Page 26 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • September 7, 2011 ‘Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark’ is well-crafted film by Dennis Seuling Horror films that are made by those who understand how suspense is created and built are the ones that get under viewers’ skins the most. Rather than pile on one shock moment after another, they space the shocks with anticipation, tension, and a feeling of eeriness. “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark,” written by Guillermo del Toro (“Pan’s Labyrinth”) and based on a screenplay by Matthew Robbins, is a remake of a 1973 made-for-TV movie. It is a stylish suspense film containing equal shares of creepiness, computergenerated creatures, atmospheric lighting, and above-average performances, particularly from young Baileee Madison. Sally (Madison) is a lonely little girl, so upset by the divorce of her parents that she is on prescription drugs. Her mother sends her off to accompany her father, Alex (Guy Pearce), and his girlfriend, Kim (Katie Holmes), who have moved into a Rhode Island mansion and are preoccupied with renovating it to attract the attention of Architectural Digest. This leaves plenty of time for Sally to explore the vast estate. She discovers a hidden basement and hears soft voices who offer to befriend her if she frees them from behind a heavy iron furnace grating. When she removes the grating, trouble begins. For a long time, Sally must endure the horror of small, rat-like creatures that swarm stealthily, hidden in the many shadows of the large house, and seem bent on harming her. Holmes gets to play a hero, but she is a poor fit for the role. Her acting is transparent, and she never conveys the appropriate amount of terror. She never inhabits the character of Kim, an artist who reaches out to a troubled child who resents her. Instead, she saunters through the film, looking as if she is wondering what’s for lunch. Pearce is adequate in a thankless role as the too-busy dad who dismisses his daughter’s apprehensions and fears as mere childhood contrariness. He is so involved in his restoration project that Sally becomes an afterthought. This semi-abandonment makes Sally a perfect victim for the evil forces that haunt the building. Madison really makes the film. Child actors are iffy. It’s rare to get a kid who can emote believably, particularly when many of her scenes are played with CGI creatures that have yet to be generated. When viewers first see Sally, she is quiet and remote. She never smiles and is clearly troubled. It’s easy to understand why she is drawn to voices that promise friendship and companionship, since she feels she has been rejected by her mother and subjugated to a construction project by her father. Her best scenes occur in her bedroom, where she must deal with danger she cannot comprehend. There are some cool touches. A prologue that is set in the past forms a connection to the modern tale. It is spooky, grim, and bloody, setting up the journey into dark and forbidding territory. The photography by Oliver Stapleton favors outdoors scenes of overcast skies and muted colors. Indoor scenes are lit in a style that would make the Addams family feel right at home. The one weak scene is expositional. Kim visits the local library where a librarian (James Mackay) presents yellowed documents that reveal secrets about the house and its previous inhabitant. Exposition in a horror film should be kept to a minimum. In this case, since the presence of the evil homunculi is based on mumbo jumbo, the scene asks viewers to swallow a lot of preposter- Katie Holmes and Bailee Madison in ‘Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark.’ ous “facts” while putting the brakes on the film’s pacing. If any movie has the potential to terrify young viewers for months to come, it is this one. Much of the action takes place in dimly lit locations and in Sally’s bedroom, where she must face the horrors by herself. Kids could easily summon disturbing images from the movie when left alone in their own rooms. The stuff of nightmares, this is not a movie for youngsters. Rated R for intense scenes of terror, “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” takes a simple idea and uses it as its centerpiece while touching on themes of abandonment, child abuse, mental illness, and a child’s helplessness. It is a smartly crafted film that will have viewers looking over their shoulders on the way home.