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Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark: Movie Review

Mali Elfman — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 17:53:07 +0000

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is an odd title for a film that gives you nothing but good reason to be afraid of the dark, but I guess that’s all part of the fun of it! There is a lot about this film that makes it a cliched horror film, the only difference is that there are some impressive A-list actors, interesting new monsters and a splash of Guillermo del Toro (interview) from time to time. The problem is, that this film asks you to suspend your beliefs in the wrong ways. Believing that monsters exists in basement and are after your teeth — awesome! Buying that human beings act the way they do in this move — failed movie magic. There were a lot of good things about this movie, but it loses its way about halfway in, making it a horror film that will likely not be remember. Find out why…

The Players:

Director: Troy Nixey
Writers: Guillermo del Toro (screenplay), Matthew Robbins (screenplay), and based on Nigel McKeand’s 1973 teleplay
Stars: Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce and Bailee Madison
Producers: Guillermo del Toro and Mark Johnson

Plot:

Caught in the midst of two divorced parents who both seem to only be concerned with their careers, a young girl is sent to live with her father and his new girlfriend. She’s alone, angry and in need of friends, Unfortunately the friends she finds are some creatures that live in her new home, that pull her in with love, but have quite heinous intentions.

The Good:

Playing With Our Real Fears: It’s a broad but mostly true statement to say that no one likes old, dark basements, no one likes the dark when they’ve being chased, no one likes teeth being taken from their head unwillingly — it’s safe to say that straight out of the gate this film plays on some pretty basic fears that many of us can all relate to and therefore be scared of (which is what we all want when we sit down to a horror film!). The start of the film brings your in a plays with your fears in a delightfully evil way. Unfortunately, it’s unable to keep that, but more on that later.
Bailee Madison: Man is this girl an actress to watch out for. In person she’s well spoken and can field the press as well as any seasoned professional. On screen she’s the most believable of the bunch (though even as a child I don’t think I would want to talk to spirits coming from a furnace, but I am old and jaded critic now, so maybe I’ve just forgotten) and she’s a pleasure to watch because she has a creepiness in the film that intrigues you, but enough heart that you always care for her.
The Ending: NO SPOILERS. Don’t worry. There were some issues with the way the film was bit up. A lot of the reason why this film worked for me is because of the strong start and ruthless ending (the middle was a bit muddled). To follow that up, quite literally the last line spoken before the credits role is my favorite part of the film. It was a nice touch by the filmmakers and one that allowed to audience to leave on a fun note.
Katie Holmes: This is probably the most bad-ass we’ve seen her yet. Unexpected, nicely done, and fun to watch.

The Bad:

Monster Premiere: They show the monster too soon and too much, and eventually allows for them to become a bit of a joke which takes away their danger. They’re already a slightly implausible enemy, so it hurt them to have any humor added. I don’t want to give away their weaknesses, but they do have them, and for them to be treated in anyway but seriously, takes away from the power and the suspense that the film needs in the last act. It’s a shame to see because they start so damn strong and then they get under-minded. Also, without giving too much away again, not all of their actions are justified and sometimes their motives don’t really add up making them again, less scary because they’re less believable.
Unrealistic Timing: Once everything goes wrong, and they decide to escape, why oh why does it take 4 hours to pack a suitcase into the car and (again) why or why do you leave the targeted victim by themselves in a room that has attacked her before… and to add to that, AT NIGHT. I’m all for going with a story, but when a film asks us to looks past SO many things like this in a row it begins to take away from “realistic fears” which is what gives the film its impact.
Not Enough Guy Pearce: He’s one of the best transformative actors and yet his character is almost completely one dimensional, his actions are kind of justified in his lines but there needed to be more time to see the results of those lines and he’s given too little screen time which is just a damn shame.

Overall:

I wanted to love this film, there are some many great parts to it but unfortunately it doesn’t add up to the whole that I hoped for. That being said, there are some quality elements to it that if you’re not a crazy cinefile like me, you probably won’t notice them and have a fine time. I have a low threshold for horror but found that I could easily make it through this film. Yes the opening and moments of the film are tense, but for the most part this is a very easy to watch film to watch or bring a date to.

Rating: 5.7/10

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is in theaters August 26th.

