Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

Something to be afraid of
As I start my review for "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" I must confess one thing: I'm not a fan of supernatural horror movies. While I admire haunted house films like "Poltergeist", I've always found this sub-genre of horror to be painfully dull and its characters to be agonizingly stupid ("The Amityville Horror", I'm looking at you). They usually have the same formula: a stupid, yuppie couple (occasionally with children) buy a house, move in, hear strange noises, and bad things happen. Rinse and repeat. So, going into "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark", my expectations were pretty low. After reading some not so positive reviews online, they sank even further. So is "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" worth screaming for? Well..more on that in a bit.

The film begins with a gruesome prologue shows the home's deranged first owner, Emerson Blackwood, luring his maid into the dungeon-like basement and performing medieval dentistry on the terrified young woman. As he carries out the...

DON'T BE AFRAID OF (getting up and swinging your arms to regain circulation while you wait for scary sh_- to happen in) THE DARK
A rule to live by: If you find yourself in a house that's haunted, get out of the house. But people will persist in dismissing those ominous signposts, those telltale clues. In horror pictures, children tend to be more savvy than the grown-ups, and they normally heed those twitches of primordial unease. But I guess little Sally, sullen and desolate and unbelievably unhappy, is the one exception. I think that Bailee Madison, who plays Sally, manages to construct an intriguing character. Madison isn't cutesy-ootsy in that obvious Hollywood kid actor way, and this makes her refreshing. It's not her fault the screenplay has her reacting unbelievably to what unfolds in the spooky mansion.

DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK is based on the original 1973 teleplay which starred Kim Darby, and it supposedly had a lasting impact on a young Guillermo del Toro. Del Toro co-produces and co-writes this 2011 reimagining, except that one wishes he'd directed it as well. Because while you have to...

A tense but not scary movie that's more disturbing then anything. It's OK good ending. Worth watching. I say B
"This place isn't safe here, especially for kids." Sally is sent by her mother to live with her father (Pearce) and his girlfriend (Holmes) in an old house that they are trying to fix up. Sally is not happy there and while she is out running around she finds a hidden door. The older grounds keeper tries to warn to stay away. When Sally unknowingly unlocks a hidden evil the house and the family is in severe danger. This movie was much better then I was expecting, but I wasn't expecting much. This has a definite "Pan's Laberynth" feel to it, and that is enough to keep you watching. I wouldn't call this a scary movie as much as a disturbing movie. There are a few little stomach jumpers in this, but most of the time you are on the edge of your seat and waiting for what you know is coming to come. While the movie is tense and keeps you watching it's nothing really amazing. The ending of the movie really makes it better because the movie has the guts to end the way it does and that really...

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