Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

Director: Troy Nixey
Cast: Bailee Madison, Guy Pearce, Katie Holmes and Jack Thompson
Releasing in cinemas: 3 November 2011
Rated: M

Guillermo del Toro who directed Pan's Labyrinth, that fabulous adult fairy tale (one of my favourite films), seems determined to put his name all over this mediocre horror flick - maybe in the hope it will sell to the unsuspecting. While there may be a few elements of Pan's Labyrinth squirming in the background, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark turns out a derivative and uninspired venture into the Gothic. Del Toro these days is so involved with producing multiple projects, is he losing his touch?

A shot through what look like the gates from Citizen Kane, reveals the House of Usher posing as Blackwood Mansion complete with miasmic pool - not a place for a picnic. You know it's sure to be full of spooks before you go in the front door. After a horrific teaser set in the 19th century (explaining there are seriously unpleasant bogeys in the basement wanting to be tooth fairies, but doing their own extractions); we leap to the present day.

Young Sally Hurst (Bailee Madison) arrives at Blackwood Mansion in Rhode Island with her father Alex (Guy Pearce) and his latest squeeze Kim (Katie Holmes). Sullen Sally doesn't want to be there, having been brushed off by her mother to stay with her dad, and she resents Kim. Meanwhile Alex is too busy restoring the gloomy property to spend much time with his daughter.

Wandering around the creepy pile, which would scare most children to death just looking in the window, Sally explores a hidden cobwebby cellar where the previous owner, a naturalist and painter Emerson Blackwood (Garry McDonald) mysterious disappeared years before. Mumbled warnings by caretaker Harris (Jack Thompson) fall on deaf ears, when he says the basement is no place for children.

From a deep ash pit behind a grate Sally hears voices calling her name and asking for her help. The voices unfortunately belong to Homunculi, those little demons of folklore who live in dark places and feast on the teeth of children. Sally unwittingly frees these horrors from their captivity behind the grate, and she's haunted by them. Sally now desperately tries to convince her distant father and more understanding Kim of the danger lurking in the house. Time is running out.

Co-written and produced by del Toro, the film is directed by Canadian Troy Nixey and filmed in  Melbourne (standing in for Rhode Island). Based on the 1970's telemovie Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, which featured Kim Darby, best known for True Grit (the original). Maybe if del Toro had directed himself and rewrote parts of the sometimes risible script, it could have worked. Apparently the telemovie impressed him as a child, but the result here is at best slapdash with just a few moments of effective shock.

The film depends on Bailee Madison (Bridge to Terabithia) for she carries many scenes. Looking forlorn or sulky, she does what she can, but it's a one note performance. Guy Pearce (Animal Kingdom) remains so far distant he could phone in his performance, while Katie Holmes (The Kennedys TV) without stretching herself dramatically, manages to be sympathetic to the child's plight.

Jack Thompson (Mao's Last Dancer) channels Burl Ives with a speech impediment, and gets dispatched fairly quickly - for which he's probably truly thankful. Garry McDonald doesn't last past the opening teaser, doing nasty things with the maid's teeth to the tune of “ Wait Till The Sun Shines Nellie”, which would have never been approved in Mother and Son.

Like many horror films, Humonculi critters are most scary when only glimpsed in the shadows. When seen clearly, they resemble recycled flying monkeys from The Wizard of Oz. You also wonder how many flashes Sally can achieve from her Polaroid flash pack, which gets heavy service in keeping the spooks who hate light at bay.

The creepy atmosphere is captured well by Oliver Stapleton's cinematography in the Gothic settings. You just expect so much more from the talented filmmaker who gave us The Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth.

John Bale