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Monday, December 12, 2011

[7.00/10] Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark (2011)


Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2011)

Brief review: Are you afraid of the dark? You should be. And you will be, after you see Troy Nixey's effective and surprisingly scary remake of the 1973 ABC made-for-TV movie of the same name. There was something uniquely sinister about the original "Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark" movie, that the 2011 version is lacking, however, Nixey's recreation has its own strengths and moments of horror brilliance. Despite the predictability of the script and a couple of rushed scenes, the story is well-built and offers a descent amount of genuine scares and tension along the way, plus, the movie's taut direction and smooth pacing make it constantly entertaining from beginning to the end. With its ominous atmosphere, dark and gloomy settings, eerie sound effects and murky cinematography, this artfully-crafted little chiller will make your skin crawl. The hidden basement of the lavish old house is as creepy as it can get, the stunningly-designed little ancient demons are scary as hell, and the heavy emphasis on blacks and shadows suits the grim tone of the story. The darkly charming Bailee Madison is impressive as the uneasy, yet clever Sally, and both, Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce are very convincing, if slightly underwritten, as the busy renovators.

Overall summary: Although it's fairly predictable and lacks the haunting chills of the original, "Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark" is still an effective and visually-atmospheric horror remake, that delivers plenty of solid scares, good old-fashioned thrills and some truly creepy images.

14 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Adding to NetFlix queue...
Haven't seen as many films in the theaters as usual. Should have a review for the new Sherlock Holmes next week. Maybe I'll slip in one for Arthur Christmas as well.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Alex, I don't know if you're familiar with the original, but this remake is almost on par with it, and you should definitely check it out.

I'm watching Arthur Christmas tomorrow and I'm excited about it, as I've heard many great things about this CGI Christmas flick.
Holmes 2 is on my must-see list as well. ;)

Maynard Morrissey said...

glad to see that you enjoyed it. Thought it was great too and yeah, it is DEFINITELY on a par with the original!

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Harry, I certainly did. Loved both films for different reasons and thought they were equally as tense and entertaining.

Franco Macabro said...

Need to see this as soon as possible...love dark and atmospheric films. This one kind of slip by me in theaters, it came and went fairly quickly, but thats happening a lot this days with these over crowded cinema screens.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

The Film Connoisseur, I didn't manage to catch it in theaters either, and I wasn't happy about this fact at all.

It's tense and truly atmospheric indeed, and the creatures themselves are quite creepy. See it as soon as you can.

Ricky said...

I'm keen to see this one.

✗✗ said...

I can't wait to see this!! I missed it in theaters but I'm glad to hear that it is worth a watch. I'm looking forward to it's dvd release! Lovely review!

Unknown said...

The original scared the crap out of me as a kid. I got it from the local vid store when I was like 13 and wow! I have been on the fence about this, but your honest and thoughtful review has me add this to my see it list. I love Guy Pearce.

Just saw Immortals and loved it! I'll have my review soon.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Ricky, you should be. It's great! :)

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Nicole, I think it will be out on DVD/Blu-Ray very soon, so you'll be able to see it in the near future.
Thanks a bunch. I'm looking forward to your review of it. ;)

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

I saw the original last year. Better late than never, right? LOL. It was a notch creepier than the remake, and I loved both films almost as equally.

Glad to hear you enjoyed Immortals. I did too, though "300" remains the better of the two for me... It's superior in every way.

Kaijinu said...

now this. This is pure underrated good time! Sweet little girl and horrid monsters always makes a good time!

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Kaijinu, I absolutely agree. It's so underrated, it's ridiculous. Loved both the clever little girl and the evil creatures. :)