Not much to be afraid of in the dark

Few things can kill a scary movie faster than a premature reveal. Particularly when it comes to supernatural horror, showing the “big bad” too early in the movie allows the audience to get used to it before they’ve had a chance to be frightened by it.

This is a surprising mistake coming from veteran horror writer/director Guillermo del Toro, whose previous accomplishments all featured a haunting atmosphere, an incredible built-up tension and satisfying horror stories that got under the audience’s skin.

Only a few moments in “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” manage to capture the slow-built brilliance that is the calling card of Spanish horror (especially the scene with Bailee Madison’s character, Sally, crawling through her sheets, looking for the film’s goblin-like creatures). Madison herself is a wonderful young lead, but Guy Pearce and Katie Holmes, as her father and his girlfriend, basically fade into the background.

By the end, the repetitive sequences, disappointing computer-generated creatures and ineffective pacing fail to live up to the Grand Guignol creepshow promised by the film’s artful advertisements.