Don't Be Afraid of the Dark Directed by: Troy Nixey Starring: Bailee Madison, Guy Pearce, Katie Holmes Rating: R Release Date: January 21, 2011
TRAILER SCORE: 9/10
MY THOUGHTS: The reasons behind my excitement behind this movie are almost too numerous to count. As an avid horror fan, I think most of my counterparts (Morrow Mclaughlin, I'm lookin' at you) will attest to the fact that the recent crop of legitimate horror movies have been pretty dismal. Plus, the possibility of Katie Holmes dying in this movie? Nothing malicious or anything, it's just that her acting has killed plenty of other potentially good movies, maybe it's time she gets hers, how about it? Still, I'm getting all caught up in the buzz of it. The actual teaser trailer itself is surprisingly effective as a minimalist piece. For the first half of it, don't worry folks, there's nothing wrong with your screen, there just aren't any visuals. It plays off the discomfort and uses a kind of creepy voice to lead in, which sets the mood. What we're shown is pretty basic (even the cheap scare at the end that secures the lowest common denominator audience) but that works well for it. Sure, this sort of goes on my shit list for being a remake, but I'm willing to overlook it if Guillermo del Toro's willing to attach his name to it. After all, the man produced another one of my favorite horror movies, The Orphanage. Hopefully, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark will be able to capture that same classic horror movie feel that The Orphanage did so well. Easily one of the most anticipated movies for me in the bleak winter months. I might actually leave my house to brave the trek to the movie theater for this one when January rolls around.