Tonight, Don’t be Afraid of the Dark (and a side of kettle corn) was on the menu. I’d wanted to see this movie last year when it came out, but movies are expensive, yo. Anyway, we saw it on Netflix and decided to check it out. As I was watching, there was a running commentary going through my mind, and about halfway through I realized that I should probably be taking notes if I intend to write a review. Whoops.
This is a remake of an older made-for-tv movie. The story is of a little girl named Sally who moves in with her father, Alex and his girlfriend, Kim (played by Mrs. Tom Cruise herself). Shortly after moving in with them, Sally starts hearing voices and seeing little shadow creatures who are afraid of the light.
After the terrific opening scene with shoddy dental work and an old man being eaten while trying to save his son, the movie started off kind of slowly, and despite the contemporary setting, it seemed awfully similar to another movie directed by Guillermo Del Toro (I’m looking at you, Pan’s Labyrinth >:( ), what with the little girl moving into a new home with one parent and one sort-of step parent. It was kind of creepy when Sally first started talking to the little “fairies”. I mean, if you’re drunk and the lights are all turned out, anyway.
Jokes aside, it seemed like a pretty solid premise until they actually show the creatures. I mean, half bald rats aren’t scary, they’re cute, in a sickly way. If the creatures looked more like the drawings made by Sally and the old man from the beginning, then there might have been more of a fright factor to it. All in all, I was pretty disappointed and it was hard to suspend my disbelief when it comes to the lack of common sense owned by the characters. I’d give it 2.5 out of 5 skulls. Better luck next time, I guess.