Dream House Review

Rated PG-13 (Violence, Terror, Some Sexuality and Brief Strong Language)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 32 Minutes

Cast:

Daniel Craig-Will Atenton

Rachel Weisz-Libby Atenton

Naomi Watts-Ann Patterson

Marton Csokas-Jack Patterson

Elias Koteas-Boyce

Taylor Geare-Trish Atenton

Claire Geare-Dee Dee Atenton

Rachel G. Fox-Chloe Patterson

Directed by Jim Sheridan

Hold on, this looks like a job for James Bond...

With millions of dollars at stake, mainstream Hollywood films often find themselves at the mercy of studio executives, and they’re usually never the brightest crayon in the box. Irish director and six-time Academy Award nominee Jim Sheridan has helmed a number of critically-acclaimed films such as 1989's "My Left Foot," 1993's "In the Name of the Father," and 2003's semi-autobiographical "In America." His most recent film, 2009's "Brothers," based on Susanne Bier's 2004 Danish film "Brødre," received mixed reviews but I felt it was an above-average drama elevated by the strength of its three leads. Sheridan has a penchant for tackling scripts involving haunted characters but his latest film, "Dream House," is a complete disaster given the high-profile cast involved and the director’s pedigree. According to unconfirmed reports, Sheridan clashed with CEO of Morgan Creek Productions James G. Robinson during production and as a result, he lost control of the film and the studio edited it without his participation. Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz disliked the final cut so much that they have refused to do any press promotion or interviews for it. No premiere was held and the film wasn’t screened for critics so it comes as no surprise that Universal Pictures was embarrassed and quietly dumped it in the last week of September. While there’s nothing wrong with the performances themselves, "Dream House" suffers from an identity crisis with its derivative plot, sloppy pacing, and lapses in logic. It's just sad to see all this talent and money being wasted due to some meddling studio executive. 

Successful New York publisher Will Atenton (Daniel Craig) quits his job to work on his novel and spend more time with his wife Libby (Rachel Weisz) and two young daughters, Trish and Dee-Dee (Taylor and Claire Geare), relocating them to the quiet suburbs of New Ashford, Connecticut. As his family happily settles in, strange events begin to occur with Dee-Dee glimpsing a man lurking outside the house. After catching a group of wild teens holding a séance in the basement, Will learns that his house was once the site of a horrific murder that occurred five years ago. A man named Peter Ward shot his wife and children in cold blood but with insufficient evidence against him, he was released from nearby Greenhaven Psychiatric Hospital. As Will investigates the house's past, he comes to suspect that his neighbor, Ann Paterson (Naomi Watts), knows more than she is letting on but that’s the least of his concerns when he makes a horrific revelation about himself and the murders. 

The official trailer has already spoiled one of two plot twists in "Dream House" but the film is still a dull and derivative affair, liberally 'borrowing' elements from "The Amityville Horror" to even "Fight Club." Even if you go in knowing as little as possible, nothing makes sense and the final reveal is so poorly explained that you'll leave the theater scratching your head in confusion. It's hard to analyze the film without going into spoiler territory but what was marketed as a conventional horror flick is actually a psychological thriller/drama and it's easy to see why Sheridan was drawn to the script as it deals with a man trapped and unable to let go of his past due to suffering an extremely traumatic event. Unfortunately, these elements are handled in a slipshod manner, no thanks to its clumsy pacing where the aforementioned 'twist' is revealed around the forty-minute mark, leaving all the build-up to be a waste. The best analogy I can use to describe it (and I may be already revealing too much) is to take Leonardo DiCaprio's Edward 'Teddy' Daniels in "Shutter Island" and have him discover the truth about himself half-way through the film but he spends the next hour trying to prove it despite the fact that he and the audience already know. Adding insult to injury, "Dream House" sees fit to offer up another twist in the climax that is both confusing and ludicrous as two characters that have what amounts to glorified cameos suddenly become central to the plot. Its supernatural leanings come into question as well, leaving us to wonder if anything in the film is actually happened at all. In fact, the film suffers from an identity crisis as it's unsure of whether it wants to be a haunted house tale or a murder mystery or both. The attempts to generate suspense fall flat and the only praise I can really muster is Caleb Deschanel's cinematography and the warm, if somewhat maudlin, drama that Craig and Weisz generate. 

