Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is remake of the 1973 TV film of the same name. This new version is co-written and produced by Guillermo del Toro, whose influence is definitely seen throughout the film.
The film follows a girl named Sally (Bailee Madison), who moves in with her father (Guy Pearce) and his girlfriend (Katie Holmes). Sally begins to hear voices in the dark, which are revealed to belong to evil Fairies that want to claim her as one of their own.
This film seemed to be aiming more for intense suspense, rather than concentrating on many jump scares (though, there are a few of those as well). In fact, I think the intensity of some of the scenes is the reason the film got an R rating in the US, instead of the PG-13 I think it was aiming for.
The Fairies themselves don’t seem so threatening on their own, with a look (and size) that borders on a humanoid rat. However, they tend to appear in packs, in which they are quite vicious.
Overall, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark was an entertaining and suspenseful film that I am sure that fans of Guillermo del Toro will enjoy.
8/10
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