Jess: I initially went into this film with high expectations. I am a huge fan of The Orphanage so I wanted to see what del Toro had up his sleeve as well as this movie being rated-R for “pervasive scariness”. I wanted to test if it was any match for the terror I felt watching Insidious. No dice. This movie built up tension in a dramatic first half but quickly took a turn for the worse the more I was exposed to these gnome-like evil creatures. They even began to appear comical to me which is something you never want in a film unless it’s being played up for camp. These creatures simply failed as the idea of evil voices was actually more frightening than little pesky dudes wielding razors. The beginning and the end of the movie had two great punches of excitement that showed the potential buried inside this film but somehow seemed to have gotten lost in a sea of special effects and events that could only inspire a “really?” from the viewer. Leaving the theater after a movie you were anticipating feeling completely disappointed and sort of aggravated blows.
Rob: I had a sort of like/dislike relationship with Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark. The idea for the story was definitely interesting enough to drape on a good horror movie. The scenery in the house and around the estate was really great and helped with the entertainment of the film. I also enjoyed Guy Pearce’s performance. He played his role very well. The opening scene of the movie does a great job of setting up the mood and the first act really carries that suspense and interest in the characters through to the middle of the movie before the film takes a bit of a wrong turn.
The creatures looked visually interesting. I like when you could imagine that the mythological characters in movies could exist somewhere in the world, and these creatures looked like they could be living in a dark cave. When they first come out of hiding, the scene should be a taste of what they are capable of, but instead it is the most terrifying that they will be for the rest of the film. Their terror doesn’t have the staying power of a more substantial horror creature. The story ends up being a little more predictable than I hoped for in the beginning of the film and this makes the idea seem less inspired. Overall, this movie looked like it took more pages out of Guillermo del Toro’s book than it actually did.
40-60% = Average movie. Contained some flaws but wasn’t unwatchable. Couldn’t get into the movie but wasn’t offended.