Despite David Loucka's hackneyed script working against him, Daniel Craig does manage to give a nuanced performance, or as nuanced as a film of this genre allows, exhibiting genuine warmth as a loving father and representing a nice change of pace from the usual roles he takes that involve him staring grimly with those piercing blue eyes. Rachel Weisz is fine if not particularly noteworthy but her on-set romance (and eventual marriage) with Craig lends the drama a sense of realism. The two really belong in a better film and one wonders how it all would've turned out if Sheridan had just made a straight character drama. Naomi Watts is simply wasted, as is Marton Csokas and Elias Koteas. I sure hope they were at least paid well for their time. 

Released on September 30, 2011, "Dream House" was not screened for critics in advance and what little reviews that have cropped up are all overwhelmingly negative with a tepid 8% on Rotten Tomatoes, as critics concluded that the film was 'punishingly slow, stuffy, and way too obvious to be scary.' I viewed the film at a morning screening and audience attendance was mediocre at best, which means that it'll struggle to make back its unusually high $55 million production budget. With only rumors to go on, it's hard to tell who is really at fault—Sheridan or Morgan Creek—that resulted in such a terrible film but I'm sure the story behind the troubled production is a lot more interesting than the one we're provided here. If I were to venture a guess based on precedent alone (remember David Fincher's "Alien 3"?), I would lay the blame on Morgan Creek. While the core premise of "Dream House" is intriguing, its pleasing aesthetics and above-average performances cannot save a script that lacks energy, any logical coherence and telegraphs all of its twists beforehand. Perhaps Sheridan should've just disowned the film outright and resurrect the pseudonym Alan Smithee.

Final Rating: 2 out of 5

"Once upon a time, there were two little girls who lived in a house."

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Our Idiot Brother Review

Rated R (Sexual Content including Nudity, and for Language Throughout)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 30 Minutes

Cast:

Paul Rudd-Ned Rochlin

Emily Mortimer-Liz Rochlin

Elizabeth Banks-Miranda Rochlin

Zooey Deschanel-Natalie Rochlin

Steve Coogan-Dylan

Adam Scott-Jeremy

Rashida Jones-Cindy

Kathryn Hahn-Janet

T.J. Miller-Billy

Janet Montgomery-Lady Arabella

Hugh Dancy-Christian

Shirley Knight-Ilene Rochlin

Sterling K. Brown-Omar

Matthew Mindler-River

Directed by Jesse Peretz

Paul Rudd is the man because he's got the weed!

Most families have at least one specific relative who is considered the ‘black sheep’ or the ‘odd duck,’ someone who makes an easy scapegoat and gets blamed for all of the family’s troubles or never receives an invitation to special get-togethers. Sometimes this person’s presence is tolerated in small doses but more often than not, the family would rather delude themselves into thinking that no such relative exists because they fear that it would be a bad reflection on them if they associate with him or her. This is the predicament faced by Ned Rochlin, played by Paul Rudd in his new late-summer comedy film, “Our Idiot Brother,” which represents a nice change of pace from other R-rated comedies which focus on extreme scatological humor to achieve laughs. It’s hard to hate “Our Idiot Brother” as the film benefits from the sweet and likable charm that Rudd exudes but the humor is too low-key to make much of an impression, the majority of its characters are unsympathetic, and its episodic plot ends up being formulaic. 

