Westside Steve Posted October 15, 2011 Report Share Posted October 15, 2011 Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark Film District R 100 min Whew. As Yogi Berra supposedly said “It’s Déjà vu all over again.” From the cliché title to the whole setup I had the feeling I’d seen this one before. I knew this was going to be risky, as most horror films suck out loud but Guillermo Del Toro is one of the young turks to make waves in the genre so I rolled the dice, after all PANS LABYRUITH was pretty cool. If that title sounds familiar it’s because it’s from some hack TV thing a few years ago. I don’t particularly remember that one but maybe it was actually impressive enough to bear a facelift. I kinda doubt it but it actually it seems like any number of cookie cutter ghost operas. The plot itself has been around the block more times than a city bus. We start out in a flashback in which the original owner (of course he’s as crazy as a s###house rat) kills his housekeeper, yanks out her teeth and subsequently gets dragged down into a pit by some nasty little critters. They look a little like zombie rats and they just love teeth. Yeah I know…. Flash forward to a semi creepy little girl stuck living with her dad and his hot new girlfriend. He’s seeking fame as an architect and has moved the reluctant kid and lover into that very same dump! Well you know the drill. The critters are doing their best to get the kid to come and “play” with them. Not only that but bad stuff is beginning to happen and guess who gets blamed? Right! And when the kid says it’s the mini goons everybody thinks she’s nuts. Everyone, of course, except the grizzled old caretaker who continually spouts dire warnings in the grand tradition of John Carradine. Unfortunately everyone thinks he’s nuts too. Maybe Del Toro is having a lark with this one, and poking fun at the genre itself (like Tarantino’s GRINDHOUSE) but it’s not as campy campy or fun as that. Maybe somebody thought those little rat monsters were a lot scarier than they are. Maybe there are hordes of Guy Pearse fans out there. Who knows? I DO know the movie isn’t very good. C- WSS Email westsidesteve@aol.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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