The remake of “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” is supposed to be a scary film about a girl who tries to warn her family that their house is haunted, but for critics and audience members alike, the movie wasn’t scary at all.
According to Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a 59% rotten from critics and an even lower 50% from audiences. The general critical consensus is that the film is atmospheric and haunting in the beginning, but the overall film doesn’t give the scares of its original.
Individually, the critical reviews are fairly even, with just as many rotten reviews as there are fresh ones. Here’s a sample:
“‘Children’s teeth! Children’s teeth!’ Unseen, spooky critters hiding deep in a fireplace in a walled-off room whisper these words like steam pipes. As they do, ‘Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark’ will turn your nerve endings into Popsicles.”–Kyle Smith, New York Post
“A certain amount of stupidity is required for a horror movie to succeed…Still, there’s being stupid and there’s being an imbecile, and the Guillermo del Toro-produced remake of the 1973 TV pic ‘Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark’ has everyone acting the latter. This artless film even approaches child abuse, in the way it crassly reconfigures the protagonist from the besieged adult woman of the original into a neglected and terrified tot.”–Peter Howell, Toronto Star
“Between the music, which evokes Bernard Herrmann, and the flashing-camera conceit, which suggests ‘Rear Window,’ Mr. Nixey is doing an Alfred Hitchcock homage within a movie lacking anything as subversive, or skilled, as Hitchcock…Those problems include the performance of both Ms. [Katie] Holmes, who never seems to get much traction, and young Ms. [Bailee] Madison, who is everywhere, and for very little reason. Cute, sure; convincing, no.” –John Anderson, Wall Street Journal
What do you think about the film? Sound off below.
It was awesome.