Photo Gallery:

Comic-Con 2011: Guillermo del Toro Talks Mountains of Madness, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, Hellboy 3 and his love of Hall H

Mali Elfman — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 08:36:23 +0000

We had a chance to sit down once again with one of our favorites over at ScreenCrave and he had quite a lot to say about many projects in question as well as his love for filmmaking and film-watching. Mr. Guillermo del Toro himself who as well as partaking in almost every single panel at Comic-Con this year with a bad back was also willing to talk more intimately with the press, though, he see’s all of his fans in Hall H as his personally friends.

During our interview about his upcoming release Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark he also spoke many of the questions that we’ve been asking about, mainly Mountains of Madness (which he’ll never give up on and had the ring to prove!) and could possibly still be moved to do Hellboy 3 (as long as Ron Perlman can do it and isn’t too old). Check it our below…

Part 1:

Part 2:

And If you’re a Mountains of Madness fan, his ring (which he was kind enough to pass over) should give you some reassurance that Guillermo hasn’t given up hope yet…

Elba in Pacific Rim, Foxx is Django (Unchained)?

Damon Houx — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 01:00:43 +0000

Much has been rumored about Quentin Tarantino‘s latest film Django Unchained, with Samuel L. Jackson and Christoph Waltz considered shoo-in’s for certain parts, and Leonardo DiCaprio supposedly circling the film’s bad guy role. Idris Elba tweeted something that suggested he was meeting with Quentin for the role, and – as The Hollywood Reporter announced – he’s instead going in for Guillermo Del Toro‘s Pacific Rim. Which supposedly puts Jamie Foxx front and center as the most like Django…

Elba, still best known for his role as Stringer Bell on The Wire, joins Charlie Hunnam and Charlie Day. Day stars with Foxx in the upcoming Horrible Bosses, so there’s a degree of separation.And though Elba has been playing smaller roles in some schlocky American movies, he will also be in Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, so his star is definitely on the rise.

Deadline Hollywood seems to have started the “Foxx as frontrunner” talk – other rumored included Will Smith and (perhaps he was just campaigning for himself) fellow Wire alum Michael K. Williams. This would be a challenging role for Smith, and perhaps play against some of his movie star qualities – or perhaps he didn’t want to have to cut his quote, or whatever other unknowns factor into such decisions. and with the rate of filming on Men in Black 3, perhaps Smith will not be available in time. Django has a Christmas 2012 release date, so production should be mounting up shortly, and casting will get locked soon.

What are you more excited for, Pacific Rim or Django Unchained?

Confirmed: Guillermo Del Toro to Direct Pacific Rim

Krystal Clark — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 18:39:48 +0000

Yesterday we received confirmation from director Guillermo del Toro that he will NOT direct the Universal Pictures horror film At the Mountains of Madness. The studio didn’t feel comfortable bankrolling a project with an R rating and a $150 million budget. Their loss is Legendary Pictures’ gain because the studio had been courting del Toro to helm their feature Pacific Rim and today they’ve announced that that he’s officially on board!

Legendary Pictures announced del Toro is directing Pacific Rim, and the film will begin principal photography in September. The film is a tentpole based on a 25 page treatment written by Travis Beachmam, who also penned the screenplay. Del Toro had this to say about the project:

“We started developing PAC RIM a while ago with the mad passion and enthusiasm of a project unwatched and unchecked by politics or comparisons. We designed and shepherded the movie we want to make. We start shooting in September and we hit the ground running because we are so in sync. My partnership with Legendary represents, both in scale and creative demands, a huge step forward for me.”

Pacific Rim is a science fiction epic that will take place in the future and center on dangerous creatures attacking Earth. We have nothing bad to say about the movie because we don’t know much about it. But we have to be honest, At the Mountains of Madness would have been really bad ass if Universal had given it a chance. Now we’ll never know what could have been.

Pacific Rim is set to hit theaters in 2013.

What do you think of del Toro taking on Pacific Rim?

Source: Coming Soon

Guillermo del Toro Confirms At the Mountains of Madness is Dead

Krystal Clark — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 01:40:01 +0000

At the Mountains of Madness has had a rollercoaster week and it’s only Tuesday! On Monday we heard two conflicting reports regarding the film, one came from producer Don Murphy and the other was speculation from a trade. Murphy stated that the film was ready to begin shooting in June with Tom Cruise set to star, while other reports claimed that Universal hadn’t even greenlit the project yet. If you were confused, you should have been. Nothing made any sense — until now. The man himself, Guillermo del Toro has put it in it writing and confirmed At the Mountains of Madness is dead.

