Review of Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2010) by Xborn74 — 28 Mar 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, 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 .