Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2011)

[InformationGeek]

Let me start off by saying this: I expect that a lot of people here are going to be mixed on it.  I don't blame you.  I saw this movie and while I enjoyed it, I saw plenty of things that'll definitely not sit well with a lot of people or might not find enjoy that much.  This movie has been getting lots of mixed responses from people and I was seriously considering putting this in the Bad Movies section since that might work for this movie, but I wouldn't feel right putting it there since I really had a great time.  So, that explains why the movie topic is in this section and I completely understanding if you thought it doesn't belong here.

That said, let's get down to business about this film.  I really enjoyed the hell out of this film.  I'm going to need to see it a couple of more times when it hits DVD to see if my opinion changes, but right now, I thought it was good.

Starting off, I'll bring up the good.  The acting was solid and I felt everyone was good, especially the little girl.  It's not often I run into good child actors (especially after the incident with Standing Ovation), so I found it refreshing that we had a talented young actress for the park.  The film might not have worked as well without someone as good as her.  It was a very good with all the technical parts to it; as in the staging, art direction, sets, lighting, and such.  The music score was incredible, worked at all the right points and helped with the tension and suspense perfectly.

Speaking of which, this movie has great at atmosphere and suspense.  It was at the edge of my seat or sitting back with my legs shaking in fear at what was coming next. Now the monsters are going to divide people on their design and look.  I understand people's problems with them and how they look, but I liked them.  While not extremely scary, I liked the look, how they moved, how vicious they are, and how the movie keeps them in the dark or has them in shadows.  Really works out well.

Now, let's go to the darkside of things.  The story, while I enjoyed it, had a lot of cliches in it; with the typical parents not believing the kid or the old man who knows a lot of the backstory.  Didn't bother me, but I did notice it.  Also, the characters from time will act like idiots (It's sort of the girl's fault that the creatures got out in the first place) and at times, they act like a-holes.  There's also a weird leap in logic that made me laugh.  Bit of a spoiler, but when the creatures attacked someone and when the victim was discovered, they assume it was accident.  Right, all of those stab wounds and slashes really do scream accident.   

What kind of hurts the film a bit is that it isn't a very scary film like I thought it would be.  Oh sure, it can be freaky, creepy, get under your skin, and terrifying; but never reaches a point where it'll scare you deeply.  It has a couple of jump scares, but are never as effective as the one in the trailer (they're find, but never as good). I also think we saw the faces of the creatures a bit too much and should been more in the shadows for most of the movie, expect for good key points.  Finally, the ending is a bit of a downer (heard it is similar to the original, but never saw it so I can't compare) so that could disappoint you.

All in all, I had a great time and I'll be checking it out in the future, as well as the original to compare (once I find a copy somewhere).  If I had to score it, I say it was an 8 out of 10 for me, but for everyone else I say about a 7 or 6 out of 10, depending if you mind certain things.  Regardless of anything, it's just nice to have a horror film that isn't extremely gory, a Paranormal Activity clone, or a slasher.

[odinn7]

I am a huge fan of the original, having seen it when it came out in '73 and then many times after. I was about 6 the first time I saw it...the movie terrified me. I think I may have even posted here about it some time ago but I'm not sure. Anyway, I was very nervous about going to see this as I normally don't like re-makes, especially of films that I actually liked.

I saw it today and loved it. The story was changed but it wasn't bastardized. The changes were good, I thought. I liked the way this newer version fleshed things out more and gave it more depth. Of course you need to realize that the original was made for a 90 minute TV slot, which means there was maybe 70-75 minutes of actual story so I don't fault the lack of depth on that one. Overall I thought the movie retained the creepiness of the original and I'm sure my daughter (11 years old) will face the same sleepless nights after having seen it that I did after seeing the original...yeah, call me a bad parent, I took her to see it. We had a great time with this film...some laughs, some scares. I wasn't p**sed that it was re-made and I think Guilermo del Toro did a great job here.

Also, as a side note, the original can be found here.

[Trevor]

Wow - welcome! Long time, hope you're well and that the squirrels are leaving you alone.

[odinn7]

LOL...the squirrels still haunt us!

[Trevor]

LOL...the squirrels still haunt us!

 

[Umaril The Unfeathered]

I am a huge fan of the original, having seen it when it came out in '73 and then many times after. I was about 6 the first time I saw it...the movie terrified me. I think I may have even posted here about it some time ago but I'm not sure. Anyway, I was very nervous about going to see this as I normally don't like re-makes, especially of films that I actually liked.

Same here! I was 8 or 9 and sleep was NOT on the menu the night I watched the original film in it's inaugural ABC premiere.  Fun times, those days!

As for the remake, I went to see it about 2 weeks back, and found it to be somewhat good, but a few things need to be pointed out.

The set pieces in the old dark room where the creatures lived had a very Tim Burton-ish feel to it, and it was like a separate movie unto itself whenever the story took place there.  Hard to explain, but those who have seen the film can see what I mean..

As to Guillermo Del Toro's approach to the rest of the film...there is some borrowing from Pan's Labyrinth,  in that "child's worst nightmare" sort of way, and the way both films rely on the "troubled child" syndrome and the need to escape from reality any way that would do the job.

And as usual, the creature(s) in both films offer that escape route as the lines between reality and fantasy become blurred for the child to the point where it seems there is no escape.