According to EW, del Toro sent an email message to a writer at The New Yorker where he stated the demise of his developing film. He said, “Madness has gone dark. The ‘R’ did us in.” We knew it! Universal didn’t feel comfortable bankrolling the R rated horror film (for $150 million) because they knew it would take a miracle for them to recoup their investment. Apparently, it would have to generate $500 million in worldwide grosses for the studio to see a profit.

This means that the future of the film doesn’t look great. It’s dead today but it could definitely see a revival down the line. We’ll just have to wait and see.

What do you think about At the Mountains of Madness being scrapped? Are you saddened by the decision?

Guillermo Del Toro Might Tackle Pacific Rim

Krystal Clark — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 23:16:19 +0000

Earlier today we wrote about Tom Cruise being confirmed to star in Guillermo del Toro’s next film, At the Mountains of Madness. Producer Don Murphy claims that the movie is set to begin shooting this June, but we’ve come across a conflicting report that negates his logic. According to Deadline, Madness hasn’t been given the greenlight by Universal and Legendary Pictures is competing with the studio to snag the director for their project Pacific Rim.

Pacific Rim is a PG-13 tentpole based on a 25 page treatment written by Travis Beachmam, who also penned the screenplay. Even though At the Mountains of Madness has been speculated as del Toro’s latest feature, nothing is set stone. Therefore, Legendary has a good chance of snatching him up for Rim.

One of the reasons Universal is taking their time with green lighting Madness is because of its budget. The studio doesn’t feel comfortable coughing up $150 million for a horror fantasy with an R rating. It would have to generate $500 million in worldwide grosses for the studio to earn its money back, and quite frankly, we don’t see that happening.

What do you think of Universal’s apprehensive behavior? Do you think del Toro should direct Pacific Rim instead?

Guillermo del Toro Producing 3D, Stop-Motion Pinocchio

Krystal Clark — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 19:05:47 +0000

Everyone’s favorite “real boy” is rearing his wooden head again with a new movie. Back in 2008 there was word that Guillermo del Toro was working on a darker, animated version of the classic fairytale Pinocchio. The news soon fell by the wayside when talk of his other projects began to surface including The Hobbit. Now according to Deadline, Pinocchio’s back in the forefront and del Toro has released some photos to prove it.

Pinocchio will be a 3D stop motion animated adaptation of the fairytale that we’ve previously seen through the eyes of Walt Disney and his 1940 version. Del Toro will executive produce the film that will be co-produced by the Jim Henson Co. Their version of the story will be much darker than its predecessors, led by a more devious, and mischievous Pinocchio. The film will be co-directed by Gris Grimly and Mark Gustafson. Grimly has a background in illustration, and did the artwork for the 2002 version of Carlo Collodi’s Pinocchio.

“There has to be darkness in any fairy tale or children’s narrative work, something the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson and Walt Disney understood,” del Toro said. “We tend to call something Disney-fied, but a lot of people forget how powerfully disturbing the best animated Disney movies are, including those kids being turned into donkeys in Pinocchio. What we’re trying to do is present a Pinocchio that is more faithful to the take that Collodi wrote. That is more surreal and slightly darker than what we’ve seen before.”

You can check out another photo from the production below:

What do you think of del Toro’s vision for Pinocchio?

Katie Holmes Next Film, Don’t Be Afraid of The Dark Gets New Release Date

Krystal Clark — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 19:21:28 +0000

Do you remember hearing about Guillermo del Toro’s newest horror film Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark? It was one of the most terrifying panels at last year’s Comic-Con, and we mean that in a good way. The film that stars Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce, somehow missed its initial release date, which was set for January 21, 2011. The movie dropped into the abyss of forgotten films, but according to THR it’s got a second shot at life.

The trade reports that Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark has been picked up by FilmDistrict, and they plan on releasing the project on August 12. That’s a long ways away from January but at least it’s something. The collapse of Miramax via Disney is what essentially kicked the film to the curb in the first place.

What do you think of Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark’s delayed release? Are you still excited for the film?

Tom Cruise Eyeing Guillermo del Toro’s Mountains of Madness

Krystal Clark — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 01:00:27 +0000

A little while ago we heard that Tom Cruise was interested in starring in the Guillermo del Toro directed, James Cameron produced, At The Mountains of Madness. The film is based on the H.P. Lovecraft novella, and the duo are looking to create an R-rated, 3D adaptation of the story. While out promoting Sanctum, Cameron spoke to MTV about Cruise’s potential involvement and everything seems to be looking up…

According to Cameron:

“Tom [Cruise] wants to do the picture. I don’t think we have a deal with him yet, but we’re hoping to get that closed soon. Guillermo is madly working on a new draft of the script. Hopefully we’ll be shooting by June or July.”

