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Plot Summary
Blackwood Manor has new tenants. While architect Alex Hurst and his new girlfriend Kim restore their Gothic mansion's period interiors, Alex’s young daughter Sally—neglected by her real mother and brushed aside by the careerist father—can investigate the macabre history and dark corners of the estate. Spurring Sally's investigation are the voices—rasping whispers who call out to her from the basement, who promise her understanding and friendship, who are so very hungry and would like to be set free. When Sally gives in to her curiosity, she opens a gateway into a hellish underworld from which an army of beady-eyed, sharp-clawed monsters emerge, small in size but endless in number: the homunculi. Confronted with the horror that now threatens to taker her life and destroy her family, Sally desperately tries to warn the whole house, but there's just one problem: no one believes her. Will she make them understand in time, or will they become another chapter in the centuries-long horror story of Blackwood Manor?
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Rotten Tomatoes Movie Reviews
TOMATOMETER
58%- Reviews Counted: 161
- Fresh: 94
- Rotten: 67
- Average Rating: 5.8/10
Top Critics' Reviews
Rotten: There's no denying that his latest monsters are imaginative and detailed creations, but the haunted house-style story is hampered by his desire to show them off.
Fresh: "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" will turn your nerve endings to Popsicles.
Rotten: Mr. Nixey is doing an Alfred Hitchcock homage within a movie lacking anything as subversive, or skilled, as Hitchcock.
Fresh: The film looks good, it sounds great (Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders' score is full of darkly murmuring woodwinds), and Madison is a pip of a lead.
Customer Reviews
Give it a chance, you wont' be disappointed
I'm pretty critical when it comes to horror movies, especially now'days when everything is about "shock." Plot? Background? Purpose? Who needs it when we could just flash something scary, gorey or obscene at you and take your money. This movie holds true to the classics of the 70s-80s creature films that worked on building tension. Sure there are parts that might make you jump (I haven't jumped since I was a kid) but regardless of "jumps" this movie genuinely gives you the feel that "Hmm, maybe I should leave the hall light on tonight.." Give it a chance, you won't be disappointed.
A CHILLING, THRILLING, DARK TALE!
Next to "Insidious", "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" may just be the one of the most well-crafted, spine-tingling horror movies I've seen all year. The story follows a father named Alex (Guy Pearce) who has just moved into a Gothic 19th century mansion with his girlfriend Kim (Katie Holmes) and his daughter Sally (Bailee Madison). While Sally investigates the macabre history and dark corners of the estate, she becomes fascinated with the mysterious rasping whispers that call out to her from deep within the basement, who promise her understanding and friendship, who complain of hunger and are desperate to be set free. But when she gives into her curiosity, Sally unknowingly opens a gateway into a hellish underworld from which an army of malevolent goblin-like tooth fairies emerge, immediately putting her and her family's lives in grave danger. Although the premise is somewhat cliched and contrived, the initial scares the film produces are tense, surreal, and almost completely unpredictable. What also makes the movie shine are its eerie atmospheric tone and keen sense of visual undertone. But I really have to give it up for Bailee Madison, who steals the spotlight as Sally, our main heroine. She brings so much life and believability to her role, it's a wonder why we haven't seen such talent from her in previous films. Guy Pearce also gives a commendable performance as Sally's work-obsessed father. However, I can't quite say the same for Katie Holmes, whose character often comes across as too straightforward and unconvincing at times. Another slight problem that the movie faces is its deliverance of scares near the climax. By that time, the tone becomes way too erratic than it needs to be and the actions of the characters fall along the lines of predictability. But that's not to say I was disappointed in the end. In fact, I was actually pleased by the production overall. It was dark, unsettling, and even made me jump out of my seat a few times. Trust me, this film is definitely a worthy rental!
Awful the creatures were not even remotely scary.
Save your money his is one of the worst horror movies I have ever seen in my entire life. It is ridiculous and the creatures look like bald gremlins....
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