Don't be afraid of the dark, but do be afraid of how bad this movie is
Film: Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2010). Young Actress: Bailee Madison, age 10.
I was so excited when Bailee, one of the most talented young actresses working today, was cast as the lead in this horror film with a screenplay by Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth). So, like everyone else, I was very disappointed when I saw the plodding, boring, not scary finished product. In a rare move for a horror movie, we actually get a good look at the monsters here, but unlike the otherworldly creatures in Pan's Labyrinth, these goblins just look cartoonish and silly. The movie also destroys the suspense by immediately telling us their motivation. They enjoy eating the teeth and bones of children, which is why they come after Sally (Bailee) when she moves in with her father (Guy Pearce, Hateship Loveship) and a new stepmother (Katie Holmes) that she's just met.
Even Bailee's naturally brown hair is dyed to a severe, unflattering black here, as if this movie wants to make her look bad in every possible way.
Initially, the goblins lure Sally to them by telling her that they want to play with her and be her friends, and she believes them because she's lonely. She feels ignored by her father (and for the most part, she is) and unloved by the mother who sent her to live with him. But rather than explore this, which might give Sally some personality and Bailee some opportunity to act, the movie instead wastes time on the stupid goblins. We do get a glimpse of Sally bonding with her stepmom, but it's touched on so briefly that it feels forced -- and pointless, since the stepmom doesn't live to see the end. The only survivors are Sally and her dad, who's astonishingly idiotic, even by the "too dumb to live" standard of most parents in horror movies (see also Paranormal Activity 4). This movie is so bad that I wouldn't recommend it even to Bailee fans.
I was so excited when Bailee, one of the most talented young actresses working today, was cast as the lead in this horror film with a screenplay by Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth). So, like everyone else, I was very disappointed when I saw the plodding, boring, not scary finished product. In a rare move for a horror movie, we actually get a good look at the monsters here, but unlike the otherworldly creatures in Pan's Labyrinth, these goblins just look cartoonish and silly. The movie also destroys the suspense by immediately telling us their motivation. They enjoy eating the teeth and bones of children, which is why they come after Sally (Bailee) when she moves in with her father (Guy Pearce, Hateship Loveship) and a new stepmother (Katie Holmes) that she's just met.
Even Bailee's naturally brown hair is dyed to a severe, unflattering black here, as if this movie wants to make her look bad in every possible way.
Initially, the goblins lure Sally to them by telling her that they want to play with her and be her friends, and she believes them because she's lonely. She feels ignored by her father (and for the most part, she is) and unloved by the mother who sent her to live with him. But rather than explore this, which might give Sally some personality and Bailee some opportunity to act, the movie instead wastes time on the stupid goblins. We do get a glimpse of Sally bonding with her stepmom, but it's touched on so briefly that it feels forced -- and pointless, since the stepmom doesn't live to see the end. The only survivors are Sally and her dad, who's astonishingly idiotic, even by the "too dumb to live" standard of most parents in horror movies (see also Paranormal Activity 4). This movie is so bad that I wouldn't recommend it even to Bailee fans.