FILM REVIEW: DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK
Review By Duncan McLeod
Director: Troy Nixey
Cast: Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce, Bailee Madison, Jack
Synopsis: Guillermo del Toro presents DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK, a horror film starring Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce and Bailee Madison, directed by Troy Nixey. Based on the 1973 telefilm that del Toro believes is the scariest TV production ever made, the story follows Sally (Madison), a young girl who moves to Rhode Island to live with her father (Pearce) and his new girlfriend (Holmes) in the 19th-century mansion they are restoring. While exploring the house, Sally starts to hear voices coming from creatures in the basement whose hidden agenda is to claim her as one of their own. Akin to del Toro’s PAN’S LABYRINTH, DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK focuses on a young girl’s struggle against menacing and terrifying forces.
Review: DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK injects some fresh chills into the familiar “child in the big scary old house” story. Writer Guillermo del Toro and Director Troy Nixey in his feature directing debut, have given this remake life, littered it with good performances and almost rejuvenated the genre.
As this is Nixey’s first feature, the guiding hand of del Toro and the world of his PAN’S LABRYINTH is obvious. The creatures are similar and the movie uses a mythical creature as its protagonist rather than something from the known world.
There is rich Australian talent in this film and given it was shot in Melbourne that’s no surprise. Guy Pearce, Jack Thompson and a cameo from Garry McDonald are all noteworthy performances
In fact, McDonald’s character, Blackwood is responsible for the most squeamish scene in the movie.
Jack Thompson as the groundskeeper is as engaging as ever. There are one or two moments when he slips into unintentional physical humour, however he dominates the screen and his on-screen relationship with the central cast is credible and very solid.
After a succession of two-dimensional characters (most recently in THE KING’S SPEECH) Pearce’s appeal has begun to grown on this reviewer, as here he gives a coloured performance full of misguided emotion. The relationship between he and his character’s love interest played by Katie Holmes is not 100% convincing, though they play off each other well enough to keep the audience interested.
Holmes was a surprise. Her character underwent a transformation in the film. Not to do with her character arc, but she went from boring to likable and interesting.
This was Bailee Madison’s movie though. With an impressive body of work including CONVICTION and BROTHERS and ridiculous comic fodder such as JUST GO WITH IT) Madison does well in this thriller.
We saw the film largely from her character Sally’s perspective and this cinematic tool was cleverly used to create and maintain the tension. Sally with her Emo-like appearance and unassuming demeanour delivered some cracking screams, and showed great skill in keeping the onscreen action as real as possible.
Oliver Stapleton’s (THE CIDER HOUSE RULES) cinematography was dark and stylized. He worked with the grand old home in homage to the Hitchcock era.
If you seek a thriller to rattle your teeth and insist the lights blaze whilst you sleep, then this is it.
CHECK OUT MS. PRIMATE’S PERSPECTIVE HERE
Excellent!