Ned Rochlin (Paul Rudd) is a shaggy-haired, bio-dynamic farmer selling his produce in a local outdoor market. He is approached by a uniformed police officer who asks him where he can buy some marijuana but Ned explains that even if he knew, he obviously wouldn’t tell him. After hearing that the officer has had a stressful week, he slips him a free bag of marijuana out of pity. The officer insists on paying and Ned agrees to accept twenty dollars for it. Unfortunately, Ned is promptly arrested for selling drugs. After spending eight months in prison, he is released on good behavior and returns to his farm only to discover that his girlfriend Janet (Kathryn Hahn) has moved on with a new boyfriend, Billy (T.J. Miller). Although Ned is disappointed he wants to remain working on the farm but Janet refuses, even going so far as to not letting him take his dog, a Golden Retriever named Willie Nelson. Billy drives Ned to his mother’s house and moved by his tearful good-bye to Willie, he says that he’ll try to convince Janet to let him rent out the goat barn for $500 per month if he can scrape together two month’s rent. Ned happily reunites with his mother, Ilene (Shirley Knight), and his three sisters, Liz (Emily Mortimer), Miranda (Elizabeth Banks), and Natalie (Zooey Deschanel). He soon grows tired of living with his mother and shows up at Liz’s house looking for a place to stay until he can get back on his feet. Much to the displeasure of her husband Dylan (Steve Coogan), Liz allows him and agrees to give Ned $250 per week babysitting her son, River (Matthew Mindler), and helping out her husband on the set of his new documentary film. Due to his clueless, good-natured demeanor, Ned unintentionally wrecks havoc on his sister’s life and is kicked out. He does the same to Elizabeth and Natalie, leaving him bewildered as he simply only wants a place to sleep and be reunited with his dog. 

“Our Idiot Brother” succeeds solely because of Paul Rudd’s performance but if you take him out of the equation, what’s left is a largely pedestrian affair punctuated by a number of small funny moments that ultimately never illicit more than a chuckle or two. The only truly hilarious moment is when Ned ends up participating in a threesome with a couple but gets freaked out when the man starts kissing him. True to his kind nature, he apologizes profusely. It’s not hard to grasp that the overall theme is the importance of family and that everyone should always strive to be honest with each other no matter how hurtful the truth may be. Ned’s sisters come to realize this and the film ends with a typical Hollywood happy ending but the problem is that it does not deserve it. The three sisters are all completely unlikable, so self-absorbed and living in denial that they are content to just sweep all their issues under the rug if it meant keeping the peace. [SPOILERS] When Liz finds out that Dylan has been having an affair with a younger woman, she blames Ned for ruining her ‘perfect’ marriage. Miranda, who is a writer for Vanity Fair magazine, is trying to catch her big break and attempts to get an important client named Lady Arabella (Janet Montgomery) to open up about her infamous divorce with her ex-husband but she is unable to due to Arabella’s agreement with her lawyer. However, she is charmed by Ned’s friendliness and opens up to him about her divorce. Seizing this opportunity, Miranda forces Ned to spill the beans but he is unable sign off on the validity of the article because it will embarrass Arabella. Finally, Natalie ends up getting pregnant from a one-night stand and Ned encourages her to be honest with her girlfriend, Cindy (Rashida Jones), but implies that she did without actually confirming it. Ned takes this at face value and later remarks to Cindy that he’s glad she and his sister stayed together despite the infidelity. [END SPOILERS] In all these situations, Ned is just trying to help and have his sisters be more honest but they are so afraid to confront their own faults that when the peace is shattered, they blame it all on Ned. The turning point in which they realize how important Ned is to their family isn’t convincing because it just happens, like flipping a light switch. I understand what writers Evgenia Peretz and David Schisgall are trying to accomplish but in their effort to differentiate from Ned, the sisters all end up unlikable and it’s hard to root for their happiness. 

The ensemble cast that Jesse Peretz has gathered is certainly impressive and everyone gives solid performances, their comedic talents mixing together in a way that may not always be laugh-out-loud funny but there’s never a dull moment in the film. However, it is Paul Rudd who shines and “Our Idiot Brother” would’ve been a failure without him as he greatly elevates the film thanks to his dim-witted yet overly optimistic outlook on life. The sweet charm he exudes counterbalances the shallowness exhibited by his female co-stars in a way that makes it hard to truly hate the film despite its noticeable flaws. 

