Director Troy Nixey‘s things-go-bump-in-the-night haunted house pic, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, is a simple yarn of a horror film. Old-school hocus pocus runs through its veins, and Nixey and writer/producer/presenter Guillermo del Toro delve into some effectively spooky places. Before a troublesome typical third act turn, this is a brand of horror we rarely see anymore.
Writers Matthew Robbins and del Toro let the audience know in the introduction what type of horror movie this going to be: an atmosphere-driven one rather than a cheap and blood-ridden farce. The flashback at the beginning of the film is skin-crawling, not for what it shows you, but for what it doesn’t. Less means more here and, for the most part, the promising director sticks to it.
Not unlike Pan’s Labyrinth, the audience’s guide is a young girl, Sally (Bailee Madison). Sally is an isolated child, and many of her questionable decisions derive from that, offering a bit of rationale to choices that might get a laugh in another, lesser horror film.
This is a little, imaginative kid. And while many will chuckle her father Alex’s (played by the always reliable Guy Pearce) obliviousness to what’s going on, it’s this obliviousness that feels real. After all, what sane adult would believe in scary monsters and haunted houses? It’s reminiscent of A Nightmare on Elm Street – the idea of seeing scarily supernatural events but having no one believe you because you’re just a kid.
And what makes young Sally’s dilemma even worse? She’s creepy, and has problems. Sally is the girl all the children avoid at school. There’s nothing appealing, sweet, or adorable about her. This is the anti-cute kid. The only mildly warm person in the film is Alex’s young girlfriend, Kim (Katie Holmes).
Holmes is not the weak link here, though her character is criminally underwritten (not unlike Rachel Dawes in Batman Begins). [Spoiler Alert] If del Toro and Robbins fully fleshed out Kim, gave the character more charm and identifiable traits, her death could have been a gut punch. The killing off of Kim is unexpected and squirm-worthy, but bares no emotional impact. [Spoiler Over]
The creatures – or tooth fairies, as the mythology goes – are horrible little buggers. They start off as vicious beasts, and the first reveal of them is earned suspense. Unfortunately, by the finale they’ve lost their creepiness, thanks to bullish CGI. The frantic conclusion loses the slow burn that’s fueled everything before it, turning into something far too busy and much less satisfying.
Before taking that downhill route, there’s a fine craftsmanship to Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark. Nixey shows an eye for imagery, suspense building that makes up for the weak script. While he never takes some of the goofier elements of this tale too seriously, he never compromises it with smirking irony. It’s a tough and respectable balance to make, and Nixey shows poise in making it work.