One of the more ironic movies out this year (actual irony, not the hipster perversion), includes fear of the dark as a major component. “Don’t be Afraid of the Dark,” an atmospheric horror film directed by Troy Nixey and written by Guillermo Del Toro, stars Guy Pearce (Alex) and 10 year old Bailee Madison (Sally) as a divorced father and his daughter. Katie Holmes (Kim) also plays Alex’s live-in girlfriend. The film is set in the 1970s and takes place in a large, brooding manor in Rhode Island.
What initially seems like a fantastic opportunity for Alex and Kim (a pair of interior designers) to fix up an old, historic home takes a quick turn south when strange voices begin beckoning Alex’s daughter Sally. This leads Kim and Alex to discover that the house has a far more sinister past than they first expected; its air ducts are inhabited by small, incredibly menacing creatures that seem to like the taste of children’s teeth.
For much of the first half, the film does a good job of setting up jarring, scary moments, relying more on suspense and eeriness than sheer bludgeoning gore, which makes the few bloody moments stand out more starkly. Darkness naturally plays a major role in creating much of the tension, as the little goblin things can’t stand anything beyond mood lighting. Devices such as flashlights and cameras become thin, fallible barriers against the lurking and ever present terror.
The weird little critters themselves are pretty unnerving, although their whispering occasionally crosses the line into the unintentionally funny. Any child who listens to a chorus of dry, creepy voices whispering, “Let’s play,” or “We want to be friends,” coming from an air duct is just a few eggs short of a frittata. However, as the film wears on, the monsters begin to lose their mystique. Part of this seems to stem from the fact that Nixey over anthropomorphizes them, as in one instance when they are seen engaging in chummy behavior like patting each other on the head. The creatures become too familiar, and while they remain creepy, they start to lose the initial scariness they possessed when they are unknown. The film also feels like it is hurt by the overuse of non-diegetic sounds, as certain scenes feel like they could have been more chilling if they were silent rather than having been backed by music.
The acting within the film is fairly solid, especially from Bailee Madison. Despite being only ten years old, her performance was quite good in that her acting didn’t feel forced or overdone and her fear was palpable. Her spunkiness and determination to prove that she was not fabricating the existence of the monsters was also entertaining.
Guy Pearce was perfect as a cliché of the stupid horror movie dad who assumes his child is insane and tries to stay in the house for financial reasons, in spite of obvious evidence that something peculiar is happening. While his dismissive demeanor is predictable, it works well within the film, as his ignorance really helps to keep his family in danger. In contrast, Katie Holmes was strange in that she seemed sedated for much of the film, delivering really innocuous lines like, “What’s wrong, honey? Don’t you like rice?” She sort of dragged around for a lot of the movie, although she perked up periodically, mainly towards the end.
Despite having some weaknesses, “Don’t be Afraid of the Dark” is an entertaining film, serving the base purpose of a scary movie, which is to scare. Its attempt to build a scary environment, rather than simply ride a wave of blood (which has its own place) is a welcomed change.
