This remake of the 1973 cheesy, but effective made-for-TV movie is a bummer overall. I wanted to like this because Guillermo del Toro produced it. He keeps working on projects that interest me. Everything he has a hand in looks great, but none of his movies have ever really blown me away. "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" continues that trend. The scenery looks great. The house, the surrounding grounds, shadows, cobwebs...everything looks incredible. The little CGI-beasties, however, do not. They are not scary because we see too much of them and it all feels a bit like "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". They don't really ever mix into the live action. They reminded me of the little under-grounders from the old '80s horror movie called "The Gate" In that movie, the demons came up from down below only a couple of times. They were stop-motion animated and looked a lot like the ones in this movie but the filmmakers managed to keep them creepy. In this remake, that isn't the case. The story is changed up a good bit from the original. The back story about the little demons is interesting on the surface but it is never truly explored, which means that it is really unnecessary. The writers would have been better off leaving their background unknown. The biggest downfall is the stupid things the characters do or don't do. If the little creatures are sensitive to light, then leave the lights on. If bad things keep happening to your child when your not around, don't leave the kid alone in a room two floors away from you. If your kid starts finding teeth and very old silver coins lying around, don't just shove them in your pocket and tell her to go to bed. Take a look around. Try to figure out where she is getting all of the stuff. If one of the handymen comes up from the basement with razor gashes and stab wounds from scissors, don't consider it an accident. Even the police say it's an accident. The idiotic decisions abound. I do like the ending which is a twist, but there isn't enough revealed in the story for it to make much sense.

It's not scary but disturbing. The little creatures are quite savage!! I read the other comments, there are things that are not logical but it's part of the movie. There could have been more information given about those creatures. They have no name, no real story.... Just a few drawings and lines.... I do like it! You can't always have blood, violence with kids around. They made it simple but effective. ❤❤👍

Despite the poor decisions the adults make in this movie, I kinda liked it. You could actually feel Del Toro's touch and it was a pity he didn't direct the movie too. The "tooth fairies" were haunting and the story itself felt like a dark fairytale. Not too bad if you are looking for a fantasy/horror movie.

Absolutely terrible movie. Generic, nonsensical plot and awful characters. The "creatures" are really uncreative, and it really wasn't scary at all. It felt very cheap overall too, like watching one of the old gremlin movies. Also, the movie really falls apart towards the end with the last 25-30 minutes becoming especially hard to pull through. It all comes down in one of the worst endings I have ever seen in a horror movie. Don't watch this.

Guillermo del Toro’s name attached as producer might lead audiences to expect a richly atmospheric horror experience, but Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (2010), directed by Troy Nixey, ultimately falls short of its potential. Strengths Visual Atmosphere: The film benefits from strong production design. The gothic mansion setting is suitably eerie, with shadowy corners and ornate details that lend themselves to a horror backdrop. Creature Design: The small, malicious creatures are unsettling in concept, and their whispering menace occasionally delivers genuine chills. Bailee Madison’s Performance: As the young protagonist Sally, Madison brings vulnerability and conviction, often outshining the adult cast. Weaknesses Predictable Storytelling: The narrative feels overly familiar, recycling haunted-house tropes without adding much originality. The pacing drags, and key plot points are telegraphed well in advance. Underwhelming Scares: Despite its horror premise, the film rarely generates sustained tension. Jump scares are predictable, and the creatures, once revealed, lose much of their mystique. Character Development: Guy Pearce and Katie Holmes are given little to work with, resulting in flat, unengaging performances. Emotional stakes never feel fully convincing. Missed Potential: With del Toro’s involvement, one expects a layered exploration of childhood fears and dark fairy-tale elements. Instead, the film settles for surface-level frights and a conventional resolution. Verdict Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is a visually polished but narratively hollow horror film. While it has moments of atmosphere and a strong child performance, its lack of originality, weak scares, and thin character work make it a forgettable entry in the genre. At best, it’s a curiosity for fans of gothic settings, but for most viewers, it’s unlikely to linger beyond the closing credits.