1973 brought the Pontiac Grand Am, a classic. Prestige aside, if one were made to run today as it did years ago, it would still have a stick shift and no A/C.
That same year, the now-famous TV-movie “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” aired. Carrying the same old-fashioned charm as a restored Grand Am, the movie remake ignores the gory tastes of contemporary moviegoers. Effectively thrilling viewers within these ‘70s-TV boundaries, the film keeps all its promises even if there are scarier movies.
When nine year-old Sally Farnham (Bailee Madison) moves to live in a century-old house with her father (Guy Pearce), she befriends a slew of ancient creatures who inhabit only the darkness. Upon realizing their intentions of eating her, Sally must convince everyone of their existence before it’s too late.
Treating kids as multidimensional beings can threaten believability far too easily. But writer Guillermo del Toro, repeating his approach to Ofelia from “Pan’s Labyrinth,” endows Sally with a superb balance of conviction and naiveté. For a nine-year-old to carry us through any story, this balance means everything.
Between its child-centered narrative and R-rating, the film presents itself as a gritty fairytale, but only succeeds in being as gritty as ‘70s-ABC would have permitted. Sure, the CGI demons look ghastlier, but the film’s old-school feel insists they can’t win in the end.
The fact remains, however, that this film genuinely shocks you at times. Though not as much as it would have if there were, say, a sudden beheading of the unsuspecting housekeeper, letting the viewer’s imagination fill the darkness keeps the thrills coming.
Much like that old stick-shift beauty, it’s a hell of a ride despite the changing times.