Released on August 26, 2011, “Our Idiot Brother” has received mildly positive reviews with 68% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics noted the film was ‘decidedly uneven, but like Paul Rudd's performance in the title role, [it] is too charming to resist.’ Unfortunately, this was another flop at the box office as it debuted with a measly $7 million during opening weekend. Part of the blame can be laid at Hurricane Irene but I doubt the film would’ve done any better. Still, its production budget was only $5 million so it’s not a total loss. In contrast to “Colombiana,” the theater sat virtually empty when I saw the film as I only counted around fifteen people in attendance. “Our Idiot Brother” won’t be remembered as one of the best of this summer’s comedies, its humor is just too low-key but for all of its flaws, the film earns a mild recommendation thanks to Paul Rudd's sweet and charming performance.

Final Rating: 3 out of 5

“I like to think that if you put your trust out there, I mean if you really give people the benefit of the doubt and see their best intentions, people will rise to the occasion.”

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Colombiana Review

Rated PG-13 (Violence, Disturbing Images, Intense Sequences of Action, Sexuality and Brief Strong Language)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 47 Minutes

Cast:

Zoë Saldana-Cataleya Restrepo

Amandla Stenberg-Young Cataleya Restrepo

Cliff Curtis-Emilio Restrepo

Michael Vartan-Danny Delanay

Lennie James-FBI Special Agent Ross

Jordi Mollà-Marco

Beto Benites-Don Luis

Callum Blue-CIA Agent Richard

Jesse Borrego-Fabio Restrepo

Cynthia Addai Robinson-Alicia Restrepo

Ofelia Medina-Mama Restrepo

Angel Garnica-Pepe

Directed by Olivier Megaton

Zoë Saldana, you are sexy. This film, not so much.

With a filmography that includes 1990’s “Nikita,” 1994’s “Léon: The Professional,” and 1997’s avant-garde sci-fi flick “The Fifth Element,” seeing Luc Besson’s name on a film used to mean something. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case as his factory-like studio EuropaCorp continuously churns out action films year after year, and turning what was once unique into something stale and generic. Like Guillermo del Toro, Besson has kept himself busy as a writer and producer, with the only films he’s directed recently being animated adaptations of his “Arthur” series of fantasy novels. His upcoming film, “The Lady,” starring Michelle Yeoh is set to be released in November 2011 and is based on the life of Aung San Suu Kyi, who spent fifteen of the past twenty-one years living under house arrest in Burma. The latest from EuropaCorp is “Colombiana” and while Zoë Saldana lends a certain gravitas to her role even as she mows down legions of nameless thugs with an assault rifle looking like a bad-ass, everything else, from the lazy script to the generic action scenes, never rises above mediocrity. 

During a prologue in Bogota, Columbia, a drug lord named Fabio Restrepo (Jesse Borrego) tells his boss, Don Luis (Beto Benites), that he is quitting and hands over all the bookkeeping and evidence on the cartel. As he leaves, Luis motions to his right-hand man, Marco (Jordi Mollà), to follow and kill him. Fabio races home with his remaining loyal men and tells his wife, Alicia (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), and nine-year-old daughter, Cataleya, to pack their bags. He also tells his daughter that if anything should happen to him, she will go to the American embassy and give them a microchip, which contains all the information on Don Luis’ illegal activities. In addition, he writes down his brother’s address in Chicago. Marco and his men arrive and quickly slaughter Fabio’s guards. Knowing that it is too late to escape, Fabio and his wife grab assault rifles but are unable to hold Marco off and are killed. Cataleya escapes with the microchip and makes it to the embassy by losing her pursuers through the sewers. The Americans get her out of Columbia into the United States and she makes her way to Emilio (Cliff Curtis), her uncle in Chicago. She tells him her desire to be a killer in order to take revenge on Don Luis and asks him for help. Fifteen years later, Cataleya (Zoë Saldana) is now a highly-trained assassin-for-hire but only kills those who deserve it. In order to draw Don Luis out of hiding, she leaves a calling card on all her hits, a drawing of the Cataleya flower on their chest but her quest for vengeance becomes complicated when she falls in love with an artist, Danny Delanay (Michael Vartan), while the FBI, led by Special Agent Ross (Lennie James), pursue her. 

