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Re: Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 2:56 pm
by lupogirl
Looked absolutely stunning. At times reminded me of Pans Labryinth.

Nicely paced with a few jumps. Quite like the creatures, when at times looked liked rats.

One of the rare occasions I have seen Katie Holmes in a film. I thought she was really good. Guy Pearce was just on the sidelines.

Re: Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 4:40 pm
by streetrw
Solid is the word, really. Perfectly decent, nicely nasty creatures, and a lot of Del Toro in there (specifically Pan's).

I'm putting up blogs for each film:

http://streetrw.blogspot.com/2011/08/do ... -dark.html

Re: Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 10:07 pm
by DavieT
Well made, tripped along at a good pace, nicely creepy creatures - v good CGI and by god a movie where I came out thinking "actually Katie Holmes was OK" :) Guy Pearces character seemed completely irrelevant and could have been played by anyone.

Re: Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 11:04 pm
by Satans Puppy
One of my faves... loved it!!! LOVED IT!!! Didn't love what happened at the end as I don't think the father learned ANYTHING at all...RAR!

Re: Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 11:08 am
by itchysore
Had some silly bits like the never ending flash bulb but overall really enjoyed this, looked great, the little girl was good and loved the little monsters. Was quite surprised by the fairly dark ending.

Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 11:27 am
by daveroughcut
I hate soundstage haunted houses. You could perform Phantom Of The Opera in the hall with complete cast and full props! The acting was very "hit your mark" stuff and the little girl seemed very schooled. The monsters were the Tooth Fairies from Hellboy 2. Not for me.

Re: Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 1:05 pm
by Bearded Avenger
A good looking film, but it annoyed me early on... the but where the girl gets grabbed by the builder made me shxt myself, but only because of the sudden banging sound. Also, those little pixie things - if I'd made the film it'd be a short, as the girl would squish them straight away.

Re: Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 7:07 pm
by The Soapmaker
It was pretty good, and as it turned out one of the few "traditional" horror/fantasy films in a weekend with a bit too much emphasis on "real world" horrors.

As has been said, Guy Pearce had a thankless task playing a typical disbelieving/insensitive parent - the character really should've had more depth.

I found the tone a bit inconsistent too - it turned into Gremlins for the dinner party scene, which worked very well, but the rest of the film was deadly serious.

Re: Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 10:51 pm
by Porkboy
Average. This could have been great, but they showed the creatures too much. Too much I tell you! The original was creepier.

Re: Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 1:19 pm
by Stephen with ph
jonbly wrote:9/10 - consistently creepy, and the effects were all well done. Surprisingly subdued applause at the end, though, so maybe the rest of you didn't agree...
Hard to put my finger on it. It seemed to take me a while to engage with this movie, while (for the sake of comparison) Pan's Labyrinth was engrossing from the start.

Del Toro lite, I guess. Good enough, but lacking a certain something.

Re: Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2024 3:33 pm
by zappa fan
Currently on Studio Canal.