiler:injured her just so she could use her blood]]. When she finally escapes this life by befriending Tom, she is moved to another nicer aunt only to have this aunt die by the next book thanks to [[KnightTemplar the Inquisitor]]. She is then allowed to live with Tom and Gregory for a while, but Gregory refuses to trust her and threatens to throw her in the pit should she ever show signs of joining the Dark. [[spoiler:Come Book 8, the Fiend takes her to his Realm as a punishment for helping Tom, and though he manages to save her eventually [[AndIMustScream the torture she goes through]] leaves her with huge trauma. And to make matters worse, Book 10 reveals the only way Tom will be able to defeat the Devil for good will be by sacrificing her, because she's the being he cares about the most.]]

** JerkassWoobie: Bill Arkwright is abusive toward Tom and relies on drastic methods to deal with creatures of the Dark, but considering his whole family died and ended up as ghosts trapped in his home with him unable to help them, you have to feel sorry for him.
** Morgan Hurst, the antagonist of the third book, could be seen as this, seeing as [[spoiler:he never met his father and [[AbusiveParents his adoptive parents beat him]] because he fell in love with his adoptive sister which lead to her killing herself.]] However, his [[SmugSnake general]] [[JerkAss awfulness]] makes it pretty difficult [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain to feel sorry for him]].

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: The first trailer already showed many things that pissed off the fans of the books, like: Tom and Alice being significantly older, them kissing (their relationship in the books is straight UnresolvedSexualTension), AdaptationalAttractiveness for BigBad Mother Malkin, including creatures not from the book (like a dragon or a four-armed man), Gregory using magic and martial arts moves...

* Morgan Hurst, the antagonist of the third book, could be seen as this, seeing as [[spoiler:he never met his father and [[AbusiveParents his adoptive parents beat him]] because he fell in love with his adoptive sister which lead to her killing herself.]] However, his general awfulness makes it pretty difficult [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain to feel sorry for him]].

* StrawmanHasAPoint: Thomas thinks Bill Arkwright is cruel to give witch hearts to dogs instead of makings jails like Gregory. However some would consider it better to eliminate evil for good than keeping potential threats around.

* TheWoobie: Alice has been raised for most of her childhood by her Aunt ([[spoiler:who is actually her mother who temporarily abandoned her then took her back as an apprentice]]) Bony Lizzy, who was ruthless with her, forced her to learn black magic against her will, and [[spoiler:injured her just so she could use her blood]]. When she finally escapes this life by befriending Tom, she is moved to another nicer aunt only to have this aunt die by the next book thanks to [[KnightTemplar the Inquisitor]]. She is then allowed to live with Tom and Gregory for a while, but Gregory refuses to trust her and threatens to throw her in the pit should she ever show signs of joining the Dark. [[spoiler:Come Book 8, the Fiend takes her to his Realm as a punishment for helping Tom, and though he manages to save her eventually [[AndIMustScream the torture she goes through]] leaves her with huge trauma. And to make matters worse, Book 10 reveals the only way Tom will be able to defeat the Devil for good will be by sacrificing her, because she's the being he cares about the most.]]
** Judd Brinscall in Book 10 fell in love with a woman he met during his travels and was about to marry her [[spoiler:only for the woman to be possessed by a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent strigoica]] (and this kind of possession is irreversible). He tried to chase the strigoica to avenge his love’s loss, only to end up captured, reduced to a living food supply by them and forced into betraying his former master Gregory by luring him into a trap. When he is freed by Tom, the boy understandably has a hard time trusting him or forgiving him even though [[TheAtoner he is more than willing to make up for it]]. Then he ends up killing the Strigoica who possessed the woman he loved, forcing him to not only kill her but also brutally mutilate her body to ensure she won’t be possessed again. ''[[FromBadToWorse And then]]'' the body ends up possessed again anyway by a vampire god, forcing him to strike it ''again''.]]