That said however, Del Toro really paid attention to the original film and managed to work into the new film,  several scenes that reminded you of things that happened in the old film. And he did it in a way that those of us who have seen the original could easily point out while maintaining the new film's separate identity.  Not too shabby!

It was a fun way to spend the afternoon. 

[odinn7]

That said however, Del Toro really paid attention to the original film and managed to work into the new film,  several scenes that reminded you of things that happened in the old film. And he did it in a way that those of us who have seen the original could easily point out while maintaining the new film's separate identity.  Not too shabby!

Right! There were some scenes that I smiled at because I liked how they were taken from the original and made over for this one. I liked how they weren't overdone but enough were included that it took me back to those frightening days in '73.

[Umaril The Unfeathered]

That said however, Del Toro really paid attention to the original film and managed to work into the new film,  several scenes that reminded you of things that happened in the old film. And he did it in a way that those of us who have seen the original could easily point out while maintaining the new film's separate identity.  Not too shabby!

Right! There were some scenes that I smiled at because I liked how they were taken from the original and made over for this one. I liked how they weren't overdone but enough were included that it took me back to those frightening days in '73.

Good to see someone else noticed this 

Also, to hearken back to the original, the opening scene of the house with the wind blowing, and that eerie 70's era "wee-oooo" music really made for a great atmosphere. 

And the way the music suddenly goes evil as you hear the creatures begin talking. The atmosphere of the original was a bit better than the new one,  but then again there was a solid reason for 70's era horror movies being the best ones, wasn't there? 

[odinn7]

Very true. There was so much about that movie that made it creepy.

One of the worst parts of that movie (by worst I mean it haunted me) was at the end, after they had caught Sally. There was a shot of the house and they were all whispering...including Sally. "When will they come and set us free?"....I heard that in my sleep! LOL!

I actually plan on getting the remastered copy of the original. I have seen it about 15 years ago but I would like a copy of my own.

[Umaril The Unfeathered]

Very true. There was so much about that movie that made it creepy.

One of the worst parts of that movie (by worst I mean it haunted me) was at the end, after they had caught Sally. There was a shot of the house and they were all whispering...including Sally. "When will they come and set us free?"....I heard that in my sleep! LOL!

I actually plan on getting the remastered copy of the original. I have seen it about 15 years ago but I would like a copy of my own.

I'd say it was about 5 years ago? But Kim Darby was at Chiller Theatre at the old Royal Crown Plaza hotel in Secaucus, NJ and I spoke with her at great length about the old movie and she actually signed my copy of the DVD I bought for 10 bucks from another vendor (VERY great quality too, still plays well!)

The scene on the sleeve shows the one scene where she was her holding her mouth in terror as she was screaming.  She signed it on the inside sleeve where another picture of her was.

After signing it, she then laughed at one point in the conversation, and jokingly asked me if anyone will ever remember that she acted with John Wayne, or got kissed by William Shatner, LOL   She was a very nice and well-mannered lady 

[odinn7]

That's too cool. It's good to hear stories like that.   

[WingedSerpent]

All right, just got back from seeing this and overall I liked it.  Never saw the original, but I knew from some reviews that this was a remake.
Much scarier movie then Shark Night 3D which I saw last week.

Some real good tenison is built.  The little girl actress wasn't really anoying like a lot of child actresses. One thing that lead to some unitentional laughs was the fact that Katie Holmes' character had a polorid camera.  I thought they stoped making those-It really couldn't have been a digital one?  It being a polorid is really only important for one scene.

Unfortuanlly some other unintentioal laughs came from the creatures.  I found their whispering voices talking not particualar scary.  Whispers only work when they are quick and somewhat ambigous.  When they seemed to be having full conversations with people, some of the tention was lost.  It didn't help that they looked like pied tamarins


Still, great tension atmosphere and visuals.  All stuff I expect from Del Toro.  And while I'm glad I saw this movie, in the end it really does make me somewhat upset that his movie based on In the Mountains of Maddness by Lovecraft got canceld.  Del Toro is one of the few producers/directors I think could handle Lovecraft properly.

[odinn7]

One thing that lead to some unitentional laughs was the fact that Katie Holmes' character had a polorid camera.  I thought they stoped making those-It really couldn't have been a digital one?  It being a polorid is really only important for one scene.

I noticed the camera as well. The only thing I have to offer here is that maybe it was kind of a nod to the original film. In that one, Sally was using the flash on a camera to scare the creatures away...the only difference is that her flash ran out after a few uses.

[Umaril The Unfeathered]

That's too cool. It's good to hear stories like that.   

Well there too, that was back when Chiller Theatre HAD the room for people to move around in.  It was possible to meet people and not have to wait in line like processed sheep.

The shows prior to their return to this hotel were just people herded into a room and made to wait HOURS out in the hallways and made to wait until they re-opened the rooms when they were overcrowded. It's why I stopped going the past few years. The show needs more room.

[Umaril The Unfeathered]

One thing that lead to some unitentional laughs was the fact that Katie Holmes' character had a polorid camera.  I thought they stoped making those-It really couldn't have been a digital one?  It being a polorid is really only important for one scene.

I noticed the camera as well. The only thing I have to offer here is that maybe it was kind of a nod to the original film. In that one, Sally was using the flash on a camera to scare the creatures away...the only difference is that her flash ran out after a few uses.

Same with the creatures' use of the rope in the scenes in the remake, and the way the little creature showed up in the flowers at the party (as did the one in the original movie.) There were a lot of nods to the original movie, done very well in a way that blended in nicely.