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Darkness Fails

Guillermo del Toro is one of our most visually gifted directors. So when his name is on a film - even if it's not as director - you know you can expect a feast for the eyes. Unfortunately, you can't always expect a great story. Such is the case with "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark", the director's long-in-the-making adaptation of a 1973 ABC made-for-TV movie (which Mr. del Toro called the "scariest he's ever seen"). "Dark" - an old school monster movie - is well-shot and well-acted, but its creatures, like its title, are frightfully innocuous.

Hewing closely to the original material, the script - by Mr. del Toro and Matthew Robbins - finds architect Alex (Guy Pearce) and his interior designer girlfriend Kim (Katie Holmes) occupying a sprawling Rhode Island manor house in the hopes of "flipping" it for a handsome profit. Alex, however, is going through a messy divorce, and his wife sends their young daughter Sally (the preternaturally effective Bailee Madison) to live with him. Things are naturally strained between Sally and Kim, but that's nothing compared to the raspy, whispering voices that emanate from the basement ash pit - especially since they call to Sally by name. "Come play with us", they say, "we just want to be friends".

Of course, anyone who believes that has never seen a horror movie before. And maybe that's exactly the audience this film needs since so much of the plot is by-the-numbers. When the creatures - who are very light-sensitive and seem to crave children's teeth - finally show themselves, they're rendered via typically impressive special effects, but that's about all that's special about them. They spend most of the movie (spoiler alert!) ineffectually tormenting little Sally. If they're really after her teeth, frankly, what's taking them so long to get at them? For a more frightening version of these little buggers, see the "Tooth Fairies" of Mr. del Toro's own "Hellboy II: The Golden Army".

The film is directed with style by newcomer, and del Toro protege, Troy Nixey, but he can't overcome the script's shortcomings - particularly after it becomes clear that the house is pretty easy to illuminate. You'll find yourself thinking, "there's a light switch right there!" Yes, for a film called "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark", there's not a lot to be afraid of or a lot of dark. And for a race of creatures hellbent on stealing children's teeth, these little fellas are surprisingly toothless.