Review - Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2010)

I know what you’re thinking – “Oh great, yet another remake” . . .

I know what you’re thinking – “Oh great, yet another remake” . . .

. . . I have to admit I thought that too as I tried to get myself excited to see “yet another remake”. I kept obsessing over the fact that I hoped upon hope that Guillermo Del Toro would not bastardize one of my childhood favorites. I took some comfort in the fact that he himself had watched the original made-for-TV film and it is what inspired him into his lifelong work and love of horror films.

The first thing that struck me as the film began was the atmosphere in the house. It was dark and dank and all of the things that a really creepy old house should be, especially the basement where we meet Blackwood (Gary McDonald) who was the original owner of the home in this rendition. It is in these opening scenes that we realize the desperation that has overtaken Blackwood as he does everything in his power to save his son from the clutches of some unseen whispering fiends.

Oh and the whispering, those who know me best know how much the whispering voices in horror films freak me right the heck out. There was plenty of this going on in the film and I have to say that I really enjoyed this film’s adaptation of the creatures. I thought it interesting how you found out much more about their background in the remake than you did in the original. And while I thought you really didn’t need to know what these cone-headed menaces were in the original film, it seemed almost integral to this storyline that you discover what these little creatures were and what their end game truly was . . . all I will tell you about that is it was certainly diabolical.

Enter stage right (or left . . . I sometimes get them confused) is little Sally (Bailee Madison) fresh off a plane from LA to be greeted by her father Alex (Guy Pearce) and his girlfriend Kim (Katie Holmes) who for some reason carries around an old Polaroid camera. A stereotypically screwed up child of divorce, Sally is on a regimen of anti-depressants and gluten-free eating and she is none too thrilled to be stuck on the cold East Coast with a stupid talking bear that Kim gave her. However, there are things within the house that are more than happy to see little Sally arrive . . .

And so it begins the inevitable cat and mouse game of the little creatures trying to get Sally down the old fireplace. Only this time they prey on the childlike innocence of a girl who is sad and lonely and thinks that they want to be her friend. I will say this to every little girl or boy who happens to read this . . . the little creatures never really want to be your friends. They typically either want to eat you, inhabit your body, steal your soul or some combination thereof.

Having said all that, this was a really good film – especially for a remake. I think they did an excellent job creating an atmosphere and story that while it used a lot of pieces from the original Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, used them in a slightly different way that made watching it an enjoyable experience, at least for me. Thank you Guillermo for not ruining this for me – much appreciated! A definite recommend for any horror movie lover (but you should definitely watch the original Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark too!).



Directed by
Troy Nixey

Writing credits
(WGA)
Guillermo del Toro (screenplay) &
Matthew Robbins (screenplay)
Nigel McKeand (1973 teleplay)

Cast (in credits order)
Bruce Gleeson ... Buggy Driver
Edwina Ritchard ... Housekeeper
Garry McDonald ... Blackwood
Bailee Madison ... Sally
Carolyn Shakespeare-Allen ... Airport Cart Driver
Katie Holmes ... Kim
Guy Pearce ... Alex
Jack Thompson ... Harris
Julia Blake ... Mrs. Underhill
David Tocci ... Workman
Lance Drisdale ... Policeman
Nicholas Bell ... Psychiatrist
Libby Gott ... Nurse
James Mackay ... Librarian
Emelia Burns ... Caterer
Alan Dale ... Charles Jacoby
Trudy Hellier ... Evelyn Jacoby
Terry Kenwrick ... Bill
Grant Piro ... Creature Voices (voice)
Todd MacDonald ... Creature Voices (voice)
Angus Smallwood ... Creature Voices (voice)
Dylan Young ... Creature Voices (voice)
Guillermo del Toro ... Creature Voices (voice)
Abbe Holmes ... Voice of Joanne (voice)