Don't Be Afraid of the Dark Directed by: Troy Nixey Starring: Katie Holmes, Bailee Madison, Guy Pearce Rating: R Release Date: August 26, 2011

TRAILER SCORE: 8/10

Thoughts by TSR: Don't Be Afraid of the Dark has the unique distinction of being one of my favorite made-for-TV horror movies from the '70s. I know, there's a lotta competition in that category, right? Still, my love of the original had me a little nervous. Then when the release date kept getting pushed back, I got a little more nervous.

Since Don't be Afraid of the Dark has come out with with more than just a teaser trailer, I'm beginning to have a little more faith in the film. The trailer starts off really strong, setting the scene for us before getting us really involved in the scares. After all, I think most horror fans will agree when I say that set design is one of the most important and often overlooked parts of a solid horror movie.

But it's more than just the look of the movie. True, it's appropriately chilling, but what I appreciate about this trailer is that it's just as much about what you see as what you don't see. Not to sound like an old curmudgeon, but old horror movies knew how to do it right by evoking fear without showing everything up front. This trailer manages to recapture that spirit in a surprisingly effective manner.

This isn't to say that the trailer doesn't suffer somewhat from modern horror sensibilities. We're still treated to those painfully predictable "gotcha" moments and some questionable CGI monsters, but all in all, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark has a surprisingly timeless feel to it for a modern horror movie. Whether the movie actually delivers in the end remains to be seen, but judging from what Nixey and company have offered up in this trailer, I think it's safe to say that I'm pretty excited.