Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark

By Less Lee Moore

Horror fans of a certain age surely remember the 1973 TV movie Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark. To me, it was always known as “the movie about the things in the fireplace,” which was enough to keep a scaredy-cat kid away for many years. Although I didn’t see it until more recently, I quickly became a big fan; the movie still provides plenty of genuinely creepy moments which make me glad I never saw it as an impressionable youth.

Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, who produced the terrific remake that’s out today in theaters, has called the original “the most terrifying on earth.” But the new Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark isn’t a movie full of jump scares like the also-terrific Insidious, which came out earlier this year. It’s more of an old-fashioned haunted house movie, where the unease and dread build slowly and inexorably towards a horrible climax.

Fans of del Toro’s distinctive modern Gothic visual style will find plenty to feast on here. The setting—a foreboding mansion full of baroque, Victorian furniture and hidden spaces—is reminiscent of classic fright-fests like The Haunting Of Hill House, The Changeling, or Burnt Offerings. There is some gore, but it’s minimal and perfectly placed, and doesn’t overshadow the story at all.

A more elaborate mise en scene is not the only improvement del Toro and director and Canadian comic artist Troy Nixey have made. While the original doesn’t provide any back story as to why “the things in the fireplace” are so malevolent, this version does, and to del Toro’s credit (he co-wrote the screenplay) these changes are compelling.

Perhaps the biggest change is the casting of a child in the central role. While Kim Darby’s Sally was tremendously sympathetic and convincing, modern audiences might not be so quick to identify with the trope of “hysterical housewife” common in horror movies of the past, such as Rosemary’s Baby or Let’s Scare Jessica To Death.

Now Sally (Bailee Madison) is a ten-year-old shuffled between estranged parents. Her father Alex (Guy Pearce) thinks she’ll be better off with him and his new girlfriend Kim (Katie Holmes) than with her mother Joanna, who in a nice bit of narrative flair, only appears as a voice on the phone. Sally isn’t too pleased with this turn of events and feels terribly alone, which makes her descent into a waking nightmare that much more believable and frightening.

In fact, some of the best moments in the film aren’t about monsters at all, but about how being a kid sometimes just plain sucks, especially when dealing with adults. And even though we get more back story in this remake, there is still a lot that’s left unsaid, such as how Kim has struggled to deal with her own childhood, what made Alex and Joanna split up, or why Alex must now rebuild his career as an architect. These added touches mean that this isn’t just a creature feature. Like the best horror movies, the monsters in Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark exacerbate already existing troubles.

Still, this version of Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark isn’t a complete reboot, since some of the character names, dialogue, and plot points are kept intact. In this way, it’s more of a loving homage to the original. As Sally, Bailee Madison is wonderful, the perfect mix of sullen and scared, while Katie Holmes is remarkably and surprisingly great as Kim.

And those “things in the fireplace” are even scarier this time around. I guarantee their eerie, whispering voices will haunt you in the middle of the night. Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark is a definite must-see movie, a worthy successor to its namesake, and another splendid addition to the horror genre.