When watching Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark you can absolutely see why writer/producer Guillermo Del Toro wanted to make it. Blending elements of a monster movie with fairy tale of the Grimm variety together in a blend of old fashioned gothic horror...it's right up his street. A reworking of the tooth fairy myth, it's told mainly from a child's viewpoint as "Afraid" has young Sally (an impressive Bailee Madison) encounter little creatures that play on her lonliness and deepest fears in the basement of her father's refurbished old house.
I've got to say I loved this film. While it's not scary, tense or gory enough to be a horror film it is stylish and atmospheric enough to be an engaging fantasy film...much like Gremlins was in the 80's but without the comedy elements. It may be about a child, but this is still definitely for adults much as Del Toro's own Pan's Labyrinth was a few years ago, although "Afraid" doesn't have the depth or sophistication that that classic does.
Beautifully directed by Troy Nixey in a style reminisant of 80's Donner, Zemekis or Dante the film has a superior design asthetic, a lush, old fashioned score by Marco Beltrami some top notch creature effects (as you'd expoect from a Del Toro production) and some solid performances by Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce. If I have to grumble it's that the film sticks to the central mystery structure that plagues most films of this type (Mirrors, Orphan, Final Destination) where the 'believer' character goes to the library (or on Google) to research the mystery only to uncover the horrific truth of what they're facing.
A lovely little gothic fantasy, if lovely is the right word...
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