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.
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