Review: ‘Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark’

If you can tolerate a certain amount of cheesiness and implausibility in your horror, "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" is a creepy affair. I was torn: This is a movie whose atmosphere is so strong that the only thing that breaks the spell is when characters speak. It's certainly not a dumb film, but a few extra I.Q. points here and there would have made a world of difference. As it stands now, it's an effective little chiller but one you'll probably feel embarrassed to wholeheartedly endorse in public.

Produced by Guillermo del Toro, "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" is based on a 1973 TV movie and falls squarely into the "this old house sure is spooky" subgenre of horror films. Architect Alex Hurst (Guy Pearce) and Kim (Katie Holmes), his younger girlfriend, are refurbishing a dilapidated old New England manor, hoping that it will launch his career. But then along comes Sally (Bailee Madison), his daughter from a previous marriage who has been sent to live with him and Kim after proving too moody and sullen for her mother. While Alex and Kim work on the house, Sally begins to notice whispering voices calling her name through the grates, which leads to the sorts of predictably horrifying secrets about the house's past.

Del Toro may have his name above the title, but it's actually relative newcomer Troy Nixey who directed "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark," although the film's similarities to del Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth" make that distinction somewhat less important. Once again we have a young, lonely girl squaring off with fantastical creatures while the adults in her life hardly notice. And while Madison certainly looks the part of the withdrawn, depressed Sally -- she does most of her acting with her dark bangs and unhappy eyes -- she, like much of the rest of the movie, feels like a good idea that doesn't seem entirely thought through. We don't learn much about her beyond a few broad strokes, and then it's time for the scary stuff to start.

Thankfully, that scary stuff is what does work quite well. Mostly utilizing tingling dread instead of outright gore, "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" gets a lot of mileage at hinting at what the little critters are inside the bowels of the house. Those hints come in two forms: first, what they look like and then, second, what exactly their game is. The movie's effects aren't lavish but they're well done, with the tiny creatures resembling slightly larger rats that can walk on their hind legs. They're nasty, dirty-looking varmints. Unfortunately, they're also maddeningly inconsistent -- sometimes, they're well-organized and can kill their prey with blinding proficiency, while other times they seem to dawdle just long enough for their target to be rescued -- but Nixey keeps you squirming at their very presence in the corner of the frame.

As for the beasts' human counterparts, well, they're a bit inconsistent, too. Pearce does what he can with a role that might as well be labeled I'm A Terrible Father Who Ignores My Daughter's Fears, but the actor's inherent intelligence runs counter to the character's stunning obtuseness, which is unconvincingly explained away by his obsession with his career. Holmes fares much better, though, playing the girlfriend who at first can't get Sally to like her but eventually becomes her only champion against these nocturnal terrors. After "Dawson's Creek" and "Wonder Boys," Holmes seemed to have real promise, but her tabloid marriage to Tom Cruise has largely derailed her of late. You wouldn't call what she does in "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" bravura, but there's a no-nonsense steeliness to her performance that gives this enjoyable-but-slight film an emotional anchor. That may not be a lot, but it's enough.

Grade: B-