Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is NOT a horror movie in the current sense. There is very little violence, almost no gore and very few 'BOO!' moments. I would say that this is a less depressing Pan’s Labyrinth, but EVERY movie that involves weird little creatures is less depressing than Pan’s Labyrinth. I’d put this somewhere between that one and The Dark Crystal on my list of movies that involve fantastical creatures that fuck with the main characters. This is a creepy movie with creepy critters and a cast that manages to play to their strengths.
Yes, even Katie Holmes.
On to the review!
On its surface, I felt that this film was going to be a better take on the recent trend (that I approve of) of making a disturbing movie even more so by threatening kids. Before you take out your internet baseball bats to beat me about the face and neck, I don’t mean I approve of kids being threatened. I mean I approve of the tension that builds in a film when a child is in danger. It’s a natural human response to want to keep kids and animals safe. That’s why Stephen King has always been the ‘Master of Horror.’ He has never been afraid to harm a child or pet in his stories if it meant he could ratchet up the unease.
Fortunately there is more to this film than just its surface appearance. While I would have been entertained by a tense, frightful movie starring a decently talented child actress, this movie added enough unexpected features to make me enjoy it and want to recommend it.
First, it’s not really a horror in the current sense. This is a very, very throwback movie where there is no huge body count, they didn’t fill the last hour with nothing but threats of violence and there are absolutely no meta-commentaries on the state of anything in today's society. I dig that. I enjoyed that about the first Jeepers Creepers and I enjoy it here. There are still some elements of horror; there are certainly some good scares, but it doesn’t attempt to make you jump and shriek every five minutes. Instead, this movie slowly ratchets up the tension.
Secondly, though Guilermo del Toro did not direct, you can still feel his influence. The designs of the creepy little troll things are definitely straight off his drawing board and some of the elements feel vaguely familiar. According to IMDB, my source for all nouns, this is director Troy Nixey’s first full-length feature, and I’ll say he did a pretty good job.
Now, the acting....a quick search shows that Bailee Madison has been in more films that most kids three times her age, and it pays off. As Sally, she actually sells the part of a depressed, possibly drugged-up (hooray Ritalin!) kid stuck in a shitty situation between two jackass parents. Then, when terrible things start happening, she does a great job of looking just as curious/freaked out as I figure my 10-year-old self would be. Guy Pearce is the work-obsessed father, Alex, and plays the part fairly straightforward. The film calls for a father who absolutely loves his daughter and his work, but doesn’t have the slightest clue as to how to balance the two.
Finally there is Katie Holmes, seemingly beloved of nobody outside the Cruise-Holmes compound. You know what? I don’t really have a problem with her. I just don’t care for her too much as an actress. She’s too saccharine in most roles. However, in this one they let her play the ‘other woman’ and force her to be the third wheel between her boyfriend and his sullen child. This actually works very well. Her character is well thought out and when she starts reaching out to Sally you can see Mrs. Holmes channeling her motherhood and just being an actual, caring person. In fact, her character is damn near the only ray of hope and sunshine in this entire film. I like her more in this film than I do in any other, with the exception of The Gift.
As far as the design goes, they managed to take a huge, sprawling property-- complete with garden maze and giant mansion-- and make it both incredibly open and very claustrophobic at exactly the right times. That really adds to all the effects, although the character design of the antagonists really is a fantastic cross between horror-movie creepy and Nightmare Before Christmas weird.
I really, really don’t want to go into the plot because that’s the entire reason to watch a film like this. You’ve got a good idea from the trailer, so let’s leave it at that.
Unlike Columbiana, I do recommend that you check this one out in theaters, unless you have a bad-ass surround sound at home. Half the chills came from the film's use of sound when it came time for those creepy little gnome fucks to start talking.
So do yourself a favor and check this one out. Even if you’re a horror-movie wuss, you can probably handle this during a matinee. Just make sure to take your anxiety medication first.
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