Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2010)

The movie opens with a spoiler by letting us know something evil is in the basement of a home.I enjoyed the animated aspect of the credits. It gave the movie that classic 1960's feel. Afterwards we have Guy Pearce moving into the same home with his young melancholy daughter, Sally, who would prefer to be with her mom in LA. She also has an instant dislike of Katie Holmes, dad's girlfriend. Eventually the family discovers the basement, which had been sealed. The area is famous for its sink holes that go deep into the earth. Sally is fascinated with shaft/tunnel in the basement.The movie initially keeps you in suspense as to what is in the basement and which travels through the old ventilation system. Good suspense. Good creepy story. Good child acting. Great movie to show when the girls want to have a sleep over. And then when things are good and tense, flip the breaker off and let everything go dark.No f-bombs, sex, or nudity. Try not to think too deep and enjoy this one.

For Don't be Afraid of the Dark, we get a horror story that is actually, one may not know this, a remake of a TV movie from the 1970's (!) This being about little demanoid creatures that terrorize and haunt a mother and her young child (Katie Holmes). All of this would've probably had more resonance and emotion if the director (or, hell, producer-writer-presenter del-Toro) gave more to care about with the parents and the kid. But it's a well-constructed haunted-house movie imbued with the unique creature fx that only comes from the guy behind Pan's Labyrinth. Also extra points for a surprising climax that didn't take the route I expected. For design, scares and surface thrills it's a must-see. If only there was something underneath.

'Don't Be Afraid of the Dark' has a lot going for it, as far as modern horror films go.(1) It has (almost) A-list actors associated with it, i.e. Guy Pearce, Katie Holmes in front of the camera and Guillermo del Toro behind it. (2) The little girl at the centre of the film is an incredible little actress who, based on her performance, will go a long way. (3) The monsters are indeed nasty and brought to life using decent computer effects. (4) The location, i.e. the big house, is a good, spooky setting for a supernatural horror. (5) There are even so 'jumpy' moments to rattle the popcorn out of your hand.Based on these points (and possibly because many of the posters advertising this film says things like 'The scariest film of the year') you may be thinking that it just might be. However, despite all the things Don't Be Afraid of the Dark has going for it, it has one major drawback - it's about a little girl who goes to live with her father and his new girlfriend in a big house. That's it. That's the problem. All the good elements are held together by a plot that we've basically seen a million times before in recent horror films. And, worst of all, it doesn't offer much that's new. The little girl's parents don't believe her. Therefore we're treated to them going through the disbelieving motions of slowly coming round to the fact that there's something supernatural going on.Don't Be Afraid of the Dark is not a bad film. Like I said, there are some genuinely spooky bits. However, overall there's nothing new here to rave about. If you like horror, you'll probably enjoy it - just don't go believing that it really IS the scariest film you'll see all year.

This is a children fable marketed, wrongly, as a film for well-educated adults. Guillermo del Toro has made his reputation directing fine films for adults who appreciate fine arts. The expectation of this film, even though he only produced and didn't direct, is much higher than the labor he and Director Troy Nixey had put into the making this film. I am a fan of Clive Barker and all his top-quality macabre short stories, novellas, and novels. When he released a fable called "A Thief of Always", it is a fable of simplified language, but at the same time as wonderfully intense as any of his self-styled macabre writings. del Toro should learn a lot from Barker. It is regrettable to see talented foreign directors get dragged into the Hollywood process and lose their craft and their reputation almost completely. "Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark" turns a misled, unworthy, and low-quality storytelling. Character developments are shallow, confusing, and unnatural to the point of annoying. Never again should anyone try to fool a horror fan into an artless fairy tale.