Written by Luc Besson himself, “Colombiana” was originally meant to be a sequel to “Léon: The Professional” titled “Mathilda” starring an older Natalie Portman with Olivier Megaton at the helm but when Besson formed his own studio, EuropaCorp, in 2000 the production company that distributed the original film, Gaumont Film Company, retained the rights and refused to sell them. Portman has expressed interest in making the sequel but with Gaumont unwilling to budge, Besson was forced to alter the script to what we have now, which is a shame because “Colombiana” features not one original idea as its elements are cobbled together from other (better) action films, including Besson’s. Besides being generic to a fault, the story and its characters are poorly developed. All of Cataleya’s targets are tagged with her calling card in order to get Don Luis’ attention but the film never explains their connection to the Columbian drug lord, making all the action scenes ultimately pointless. She also shares no screen-time with the villains besides Marco so everyone ends up being nothing but bullet-fodder. Its attempts at drama prove to be a detriment because of the non-existent character development and the hackneyed dialogue so the audience is never emotionally invested in what’s happening. 

The way the plot moves is also contrived and suspension of disbelief is stretched beyond credibility. The FBI is depicted to be so inept that they steadfastly refuse to believe that the assassin can be a woman until the mailman off-handedly remarks that the symbol on the victims is the Cataleya orchid, which is actually spelled ‘Cattleya’ but apparently Besson takes us for idiots and thinks we won’t notice the misspelling. At one point, Emilio tries to make a point to Cataleya by randomly firing his gun in front of her school in plain sight. He then stands there as he recites some nonsense while the police arrive and innocent bystanders look on but no one seems to take notice of him. This is just sloppy filmmaking. Later, Danny takes a photo of a sleeping Cataleya and shows it to his friend. When he is momentarily distracted, the friend sends the photo to his sister-in-law, who works at the local police station, to make sure she’s ‘legit.’ Who does that? Moments like these are scattered throughout the film and it’s hard to take anything that happens seriously. Of course, the average moviegoer could care less about the story and are here for the action scenes. While they’re tightly edited, it all feels stale because we’ve seen it all before. In a rip-off from the “Bourne” films, Cataleya fights hand-to-hand using nothing but a towel and ever since the release of “The Matrix,” there’s always a large lobby shoot-out with flying debris and walls riddled with bullet holes. Since this is PG-13, no blood is ever shown and this is precisely the kind of film that shouldn’t be handicapped in such a way. 

Zoë Saldana is the only one to give some semblance of a performance despite the fact that she spends much of the film in various stages of undress and always without a bra under her clothes. Saldana could’ve gone the lazy route and rely on her good looks but she commits to her role, infusing her character with a determined conviction wrought with pain that we can empathize. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to rise above the mediocre material. The rest of the cast, from Michael Vartan to Lennie James, do little besides fulfilling their clichéd functions in the third act. Cliff Curtis is fine but once again he serves as living proof of Hollywood’s inability to cast the proper ethnicity for the role as written. Curtis is from New Zealand but here he’s forced to fake a stereotypical Columbian accent. Jordi Mollà is effective as a villain (this isn’t his first time) but he has so little screen-time and fails to make much of an impression. 

“Colombiana” was released on August 26, 2011 and has received overwhelmingly negative reviews with 33% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics concluded that ‘Zoë Saldana has the chops but she's taken out by erratic and sloppy filmmaking.’ Dumped during the penultimate week of summer, the film flopped at the box office with a tepid $10.4 million debut behind “The Help.” Hurricane Irene also had a hand with the weak earnings as hundreds of theaters were forced to close on the East Coast. With an estimated production budget of $40 million, it’ll probably make back that amount (barely) once you factor international grosses. I viewed the film in the evening and was surprised by the huge turnout. The audience seemed to thoroughly enjoy it but really, this isn’t the first time mainstream audiences have embraced terrible films. If you’re looking for mindless action while staring at Zoë Saldana’s lithe body, than this is for you but for everyone else that possess some discerning taste in film, I’d advise you to skip this and catch Joe Wright’s brilliant “Hanna,” which also features a female assassin.

