Read Mixed User Reviews for Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2011)

5

JollyG87Dec 15, 2011

Horror movies don't have to be scary, but if they're going for the chills, they have to do one thing at least. They can't blatantly show the antagonists. This is a mistake "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" makes, and it completely kills theHorror movies don't have to be scary, but if they're going for the chills, they have to do one thing at least. They can't blatantly show the antagonists. This is a mistake "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" makes, and it completely kills the movie. Early on, the film is decently creepy. We get a very disturbing opener, but 30 minutes in the creatures come out to "play" and we get to see every bit of them. By seeing the creatures, "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" turns into an incoherent fantasy masquerading as a horror film. Another thing that bothered me was the little girl, Sally. Bailee Madison is a terrific actress, but her character is forced to make so many illogical choices that it's hard to appreciate what she does here. After she has been attacked by these creatures in a way that would force any child into therapy, her character pleasantly takes a bath and doesn't seem to mind that she's vulnerable and alone. What child does that? It's these inconsistencies that take us out of the situation. On the positive side, the cinematography is alright and the performances are all fairly strong. Katie Holmes, who is an average actress through and through, gives one of her best performances here as a concerned girlfriend of Guy Pearce. But there's not really much to appreciate here. If you want to catch a horror flick, see the new "Fright Night." It's not scary either, but it's a heck of a lot of fun.… Expand

4 of 4 users found this helpful40

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6

ArkonBladeJan 5, 2012

a decent horror film although id call it more of a creature film and del toro i believe refers to it as well as being that . The movies pacing and acting are all pretty well done and i like how we get to see the creatures early on yet not aa decent horror film although id call it more of a creature film and del toro i believe refers to it as well as being that . The movies pacing and acting are all pretty well done and i like how we get to see the creatures early on yet not a complete look . to me the whole wait to the last 10 min of the movie to show the monster or monster's in this case has worn out its welcom a long long long time ago. sure it was great in jaws but movies like super 8 and cloverfield where you never ever really get a nice good look at the creature always disappoints me even at the end its always abit murky of a view. the plot is told well and thats usally another thing in theese movies is that they are just full of plot holes and most of the stuff is just never explained like in say cloverfield's case none of it is. this movie atleast left me feeling ok i understood whats all goin on hear at the end. i mean this move didnt break any ground and its nothing id really want to wach again any time soon but its fairly entertaining and worth a rental.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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5

hockeyfanatic13Sep 22, 2011

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. After a long wait I was happy to finally happy to see this movie, the tralier was probably the scariest trailer I had ever seen. I had not seen the original so I had no clue what it was about. It started off well enough, but I just didn't dig these little creatures running around this house. It is a typical haunted house movie but I would like to have had more variety in terms of "what" was haunting the house, not just little creatures. They were ugly and scary but it kind of lost it's scare factor over the course of the movie, for me anyways.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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6

TheQuietGamerNov 2, 2014

However Del Toro's presence can be felt throughout, and it keeps things entertaining. The soundtrack and the visual style of several scenes are reminiscent of his masterpiece "Pan's Labyrinth." The story as a whole is also very well-done withHowever Del Toro's presence can be felt throughout, and it keeps things entertaining. The soundtrack and the visual style of several scenes are reminiscent of his masterpiece "Pan's Labyrinth." The story as a whole is also very well-done with it's unique twist on the fantasy/folklore figure of childhood (the tooth fairy).

It's not hard to get frustrated at how dumb/oblivious the adult characters can be in this, and the movie inspires no fear at all. That being said I still found myself entertained. Del Toro's fairy tale-esque approach to the story is what kept me invested, and it's also cool to see a monster movie that actually gives us a good look at the monsters in question.

