Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Pick at the bones of 2011's films
jonbly
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Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Post by jonbly »

9/10 - consistently creepy, and the effects were all well done. Surprisingly subdued applause at the end, though, so maybe the rest of you didn't agree...
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Re: Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Post by Meanbobs »

This had a nice fairy tale vibe to it that allowed the film to draw out connotations from the spooky recesses of childhood myth and lore as well as evade any sort of responsibility when coming up with any kind of sniff of coherence or resolution. To be honest, I wouldn't bother looking down a hole to check for Katie Holmes if she'd fallen down it either. It had a few creepy moments, but it was a little bit bland and forgettable for me. Also, I have a big phobia for any tooth-related horror! Nice to see Alan Dale turn up to his buddy Mike's party though! I just think that with a little more understanding they could have found the perfect blend.
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Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Post by The Davies »

Yep, always nice to see Jim Robinson and Mike back together again. To bad there was no Plan Jane The Super Brain.


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Re: Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Post by boxman1980 »

Thought this one was a tad too "fairy Tale" for my liking. I wanted to really like it but couldn't get past the silliness of it all. It looked great and the creatures were scary enough, at first, but then then they just became repetative with all their scouls at camera. Guy Pierce was also in the dumbest lamest role I've seen him do ever. 6/10 (kids film).
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Re: Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Post by sherbetbizarre »

Guy Pierce was channeling Mark Wahlberg, right?
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Re: Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Post by Pumpkin »

SO disappointed by this. Have seen and love the original and am a big Guillermo fan so was expecting great things. What a let down. The script was appalling, the characters were vile and one dimensional - Guy Pearce should be ashamed of himself.
Having said that, I quite liked the little monsters.
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Re: Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Post by Alex J »

I can see why they thought it could be a PG13, but I can also see why it has been rated 'R'. More horror content than I expected given the warning before the movie. Reminded me a little of 'Drag Me To Hell', while there were some effective and sustained sequences of suspense and atmosphere. However, it was fairly predictable and the story could have been told more pacily, while the inclusion of big name stars didn't really help. 7.5 / 10
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Re: Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Post by Pumpkin »

Alex J wrote:I can see why they thought it could be a PG13, but I can also see why it has been rated 'R'. More horror content than I expected given the warning before the movie. Reminded me a little of 'Drag Me To Hell', while there were some effective and sustained sequences of suspense and atmosphere. However, it was fairly predictable and the story could have been told more pacily, while the inclusion of big name stars didn't really help. 7.5 / 10
Actually that's a good point, i have no idea how they thought they were going to get a PG13 when the opening scene involves chiselling someone's teeth out FFS. You can't put that in and then complain about the R rating.
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Re: Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Post by TheDukeAbides »

Yep, Tony Hatch's theme was in my head when Guy Pearce's 'boss' came round for dinner.

Creepy yet somewhat disappointing, I did like the 'under the covers' scene and again there was some good acting and Katie Holmes didn't irritate me half as much as I thought she would.
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Re: Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Post by Pumpkin »

Btw did anybody else have a little nostalgia moment seeing Jim Robinson and Mike Young on screen again together?! :)
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Re: Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Post by Maniacal »

Good opening movie, the atmosphere was dripping with tension in some places. A little let down by the performance of Guy Pearce and the CG Creatures, though they still looked good. The original is much more creepy in my opinion.
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Re: Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Post by nagelfar »

Didn't like it that much, perhaps because of going in with the wrong expectations but my main points are:
*) It was not creepy
*) The leg breaking/gore felt out of place and tacked on where used
*) The main actors performances were lame, that teary eyed Koi fountain scene, get out
*) The CGI creatures didn't work for me
*) plot holes, plot holes, plot holes, yes, your library just got wasted to shits, your daughter just smashed a little "something" in between bookshelves and has taken lots of photos, showing those things (with a old style polaroid flash camery that only has 5 flashcubes and can take a limited amout of pictures but can be used about 30 times no problem) but you don't run away/call the police/whatever, you decide to just stay in the fucking house for one more night, sure.
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Re: Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Post by sherbetbizarre »

nagelfar wrote:*) plot holes, plot holes, plot holes, yes, your library just got wasted to shits, your daughter just smashed a little "something" in between bookshelves and has taken lots of photos.
I didn't get why - after smashing that thing - instead of showing everyone the corpse, she showed them a photo instead... wtf?
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Re: Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Post by Pumpkin »

sherbetbizarre wrote:
nagelfar wrote:*) plot holes, plot holes, plot holes, yes, your library just got wasted to shits, your daughter just smashed a little "something" in between bookshelves and has taken lots of photos.
I didn't get why - after smashing that thing - instead of showing everyone the corpse, she showed them a photo instead... wtf?
LOL i know - i thought, if they're that easy to smash lets just set some rat traps and squish some more. But no, let's go to bed and spend yet another night in the cursed house with your absolutely traumatised little girl. *sigh*
And talking of the house, did anyone else notice that in all the night time shots, there was still daylight streaming through windows?!!!
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Re: Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Post by Reanimator »

A solid opening film to get things off to a good start
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