Final Rating: 2 out of 5

“I will not stop until you feel what I’ve felt all these years.”

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Don't Be Afraid of the Dark Review

Rated R (Violence and Terror)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 39 Minutes

Cast:

Bailee Madison-Sally Hirst

Katie Holmes-Kim

Guy Pearce-Alex Hirst

Alan Dale-Charles Jacoby

Jack Thompson-Harris

Julia Blake-Mrs. Underhill

Garry McDonald-Emerson Blackwood

Directed by Troy Nixey

Don't look behind you...

Guillermo del Toro hasn’t directed a film since 2008’s “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” but has kept himself busy with a multitude of projects in various stages of development in the past three years. Initially, del Toro was to direct a two-part adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s prequel novel to “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy “The Hobbit” with Peter Jackson taking a backseat to serve as producer and co-writer. Unfortunately, he was forced to step down as director due to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s financial troubles at the time as the film wasn’t even officially green-lit despite the fact that pre-production work had already been completed. Fans were disappointed and angry at MGM but “The Hobbit” was saved when Peter Jackson himself decided to take the reins and the project was finally green-lit in October, 2010. Filming is currently on-going with the first part, titled “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” to be released on December 14, 2012. Del Toro’s latest film, which he served as producer and co-writer, is “Don't Be Afraid of the Dark,” a remake of the original 1973 television film of the same name, which has become something of a cult classic. The film was actually finished back in 2010 but languished on the shelf due to the closure of Miramax. FilmDistrict picked up the film and it has finally arrived in theaters, dumped during the final weeks of summer. “Don't Be Afraid of the Dark” features some gorgeous cinematography from Oliver Stapleton and its gothic vibes exude atmosphere and suspense but ultimately, the film is undone by its plodding pace, rigid adherence to formula, and lack of scares. 

During a prologue set in October, 1910, an artist named Emerson Blackwood (Garry McDonald) lures his maid to his manor’s dungeon-like basement and proceeds to bloodily hack off her teeth to serve as an offering to a number of strange, unseen creatures who have kidnapped his son. The creatures do not accept, pulling Blackwood into the fireplace and down into their lair. In the present day, eight-year-old Sally Hirst (Bailee Madison) is sent off by her mother to live with her father, Alex (Guy Pearce), and his girlfriend, Kim (Katie Holmes). The couple is currently renovating Blackwood Manor in hopes of making the front cover of Architectural Digest. Kim tries to befriend Sally but she remains emotionally distant having been basically abandoned by her mother. As she explores her new home, Sally comes upon a large window covered up by thick bushes in the manor’s garden and spies a basement below. The manor’s caretaker, Harris (Jack Thompson), warns Sally away but Alex and Kim, who are curious, decide to explore the room and discovers a hollow wall in the main hall/stairwell. Breaking through the wall reveals an ornate door that leads to the basement seen in the prologue. Sally notices a bolted up fireplace and hears voices whispering her name. At night, she hears the voices again, who ask her to set them free so they can be her friend. The next day, Sally sneaks back into the basement and breaks open the fireplace using a wrench. Now free, the creatures begin to run amok throughout the house and terrorize Sally, who quickly realizes that they have no interest in befriending her. Alex firmly believes that it is all a figment of his daughter’s imagination but Kim is skeptical and begins digging to learn more about the manor’s previous owner. 

