Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Guillermo del Toro has the ability to take premises that have been done before and put a new spin on them. In this case Don't Be Afraid of the Dark takes an older movie Darkness Falls and revamps it and makes it new and exciting. While at some points I found myself thinking how dumb the characters were and some plot points just seemed stupid, I still enjoyed the storyline and the scarier moments of the film.

Throughout the film we follow a young girl Sally played by Bailee Madison as she learns the dark secrets of her new home. Not only does DBAOTB follow her journey in the house, but it follows her father and and his girlfriend spiraling into a state of mental peril. The acting from Katie Holmes and Bailee Madison is spectacular, portraying every emotion that a new "mother" figure and a young girl should have. The awkwardness and the developing relationship and all the emotions that come along with those interactions. 

While the two female roles were acted very well, a consistency in most of Guillermo del Toro's films, the male counterpart, Guy Pearce was not as well acted. However, this was partially due to the screenplay. His character, Alex, was the dumbest and most enraging character in the movie. Never listening to anybody but himself, following his own intuition making his girlfriend Kim angry and he is supposed to anger the audience at the same time. So in that regard his acting worked the way it was intended to, but he never really showed any emotion outside of a few minuscule moments.

The storyline was great! I loved the idea behind the creatures and how they moved and attacked. Outstanding! It may not have been the most believable premise, but horror movies rarely follow believable premises. The acting made up for that fact, but how the creatures came to be was very well established and for some people could be believable. Right from the start the audience is made to root for the little girl Sally because of her family situation, which of course works against Sally when the creatures start terrorizing the entire family.

Watching Don't Be Afraid of the Dark made me feel like a kid again. The sense of curiosity emanating from Sally through the movie was great fun to watch and reminded me of times when I was a kid. This movie can act as a reminder to adults and children alike that curiosity isn't always a bad thing and that you should rely on others just as much as you rely on yourself.

Overall, the movie was good. It was entertaining, but not very scary. The sets were massive and great fun to explore with Sally during the movie.

7/10