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: The first trailer already showed many things that pissed off the fans of the books, like: Tom and Alice being significantly older, them kissing (their relationship in the books is straight UnresolvedSexualTension), AdaptationalAttractiveness for BigBad Mother Malkin, including creatures not from the book (like a dragon or a four armed man), Gregory using magic and martial arts moves...

* AntiClimaxBoss: After all the build-up about how she is one of the worst witch ever, [[spoiler:Mother Malkin ends up killed quite easily the two times she confronts Tom.]] To add insult to injury, [[spoiler:her final death is to be ''[[FedToPigs eaten by pigs]]'']].

* StrawmanHasAPoint: Thomas thinks Bill Arkwright is cruel to give witch heart to dogs istead of makings jails like Gregory. However isn't it better to eliminate evil for good than making potential threat?
* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids?: The books generally have a recommend age group of "10 and up" on the back of them. Considering the amount of violence and dark material (particularly in the later novels), however...

* TheWoobie: Alice has been raised for most of her childhood by her Aunt ([[spoiler:Actually her mother who temporarily abandoned her then took her back as an apprentice]]) Bony Lizzy, who was ruthless with her, forced her to learn black magic against her will, and [[spoiler:willingly injured her just so she could use her blood]]. When she finally escapes this life by befriending Tom, she is moved to another nicer aunt, only to have this aunt die by the next book thanks to [[KnightTemplar the Inquisitor]]. She is then allowed to live with Tom and Gregory for a while, but Gregory refuses to trust her and threaten to throw her in the pit should she ever show signs of joining the Dark. [[spoiler:Comes Book 8, the Fiend takes her to his Realm as a punishment for helping Tom, and though he manages to save her eventually, [[AndIMustScream the tortures she go through]] leave her with a huge trauma. And to make it even worse, Book 10 reveals the only way Tom will be able to defeat the Devil for good will be by sacrificing her, because she is the one being he cares the most about.]]
** Judd Brinscall in Book 10 fell in love with a woman he met during his travels, and was about to marry her, [[spoiler:only for the woman to be possessed by a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent strigoica]] (and this kind of possession is irreversible, so no hope to save her). He tried to chase the strigoica to avenge his love’s loss, only to end up captured, reduced to a living food supply by the strigoii and forced by them into betraying his former master Gregory by luring him into a trap. When he is freed by Tom, the boy is understandably untrusting of him for what happened and has a hard time forgiving him, even though [[TheAtoner he is more than willing to make up for it]]. Then he ends up killing the Strigoica who possessed the woman he loved, forcing him to not only kill her, but also brutally mutilate the body to ensure she won’t be possessed again. ''[[FromBadToWorse And then]]'', the body ends up possessed anyway by a vampire god, forcing him to strike it ''again''.]]
** JerkassWoobie: Bill Arkwright is abusive toward Tom and relies on quite drastic methods to deal with creatures of the Dark, but considering his whole family died and ended up as ghosts trapt in his home with him unable to help them, you have to feel sorry for him.

* EvilIsSexy: The evil female witches are dressed in somewhat provocative clothing, with Bony Lizzie in a tight corset and Mother Malkin in a flamboyant black outfit complimented by huge eyelashes and black eye shadow. The good witches are plainer-looking, at least in their attire.
* InternetBackdraft: hoo boy. The trailer of the film: [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks Tom being a young men instead of a 12-year boy, emphazis on action rather than scare, random creatures not from the book,...]]
* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: The first trailer already shows many things that piss of the fans of the books: Tom and Alice being significantly older, They kiss (Their relationship in the books played UnresolvedSexualTension straight), AdaptationalAttractiveness for BigBad Mother Malkin, creatures not from the book (like a Dragon or a four armed man), Gregory using magic and art martial moves...

* InternetBackdraft: hoo boy. The trailer of the film: [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks Tom being a young men instead of a 12-year boy, emphazis on action rather than scare, random creatures not from the book,...]]

** JerkassWoobie: Bill Arkwright is abusive toward Tom and relies on quite drastic methods to deal with creatures of the Dark, but considering his whole family died and ended up as ghosts trapt in his home with him unable to help them, you have to feel sorry for him.