31/10/2023

Are You Afraid of the Dark - The Tale Of The Unfinished Painting (1995)

Jewel Staite plays artist Cody

Amanda Gay plays artist Jenna

Vivian Reis plays artist and gallery owner Mrs. Briar



Cody is a young artist who doesn't feel particularly inspired

She sits in the park sketching the trees but scribbles her drawing out as she says "If you want to create the kind of art that moves someone, you have to see more than whats obvious, you have to become a part of what your drawing"

One day while sketching she sees a little girl who drops her hat, when she follows her to return it she arrives at "The Hunter Gallery"

The gallery is filled with paintings

All of the paintings are signed by Mrs. Brair


Mrs Briar introduces herself to Cody and tells her all of these painting are hers


Cody admires the painting and tells Mrs Briar she is an artist too but feels blocked


While Mrs Briar shows her around she sees another girl (Jenna) working on a painting

Mrs Brair takes her to the back room in the gallery and shows her a room filled with unfinished paintings. She tells Cody they are from different artists who lost inspiration before they were complete



Mrs Briar tells Cody she takes on young apprentice artists to finish these paintings as a teaching tool, she explains this is what Jenna is working on in the gallery

Jenna painting in the gallery

Jenna painting

Cody admores a ballerina painting, she closes her eyes and reaches out imagining she is part of the painting

suddenly she is within the painting dancing the the ballerinas. When Mrs Briar returns she finds herself again in front of the painting and imagines it was a daydream. Mrs Briar asks if she would like to be an apprentice and work on this particular painting, Cody jumps at the chance

The next day Cody begins her apprenticeship working on the painting



She fill a sketchbook with drawings of the painting

meanwhile Jenna has finished her own painting

Mrs Briars is pleased and asks Jenna to sign it, Jenna is reluctant as she says it isn't her work but Mrs Briars is very persuasive

Jenna signs the painting and disappears

Cody's finished painting


Mrs Briars arrives to persuade Cody to sign the painting she was finishing

An aspiring young artist apprentices under the owner of a studio/gallery who is actually a witch, who traps victims inside paintings.