Halloween is just around the corner, which means that horror movies come out at full swing. Guillmero Del Toro wrote and produced this remake horror film and when I saw those credentials of who was behind it, I was excited. This major movie heavyweight has been behind Blade II, Hellboy and the classic Pan's Labyrinth. The original show, Don't be Afraid of the Dark, was a T.V. miniseries about a family that gets terrorized by these monsters in an old estate house they purchased. Del Toro takes this idea and put's his spin on things which is never a bad thing. Troy Nixey uses the strangest camera movements as well to create an atmosphere and a menacing character in his monsters. This isn't a typical monster movie, it bends and breaks the rules of tradition, and it also expands on the concept of these creepy monsters killing people in the dark.
First of all, the acting in this movie is great, Katie Holmes is bearable, Guy Pearce plays his role as best as he could, the real showcase though, is Bailee Madison. She's been a small supporting character in a few movies leading up to this but here she is front and center. Honestly, this movie works so well because of her. She conveys who anger and frustration so well, she also has an innocence that is heavily influential in this pic. There are a couple of things this movie does that I did not like. We see the monsters to early, so that mystery and creepiness goes away or is a little stilted in a couple of parts that could've been so much creepier. Also the ending of the movie is so stupid. I'm not talking about the last half hour, I'm talking about the last twenty seconds before the credits roll, I rolled my eyes at the concept. Now this movie does a whole lot of things that are edgy, new and well executed.
Del Toro and Nixey create a mythology behind these monsters, this is something Del Toro always does. They aren't some random creepy monsters killing people in the dark, no, they are something more. There's a rhyme and a reason behind what is transpiring maybe even a lesson that we can learn. This brings a whole new dimension to the genre that we've never seen before. Sometimes we actually understand why the monsters are the way they are, and that also conveys suspense and creepiness. It's a brilliant way of telling a story and honestly it's something hollywood has stopped doing in a lot of ways. Now this is no Pan's Labyrinth but it almost feels like a little sister of that story. The story telling here is top notch and Nixey creates some of the creepiest moments we've experienced all year at the movies. Let's just say you won't look at you're bed or bathtub the same way again. He takes our nerves and jangles them in different ways, so every creep factor is new and exciting. I also loved seeing the world from the monster's point of view, the skittering cameras at feet level that roamed all over the house actually worked very well. If you want something different this halloween with probably one of the best, and cutest child actors around right now, and some of the creepiest suspense scenes this is the movie to watch. Just leave right before the end or take it with a little grain of salt, it doesn't make sense.
