Don't Be Afraid of the Dark Review

Posted by Joseph Lee on 08.27.2011

A misleading title if there ever was one...



Starring:

*Katie Holmes as Kim
*Bailee Madison as Sally Hirst
*Guy Pearce as Alex Hirst
*Alan Dale as Jacoby
*Jack Thompson as Harris
*Nicholas Bell as The Doctor

Story: A young girl sent to live with her father and his new girlfriend discovers creatures in her new home who want to claim her as one of their own.

Trivia: The film was rated R due to "pervasive scariness". When producer Guillermo del Toro asked if there was anything they could do to make it PG-13, the MPAA responded: "Why ruin a perfectly scary movie?"

It's natural to be afraid of the dark. Maybe "afraid" isn't the right word, but there is something about the shadows that we all distrust. We can't see what's in there. It could be, and usually is nothing, but sometimes there could be something dangerous lurking in there, ready to bite off our fingers if we reach in too far. It's ironic that Don't Be Afraid of the Dark has the title that it does, when it gives us several reasons to do the exact opposite.

The film is a remake of the 1973 made-for-television movie of the same name, which starred Kim Darby. That film was a bit slow and plodding, even for seventies TV movie standards. Of course some say that is to its advantage. It keeps the monsters mostly in shadow, relying on the admittedly strong performance of Kim Darby to keep things afloat. The movie is said to be one of Guillermo del Toro's favorites, and much like Peter Jackson did with King Kong, he decided to update the tale for modern audiences. While he had relatively new director Troy Nixey behind the camera, he did write and produce the remake.

After a particularly nasty prologue (which holds back on the gore in favor of letting your mind fill in the blanks), we get to meet our protagonists. Like the 1973 original, the film follows Sally, this time a little girl played by Bailee Madison. She's recently moved into a mansion that her architect father Alex (Guy Pierce) and his girlfriend Kim (Katie Holmes), obviously named after the star of the original film. The plot is basically the same, albeit with some stronger motivation for the creatures, Sally's age and the addition of Kim. The creatures living in the basement are released, and want to claim Sally for their very own. They must take one human life every time they are released.

You may remember Bailee Madison as the little girl who put on the unfunny faux British accent in Just Go With It. She managed to bring that movie down, but maybe it was because it didn't play to her strengths like Don't Be Afraid of the Dark does. She gives a strong performance, benefited by a tightly written script from Del Toro. She responds to situations like a child would, not like say, David Dorfman in The Ring. It's probably too early to call Madison a great child actress, but she handled the leading role quite well.

Katie Holmes and Guy Pierce play the parental units. Holmes is the girlfriend that wants the little girl to like her. It's interesting that Holmes doesn't actually play Sally's mother, because the two look a lot alike. With Sally becoming a true believer and Alex refusing to acknowledge anything, Kim becomes the mediator between the two. Her willingness to believe the beleaguered Sally sort of makes her an update of Joan in the original, who had a similar character arc, albeit with a much different conclusion.

While Holmes gives a strong performance, it's Guy Pierce that feels under-utilized. He does fine, but the character of Alex isn't really written to do much of anything but disbelieve his daughter when she tells him there really are monsters out there. He remains a very static character in the fact of all the strange goings-on. Pierce is a great actor when given the right material, but Alex could have probably been played by anyone in this film for as much as he's given to do.

Troy Nixey may have been the director, but Guillermo del Toro's influence is clearly felt behind the camera. A similar situation occurred in The Orphanage, which he also produced. Just like that movie, the film doesn't rely on cheap jump scares that end up nowhere (when something pops out, it's usually one of the creatures). Instead we rely on shadows, out-of-focus shots of things scurrying along the floor, and lots of noises.

As far as the creatures themselves go, they were of course in CGi. However, they only get a grand reveal in the second half of the movie, as the first half is content to let them whisper and cause mischief in the background. When they are revealed, they actually look menacing in spite of their size. When they attack, they use tools and their sheer numbers so it's believable.

The problems with the film are minor, in addition to the previously mentioned mishandling of a talent such as Pierce. There are some questions raised, and just enough information given to keep you watching. But if you stop long enough to think about it, you'll probably begin to pick apart the motives and history of the creatures. Some threads are brought up and dropped, such as a hint that these beings are what we know as the Tooth Fairy.

However, the movie doesn't really need to tie every single little plot detail together in a nice bow. What matters is that its focus on suspense, strong characters and surprisingly well-made CGi monsters do the job in making an effective, thrilling (and sometimes scary) horror film. Don't Be Afraid of the Dark doesn't need gore, 3D or material that attempts to be smarter than the genre. It's just a good, old-fashioned creature feature.

The 411: Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, like Insidious earlier in the year, is a horror film that relies on atmosphere and suspense to build to the scares that will affect the audience. With solid direction from Troy, strong performances from Katie Holmes and its child star Bailee Madison, and an obvious influence from producer and writer Guillermo del Toro, this is one that genre fans will love.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]