Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Title: Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark Director: Troy Nixey Release Date: August 26, 2011 Running Time: 99 mins

I have to say, before I start this review, that I am an absolute Guillerme Del Toro fan ever since 'Pan's Labyrinth', which I think I will review to, just for the sake of it. Therefore I am slightly predisposed to like whatever he does. But then I have to say that 'Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark' truly had me scared. Wait for it: here is another confession. I adore Bailee Madison, have ever since she was adorable in 'Bridge To Terabithia'. Therefore I will be scared of everything she is scared of, period.

A young girl is sent to live with her estranged father and his girlfriend at their new home. The father, Alex has plans to spruce up the home with the help of his interior decorator girlfriend, Kim. The previous owner of the home was a famous painter who mysteriously disappeared. Alex's daughter, Sally, soon discovers the cause of the painter's disappearance.

Now, to be professional for a minute: this is truly a great movie. The movie builds tension very well, even though you see the creatures quite early on. Bailee Madison has a great 'scared face' and is very believable. The creatures are also rather creepy even though they are tiny. They are evil and manipulative and I was scared of them. I have a weakness for anything myth related and therefore these creatures worked for me. The concept of them being afraid of light might be age-old, but it works and I made sure all the lights were on when I went back to my room. Also, this was some great CGI which definitely helped the movie. Sometimes you get great movies with terrible CGI, which therefore turn into terrible movies that no one takes seriously.

If you are looking for a scary movie that will literally  have you scared from the very first moment and never let you go, then this isn't it. There is a story here and that story has to be told. The scares are a part of it, but that is not what the story is about. I thoroughly enjoyed the  mix between "scary scenes" and relax scenes, meaning that the movie was a bit of a rollercoaster.

Some have said that Katie Holmes is a bad actress, I disagree. I truly liked her in this movie. All of the actors were great, even though I feel that Guy Pearce's character could have done with a bit more work. I also thought it was a shame they never went back to Harris, because he was rather important to the developing of the story. However, I did enjoy the prologue, which details the story of the previous owners of the house, even though I felt that we could have done with a bit more of a revelation of that at the end.

Talking about the end, there is a great twist. I really hadn't expected it, which says a lot. Of course this movie suffers from the same lack of reality as all of these movies do: why would you not immediately abandon this creepy house or at least make sure you were never alone. I, for one, would sleep in my parents room every night. But then again, if they did that, it wouldn't be half as interesting to watch.

Overall, I really enjoyed this movie and would definitely recommend it. Therefore, it will be given four out of five Psycho faces.

Whispering Corridors 3: Wishing Stairs

Title: Wishing Stairs Director: Yun Jae-yeon Release Date: August 1, 2003 Running Time: 97 mins
 I always thought that Asian horror movies were over the top gory and lacked story, don't ask me why. But I have begun to change my mind, partly due to 'Wishing Stairs'. 

In a Korean boarding school, there is a legend about its twenty-eight steps stairway: when the twentieth-ninth step appears, the fox will grant a wish to the climber. The lesbian ballet student Kim So-hee is in deep love with her passive girlfriend and also ballet student Yoon Jin-sung. When there is a competition for a single spot in a famous ballet school in Russia, the envious Jin-sung finds the twentieth-ninth step and asks to beat the favorite So-hee. However, there is a price to pay for the wish unknown to Jin-sung and the consequence is the accidental death of So-hee. Meanwhile, the fat student Eon Hae-ju, who is despised and tormented by her classmate Han Yoon-ji, misses So-hee. When she also finds the mysterious step, she wishes the return of So-hee with tragic consequences.

 From the beginning I loved the concept of the Wishing Stairs. For once, characters don't have to suffer from an unexplained evil, but the evil is a consequence of their own wishes. There is something almost fair about that. And I am a sucker for anything that seems mythical and strange. But don't worry, if that's not what you're into, the movie doesn't focus on that. 

At the beginning the movie seemed a bit slow, but the first scenes are crucial to setting the characters up and starting to build the tension. The feeling that something would go wrong was present from the beginning, yet I couldn't figure out how it was going to play out. Ji-hyo Song and Han-byeol Park were great as the two main characters and I really engaged with them. There is an underlying interpretation of So-hee's love for Jin-sung being more than friendly, mainly because lesbianism is a massive taboo in Korea, but again, this is not the major plot line and is merely an interpretation.

Eon Hae-ju is a very sad character, that I felt sorry for until the end. She just seems lost. I have to warn you here, if you have a weak stomach than a) why are you planning on watching scary movies and b) there are some gross, food related images in this movie. 'Wishing Stairs' is pretty good at creating a school environment that seems real. There is friendship, rivalry, bullying, all of which links to the Wishing Stairs. 

There are so great twists in the storyline that stop it from being a mainstream tension-movie. There are scary moments, but it's not overly gory, except for something involving clay and later on worms. I haven't seen the other 'Whispering Corridors' movies, which are apparently all seperate movies and only share a school-setting. I do recommend it for people who are a fan of 'Black Swan', because it has the same ballet theme and it is used quite nicely to create some scare effects!

Overall, I enjoyed it, but I wasn't frightened out of my wits. And since that's what I am asking for, I will only give this three out of five Psycho faces.