Save your money for something good and enjoyable

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

A little girl named Sally (Bailee Madison) is sent to live with her dad Alex (Guy Pearce) and his new girlfriend Kim (Katie Holmes) in Rhode Island. Alex & Kim are in the process of restoring the lavish country estate that they live in. As fate would have it, a basement room long kept hidden reveals a secret: very diminutive creatures - scores of them - reside in the place and are always demanding to be fed. Sally discovers their existence, and is initially intrigued, but the intrigue turns to terror soon enough.Remaking the memorable 1973 TV movie of the same name was a long time pet project for co-writer / co-producer Guillermo Del Toro. The bigger budget and production values result in a movie that is able to offer some decent, if drab, visuals. (There's not a big color palate in this film.) Filmed on location in Australia, this version of 'Don't Be Afraid of the Dark' has some moderately engaging horror moments, although it's not without its problems. For one thing, Dad is fairly infuriating, and it's Kim (likely named after original TV movie star Kim Darby) that forges the bigger bond with the little girl. Some genre fans may be pleased to note that Del Toro and Troy Nixey, the director whom Del Toro selected for this show, focus a lot on atmosphere. That's not to say, however, that this isn't without its bloody and violent portions. The creatures are quite amusingly designed, but after a while one realizes that they're seeing them far too much. And that's one thing that the '73 version had going for it: more subtlety.Holmes is actually rather appealing as the young woman who hopes to connect with this child. Pearce is good, but like this viewer said, his character doesn't come off all that well. It's young Madison that provides the heart for this picture; you really do feel for this kid. Aussie icon Jack Thompson is delightful as Harris, the caretaker on the premises who is soon revealed to know more than he lets on. You kind of wish he had more to do.After a promising start, this soon becomes rather trite stuff, but it's slickly made and adequately paced, and in the end is faithful to its source material.Six out of 10.

I'm 12 years old and whilst I did hyperventilate during some of the scenes from paranoia it did have some major flaws. I simply don't understand how after the groundskeeper all oats gets killed, Bailee almost gets killed and Kim finding vital information that the Dad did not move out. I found myself hating him in the end. I believe they could've made this movie better if they gave the characters a more realistic approach to dealing with things. (Another example is when the child keeps talking, looking at and following the creatures. Any normal child would scream and run away.) I believe the actors/actresses were great it's just that the movie fell short and missed that needed realism.

I am truly shocked that this film has such a low IMDb rating. Here is a finely crafted, skilfully directed, well acted, and beautifully filmed fantasy horror film. It is a shame that a good film like this has to be lumped with the likes of standard horror movie crap. I was hypnotized by the visuals, which reminded me of the great film Pan's Labyrinth (both films come from the same creator, Spanish director Guillermo Del Toro). Since nobody else seems to want to defend this movie, I will. It is based off an earlier TV movie of the same name which apparently inspired Del Toro to become a filmmaker. Sally (Bailee Madison) comes to live with her father (Guy Pierce) and his girlfriend (Katie Holmes) in their newly refurbished manor. This place has a history of death, in fact the last owner of it mysteriously vanished. Soon it becomes clear to Sally that there is something else living in the house with them, an ancient presence that whispers through the walls and that leaves coins under pillows in exchange for teeth. . . . Of course, nobody believes Sally, until it's too late! One of the things I really like about the film is it's look. I like the use of colour throughout, especially the autumn hues. Outside the house is always portrayed as cold, with shades of blue and grey. We are always drawn back into the interior of the house, with it's cozy shades of orange, yellow, and brown. I feel like the makers of this really put a lot of effort into making each shot look great, and it really pays off. The acting is good. Pierce and Holmes are competent, but the show is really stolen by Madison. She is very convincing as a girl haunted by demons, she seems actually terrified, and the film becomes all the more scarier because of it. There's only one jump scare in the entire film, that I remember, and it's not unfairly placed. This film doesn't limit itself to horror clichés, but delves deeper into the fantasy realm, which I appreciated. The atmosphere is palpable throughout. To finish off, I would completely recommend this film for lovers of fantasy horror. It's worth checking out.

While the concept was alright, the crew producing the movie was excellent, the execution was horrible.The characters never use COMMON SENSE whatsoever. And I know many people lack it, but it gets way too ridiculous.That one part the girl caught one, no one mentioned that at all.There were too many parts that didn't add up to any realistic scenario and to me, that killed most of it's little contribution to horror films.The dad is a total moron.The people get "knocked up" and wake up coincidentally at specific moments, even if they get shaken up or stuff happens that should wake em up anyway.The critters are fun but I believe they're executed with a WANKERey attitude. These could be used much better than this crap.