This Weekend At The Movies

The confusingly titled “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” is an old school house of frights, complete with ghoulish creatures that lurk in the dark, a scary basement and a child who cannot convince the adults around her of the evil that plagues her.

The picture, which is a remake of a 1973 made for television movie of the same name, has been produced by Guillermo del Toro, whose brilliant “Pan’s Labyrinth” was a horror fantasia laced with political subtext.

But there’s very little to chew on thematically in “Dark,” despite a few genuinely creepy sequences.

In the film, young Sally (Bailee Madison) is sent to live with her father (Guy Pearce), a distracted architect who is in the middle of renovating a gigantic, isolated Rhode Island mansion. Nearly two centuries prior, the property had belonged to a painter and his son, both of whom disappeared.

Sally must not only contend with adjusting to a new home, but also her father’s girlfriend, Kim (Katie Holmes), who attempts to make friends with the young girl. Shortly after her arrival, Sally begins to hear voices coming from the radiator in her bedroom, pleading for her to come down to the house’s basement.

She soon discovers that the home is infested with small creatures that bear resemblance to Gollum from the “Lord of the Rings” films and feed on children’s teeth.

If you’re questioning how many children have actually passed through the previously abandoned house and how long it has been since the basement dwelling creatures have enjoyed a meal, then you’re very likely not going to swallow the picture’s gaping plot holes.

“Dark” contains a few decent scares. In one of the film’s eerier sequences, Sally is terrorized by the nasty little creatures while taking a bath.

But the film’s execution is all too familiar. Much of the movie consists of Sally attempting to convince her skeptical father and other adults of the creatures’ existence.

And the more the monsters talk, the sillier their creaky voices begin to sound. In horror films, less is often more. So, director Troy Nixey might have considered filling the frame less with close ups of the creatures.

Much like last week’s “Fright Night,” “Dark” is a hit and miss horror movie. Both films are remakes of movies from horror’s golden age of the 1970s and 1980s, but each picture succumbs to the temptations of modern commercial cinema, including big budgets that allow for elaborate special effects, which often drown out atmosphere.

“Dark” may be better than your average “Final Destination” sequel, but it’s not going to reinvigorate the genre.