What else does Cruise have up his sleeve exactly? Is there a specific reason why this deal can’t happen now? Granted he’s busy working on Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol, but that film shoot shouldn’t last until June. Come on now, Tom.

The story of At Mountains of Madness will center on an expedition in Antarctica that reveals the true origin of humanity that’s hidden behind the highest mountains. Aliens? Monsters? Who knows!

What do you think of Cruise possibly starring in At the Mountains of Madness?

Alamo Drafthouse Presents New Guillermo del Toro’s Posters

Mali Elfman — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 20:00:00 +0000

For those of you who are fans of the artistry behind a great film poster and the amazing mind of Guillermo del Toro, Mondo, the collectible art boutique arm of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema has a real treat for you. They have just announced the first ever “Director’s Series” for visionary director del Toro, which features a number artistic interpretations of the Hellboy films, Blade 2, The Devil’s Backbone, Cronos and Pan’s Labryrinth posters from world famous artists.

The Alamo Drafthouse proudly boosts their new posters which are all quite impressive:

“Whether producing or directing, the Alamo Drafthouse & Mondo look forward to each Guillermo del Toro film as the name carries that rare seal of quality. We are deeply honored to have him be a part of our first Director’s Series,” said Mondo Creative Director, Justin Ishmael.

Check out the posters below…

Del Toro seems to be extremely excited about the designs. He told Alamo:

“…it is a rare privilege to be included in this mind-blowing poster series. These images enshrine and preserve the energy of the films they depict in a way that no square marketing could!!! More power to them!!!”

I for one love the Hellboy II poster, which one is your favorite?

Guillermo Del Toro’s Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark Teaser Trailer

Krystal Clark — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 14:56:28 +0000

If you weren’t able to attend this year’s Comic-Con to get your first glimpse of Guillermo del Toro and Troy Nixey’s latest project Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark you’re in luck. The first teaser trailer for the film has been released (via MySpace) and it will scare you sh*tless. Prepare to be terrified from the comfort of your own home…

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark in HD

Trailer Park Movies | MySpace Video

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is based on a 1973 made for TV movie about a girl who moves in with her dad and his girlfriend, only to discover that they’re sharing their home with some “devilish creatures.” The film stars Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce, and Bailee Madison (the adorable young actress from Brothers) and will be hitting theaters on January 21, 2011.

This was the same trailer they showed the audience at Comic-Con along with another extended scene from the film. If you want to find out more about the movie and that footage check out our panel coverage that featured del Toro and Nixey. On a side note, if you had any reservations about the remake status of Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, del Toro not only produced the film but he also co-wrote the screenplay with Matthew Robbins.

What do you think of the first teaser trailer for Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark? Are you scared?

Guillermo del Toro, James Cameron Team Up for Mountains of Madness

Krystal Clark — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:41:26 +0000

When Peter Jackson and Guilermo del Toro teamed up for The Hobbit we thought the world would explode. There was no way that amount of creative genius could be attached to the same project without the universe collapsing in on itself. Fortunately, that’s a fate we no longer have to worry about because del Toro left the project and we never got to see what could have been. The director, has now moved on to another film and another geek god — James Cameron. Can we survive these two?

According to a report from Deadline, Cameron will produce del Toro’s At The Mountains of Madness. Del Toro will direct the HP Lovecraft tale that will be shot as a 3D film for Universal Pictures. Even though it’s going to be in 3D (sigh), at least these are two people who know what the proper format should look like. The story will center on an expedition in Antarctica that reveals the true origin of humanity.. aliens?

Del Toro won’t have any down time at all in the near future. He confirmed work of Disney’s The Haunted Mansion and he’s busy adding the finishing touches to his production of Don’t be Afraid of the Dark. Shouldn’t Cameron be somewhere working on Avatar 2 or that long developing Battle Angel adaptation? Where do they find the time?

What do you think of del Toro and Cameron teaming up for a movie? Are you interested in the film?

ScreenCrave.com » Guillermo del Toro

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark: Movie Review

The Players:

Plot:

The Good:

The Bad:

Overall:

Rating: 5.7/10

Photo Gallery:

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