It may fail to bring any scares thanks to how unthreatening it's antagonists actually are, and at times it can be a little moronic, but as a whole I can say I did enjoy the film. It's worth a rental for horror or Del Toro fans, because Del Toro has written an extremely unique idea. Shame there isn't any fear though.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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6

Xborn74Mar 29, 2012

"Do not Be Afraid of the Dark" is a remake of a 1970 movie, with the same name, by it turn is based on a story by the early 20th century American horror author, H.P. Lovecraft, called "The Things on the Walls". It was directed by Troy Nixei,"Do not Be Afraid of the Dark" is a remake of a 1970 movie, with the same name, by it turn is based on a story by the early 20th century American horror author, H.P. Lovecraft, called "The Things on the Walls". It was directed by Troy Nixei, and has as producer and writer Gullermo Del Toro, starring Bailee Madison (Sally), Katie Holmes (Kim) and Guy Pearce (Alex) in the leading roles. The film can be classified as a Thriller-Horror film with a theme drawn to fairy tales (a little scary and grotesque, like the Grim Brothers tales), and that is happening today, in a Gothic-Vitorian style mansion in Rhode Island.

The film starts the story with a prologue that shows the original owner of the manor, Lord Blackwood, who kills her maid to get her teeth, trying to please something mysterious, living in an oven in the secret
basement of the house, in an attempt to reclaim his son back from them. At the present, the mansion was bought by a couple of architects (Alex and Kim), one of whom (Alex) is recently separated and has one daughter (Sally), who will spend time with them (against her
will) as she is saddened by the events that occur in the marriage of her parents.

Exploring the house, they find the old basement, and Kim has a fascination by the strange oven, and the whispered voices she hears in it, trying to attract her. Throughout the story, Kim tries to get close to Sally, but this has a minor role, although important, in the story overall.

The setting and scenery that are observed in film are excellent with a very distinctive and high-level photography, as usually Del Toro movies are visually, with a touch of fantasy that matches the story. Especially the details of the house, call the attention, and the choice of colors used in general.

Scenes with violence or blood are only seen in rare instances of the film, but by its content, do not fit very well with the rest of it, and the way that the story unfolds and events are shown and told.

The story is based on the tale cited above (the tooth fairy one), but with some modifications, and different characters, and I noted that El Toro used interestingly almost the same "tooth fairy" character (with modifications, of course) in other movie, "Hellboy 2", of 2008. The inspiration for this mythological theme in turn, came from writer Arthur Machen, author and English mystic of turn of the 20th century, that El Toro is a fan (as he is a fan of Lovecraft also). This mystic-lore theme, also, is recurrent in other El Toro's works like "Hellboy II" and the "The Faun's Labyrinth". The story develops gradually after the discovery of the basement, but some facts later (and that would result in some "material evidence") are not well placed, or would not have much explanation (as well as the attitude of the characters in relation to them) if it all occurred into our "off-screen real world". The same can be said of Sally's attitudes about the creatures, which was initially of curiosity, then turns to fear and then, even fearful she takes some (dangerous) attitudes that a child would never take, for example.

But overall this is a nice movie, with a general element more of suspense / mythological theme than anything else, having some segments with more intense scenes only at the beginning, a short part in the middle and in the end - which may not please everyone. My score: 6.2 / 10.0 .… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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5

smijatovJun 2, 2012

The very opening scene of the trailer made it clear that this was influenced (through production and screenplay) by Guillermo del Torro. This film is rather beautiful visually with some great production design and good cinematography, but itThe very opening scene of the trailer made it clear that this was influenced (through production and screenplay) by Guillermo del Torro. This film is rather beautiful visually with some great production design and good cinematography, but it reminds of "Pan's Labyrinth" to such an extent that this is a problem. They both have magic and children as their basis, with the difference that the Labyrinth is a much better film. The character of Sally is just so inconsistent and annoying at times - the way she behaves is almost implausible to believe. That's where the film goes into typical "horror" genre, with characters doing stupid choices for no real reason, but to put them in vulnerable positions. Also, the fact that one can see the little creatures kind of completely kills the fear the director managed to instill in the film's first 20-30 minutes. Yes, they're gross, but they look like little rats. They lose all their scariness, at least for me that was the effect. As I said, the production design is rather beautiful and that is pretty much the highlight of the film. So nice musical score, too, but that's all there is. The characters are annoying, Guy Pierce's acting as atrocious and Katie Holmes looks perpetually confused and directionless, despite the fact that she was allegedly the first one to figure out what happens. Definitely an underwhelming film, but it is not necessarily bad. Just not good either. It's mediocre, at its best.… Expand