Although Guillermo del Toro co-wrote the script, “Don't Be Afraid of the Dark” fails to differentiate itself from previous haunted house films and this strict adherence to formula proves to be its undoing. From its young female protagonist that recalls 2006’s “Pan's Labyrinth” to the weird, fairy tale-aspects, del Toro’s influence is clearly felt. However, the film proceeds along a predictable path, with Sally being the only one able to see and hear the creatures but all the adults refuse to believe her until the very end, when it’s too late. You would think after seeing the manor’s grizzled caretaker emerging from the basement bloodied from numerous stab wounds that something is amiss but Sally’s father continues to vehemently believe that it’s all in her head, brushing off the incident as a freak accident. Frankly, I find this bordering on child neglect. Kim is more sympathetic and while there’s an attempt to build a close relationship between her and Sally, little screen-time is devoted to it and all it does is exacerbate the film’s lethargic pacing. First-time director Troy Nixey, who is also a comic book illustrator, eschews the blood and gore that passes for ‘horror’ these days, utilizing its dark, macabre visuals and foreboding atmosphere to ramp up the suspense, which I appreciated but it all starts to drag by the second hour, despite its brief ninety-nine minute running time. The script is also full of plot holes and inconsistencies. The creatures themselves are said to go after children but have no qualms about taking adults too, so which is it? Sally even manages to kill two of the creatures, which would serve as proof of their existence but no mention is ever made of it again. While the film takes place in the present day, Kim is still carrying around a Polaroid Instant Camera, which is puzzling given its rarity nowadays. What “Don't Be Afraid of the Dark” does well is its gothic visuals and thanks to Oliver Stapleton’s gorgeous cinematography and Nixey’s skilled eye, the film exudes dread in every scene, drawing you in despite the script’s numerous deficiencies. The scares largely consist of ‘Boo!’ moments, one of which has already been spoiled by the initial previews but they are spread too far apart and lose its visceral impact once the CG creatures are fully revealed, like the filmmakers needed to show them off. Ultimately, so much attention was focused on making the film look good that the script seems like an afterthought, marring what could’ve been good into something merely passable. 

The cast’s standout is Bailee Madison, who bears a strong resemblance to a child Katie Holmes so I was surprised that they weren’t playing mother and daughter. Madison easily out-classes her adult co-stars, capturing her character’s feelings of abandonment and innocent curiosity exceptionally well. A lot of people rag on Katie Holmes, whose marriage to Tom Cruise has overwhelmed her career but she does a solid job, her scenes with Bailee providing the film’s heart and soul. However, not enough screen-time is devoted to it, making it feel like a mere plot point that’s sadly brushed aside too often. Guy Pearce is wasted as Sally's father, his character serving as one of those timeless horror clichés who scoffs and refuses to believe that all the strange happenings in his home are real. It lends a sense of frustration to the point where you want to shove the guy through the fireplace and scream, ‘Do you believe me now?!’ 

Released on August 26, 2011, “Don't Be Afraid of the Dark” has received mildly positive reviews with 59% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics found the film ‘pleasantly atmospheric and initially quite scary, [but it] ultimately fails to deliver the skin-crawling chills of the original.’ I was supposed to see this film last week but due to the arrival of Hurricane Irene, I was forced to postpone this review. Despite its modest $25 million production budget, it looks like the film will have trouble recouping even that amount as its current worldwide gross is a measly $13.5 million. The audience I saw the film with was also one of the noisiest, which infuriated me to no end. Parents seem to treat the theater as a daycare, bringing all their kids and even a baby who won’t shut up. A group of women sitting behind me couldn’t stop commenting on every scene with their incessant whispering and in all honesty, I feel movies should be watched by those who can actually appreciate it and not treat the theater as some location to ‘hang-out’…but I digress. “Don't Be Afraid of the Dark” functions as a visually polished yet passable horror film that promises more than it delivers, which is disappointing given the pedigree of Guillermo del Toro. I fear as if he may have spread himself too thin with his projects and he’s unable to devote the time needed on each one, although del Toro admits that he was on set ‘almost 90 percent of the time…every day’ so one wonders why he didn’t just direct it himself rather than handing it off to a rookie. While the film remains entertaining despite its problems, it never rises to the occasion nor does it push the boundaries of its subgenre.

Final Rating: 3 out of 5

“Just because you keep denying it, does not mean it's not happening!”

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