In Del Toro we trust. Despite some pretty intense heat generated by the teaser at last year's Comic-Con, there hasn't been a lot of talk about Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, the horror which has fan favorite filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro(Pan's Labyrinth
) on board as co-writer and producer. Mostly that has to do with the film making the jump from Miramax over to FilmDistrict, but that seems to have been a positive move as it's due to be released here on August 26th. Directed by first timer Troy Nixey, the film is a remake of a 1973 made-for-TV movie about a family that moves into a mysterious old house in Rhode Island. The daughter, Sally(Bailee Madison) explores the sprawling estate and discovers a hidden basement, where she accidentally unleashes a race of ancient creatures. As they terrorize her, it's up to Sally to convince her father(Guy Pearce) and his girlfriend(Katie Holmes) that it's more than just a fantasy.
A new trailer has been released, and I honestly think if this was anybody other than Del Toro people would say it looks like more of the same stuff we see ten times a year from lesser filmmakers. It's certainly a beautifully shot film, at least it appears to be, but that's really about all I can tell from this. Del Toro rarely puts his name on anything derivative, so expect that Don't Be Afraid of the Dark will be more than it appears. Check out the new trailer below....
PLOT
Sally Hurst (Bailee Madison), a lonely, withdrawn child, has just arrived in Rhode Island to live with her father Alex (Guy Pearce) and his new girlfriend Kim (Katie Holmes) at the 19th-century mansion they are restoring. While exploring the sprawling estate, the young girl discovers a hidden basement, undisturbed since the strange disappearance of the mansion’s builder a century ago. When Sally unwittingly lets loose a race of ancient, dark-dwelling creatures who conspire to drag her down into the mysterious house’s bottomless depths, she must convince Alex and Kim that it’s not a fantasy—before the evil lurking in the dark consumes them all.
