Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark: Less Horror and More Dark Fairy Tale

A remake of the 1973 made-for-TV movie of the same name, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is a Guillermo del Toro produced “horror” film starring Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce and  Bailee Madison. Here’s the breakdown:

When Sally (Madison) moves in with her architect father (Pearce) and his new girlfriend (Holmes), she unwittingly uncovers a centuries old secret and unleashes a living nightmare.

The Monkey: The tone of this movie was rock solid. From the set design to the music; from the cinematography to the script, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark thoroughly maintained its “creepiness” factor. The sprawling Victorian mansion became a character all its own, with its blood-red stained glass, creaking stairs, secret chambers, roaring fireplaces, labyrinthine gardens and classic fixtures. It was a haunted house from backyard to buttress.

Del Toro brought much of what made his critically-acclaimed Pan’s Labyrinth a success to this endeavor as well. A classic story, with genre tropes twisted just enough to feel refreshingly original and genuinely creepy. More of a “dark fairy tale” than a true horror film, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark played out its fantastical elements without apology and del Toro’s contributions continued to shine throughout, especially regarding the honesty of the storytelling (not to mention his almost infamous creature designs).

While the “Don’t go in there!” moments were myriad, it lent to the overall “We’ve seen this before but we don’t mind seeing it again” feeling that permeated the whole movie. Fairy tales are grounded on archetypes and familiar plots…so it becomes all about the embellishments. And there were many here. A truly blood-chilling opening sequence, creepy music-box music, grotesque drawings and even a homage-ish shower/bath scene, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark rests firmly on the bones of tried-and-true ghost stories, allowing the filmmakers room to get creative with the trappings.

The Weasel: Unfortunatley, the movie was not exactly marketed well. Touted as a true horror film, the movie was much more thriller, much more dark fairy tale. And while there were wonderful tastes of this (especially when the story began to focus on its own mythology), the fantastical elements seemed almost out of place, in that it kept the movie from becoming actually terrifying. The fantastic nature of the story should have been given more prominence.

The acting was neither here nor there; decent enough to support the story, without being distracting.

There was a significant portion of the movie dedicated to the family drama surrounding Sally’s estranged parents and Kim, the new girlfriend. This relationship was played up even more in the final moments of the film; however, the build-up was shoddy at best and unbelievable at worst. Tonally, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark was never quite sure of itself, and the mismatched drama/horror/fantasy pieces were evidence of this.

In the end, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is a big-budget camp-side ghost story, an extended episode of the Twilight Zone, a twisted fairy tale. A bit of mis-marketing and some tonal inconsitencies aside, don’t be afraid to give this movie a chance.

And on a side note: there was NO reason for this movie to be rated R. This was practically cable TV ready, with no gore, swearing, nudity…R for “Violence and Terror”? Please. The most ridiculous rating I’ve ever seen.

2.5 Death Stars out of 5

What do you think? Was Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark a decent remake? Did you find it more horror or fantasy? Share your thoughts in the comments!

The Mechanic: A Well-Oiled Action Movie Machine

A remake of the 1972 movie of the same name starring Charles Bronson, The Mechanic teams up director Simon West with action star Jason Statham and Ben Foster. Here’s the breakdown:

Arthur Bishop (Statham) is a “mechanic,” a contract killer. When his latest assignment proves more personal than he’d like, Arthur takes on a protégé, Steve (Foster). Together, they set out to take down the men who betrayed them. But thier partnership proves to be more complicated than expected.

The Monkey: The Mechanic makes no effort to hide its true intent: shoot up, beat up, blow up, sex up. The plot is refreshingly straightforward without being overly simple, leaving the audience plenty of brainpower to dedicate to the over-the-top action and violence – and it’s all played out to Mark Isham’s sufficiently pulse-pounding, James Bond-esque score.

Since 95% of the movie is action, there is a lot riding on these sequences. Thankfully, The Mechanic does a better-than-average job, delivering a barrage of crushing punches, splattered brains, crumpled cars and spent shell casings that leaves the audience cringing and groaning – in a good way. And in addition to all the action, the movie manages to incorporate a healthy dose of tension; there are more than a few edge-of-your-seat moments, giving The Mechanic an added layer often missing from action fare.

Jason Statham has long since established himself as one of the leading action stars of today, and his turn as Arthur Bishop only reinforces this status. He’s slick, sexy, lethally efficient and manages to do it all with a wicked sense of humor. Ben Foster rarely disappoints either, and his portrayal of Steve was a compelling mix of lost soul and vengeful spirit.

The Weasel: Editing is one of those things most people don’t remember in a film. Good editing is usually seamless and works with the other filmmaking techniques to create the overall finished product. For whatever reason, The Mechanic‘s editing was not only blatantly obvious, it was blatantly horrible. Random cuts to unrelated scenes, unnecessary shots of characters just standing around or walking down the street; I’ve never been so distracted and confused by a movie’s editing. Thank goodness the action scenes were cut well, otherwise the whole movie would have been practically unwatchable.

Unfortunately, the cliché “training montage” reared its ugly head; are we really supposed to believe that Steve can sharpshoot, repel off buildings and keep up with Arthur after only a few short training sessions? Ugh.

While Arthur is clearly supposed to be the lone wolf character with no heart, he confuses the audience by showing random moments of emotion and unexpected glimmers of a conscience. This would be acceptable if his character was moving through a development arc toward something else. But he’s not. And in fact, by the end of the movie, he’s as cold-blooded and efficient as ever, making him a hard character to really root for or identify with.

The Mechanic is an entertaining action movie, with solid performances, but ultimately offers little else.

3 Death Stars out of 5

What do you think? How does the remake compare to the original? Does Jason Statham still have what it takes to be an action star? Share your thoughts in the comments!

To Reboot or Not to Reboot…

Hollywood has been in a reboot/remake frenzy for the past several years…and it’s only getting worse.  A Star Trek reboot?  Sure, it’s been about seven years since the last one.  Remaking the Three Stooges?  OK, they haven’t had a screen treatment since black and white.  It makes sense that producers and studios want to mine existing fan bases…it’s a safer move.  But isn’t it getting a bit ridiculous?

With the news that Spider-Man 4 has fallen apart, the studio wasted no time announcing a “reboot” of the franchise.  I mean, can you really call a new Spider-Man movie a reboot?  J.J. Abrams (director of Star Trek) shares this sentiment.  Supposedly, the plan is to go back to high school…but didn’t we already see the Spider-Man origin story?

It seems that remakes and reboots are here to stay.  While some have been successful (Star Trek, Batman Begins, Casino Royale, etc.), others haven’t been so lucky (Superman Returns, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, etc.).  And we’ll just have to wait and see if films such as Clash of the Titans and The A-Team work or not.

What do you think?  Is Hollywood going overboard with remakes and reboots?  What are some remakes/reboots you’re looking forward to?  Share your thoughts in the comments!