Soon after moving in with her father (Guy Pearce) and his new girlfriend (Katie Holmes), young Sally Hurst (Bailee Madison) discovers she isn't alone in the house: strange creatures live there -- and they might not be as friendly as Sally thinks they are.
A horror film only really has to accomplish one thing for it to be considered a success and that is to scare you. If it can accomplish that it can be considered a solid addition into the genre; throw in a great story with the scares and it could end up becoming great. It’s a very straight forward genre that seems looked at on a very different scale than the rest of the film industry. Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark had good pre-release buzz and the brand recognition of Del Toro that got me excited, but when the credits rolled, all I could think to myself was disappointed excitement. I kept hoping the film would step up to another level but it seemed simply average and underwhelming in every way.
The first scene jumps out at you. It has a classic horror film vibe with a very disturbing moment that gets you excited that this film will be kickass. From there, everything fails to match that opening moment. I expected it to be a classic haunted house film with a creature in the shadows, but instead we get the films biggest miss; the monsters themselves. They are little CGI guys that, from the minute are shown on screen, instantly ruin a part of your experience with the film. I want to laugh rather than scream at these things running around with forks, screwdrivers, and scissors. It will lose a lot of its audience at this moment, and the rest that stay hoping the scares get better are only setting themselves up to waste their time. It’s bland, boring and has a few breathe holding moments, but otherwise leaves you feeling glad the credits are rolling.
The protagonist characters tend to be the weakest part in horror films, and this doesn’t change that perception all that much. They take a strong actor in Guy Pearce and do their best to get you to hate him, which just isn’t possible. Bailee Madison, the films child protagonist, follows the guidelines on how to annoy you, and Katie Holmes for the first time in her entire career is the best thing about a film. Maybe it’s because she has imprinted a perception in us that’s she’s a terrible actress that I was surprised to see how likeable she was in such a terribly written character that she somewhat saved. Nothing groundbreaking, but a good stretch to respectability always has to start somewhere.
I have never seen the original film so I cannot comment on comparing the two but this new interpretation just seems to miss too much. It’s not that its horror didn’t care you, but it just didn’t seem to try. A lot of the film seems to be hinting at a much larger thing, but ends up being just these little CGI fucks that completely ruin what could have been a solid film. It has enough screams to recommend to a horror buff but if you’re looking for something tense, this isn’t it.
Overall Score: 5/10
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