This is a film of broken promises. Guillermo del Toro’s input with a movie is normally a top-notch quality indicator. In DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK, the gold-plating is rubbed away to reveal a cheap, brassy imitation of a Del Toro film. Gaping plot holes, a truly jarring mixture of Haunted House and Gore Porn genres, and an ending that is wholly unfulfilling all combine to make this film somewhat of a disappointment.

Those who have seen its trailer will have been privy to perhaps the best five minutes in the whole film: A simple, but scary scene in which the childhood fears of monsters under the bed, under the duvet and under the chest of drawers are drawn out in a truly chilling manner. This is the exception in a film that features three protagonists that are hard to care for due to their melodramatic and self-centred manner. In fact, the magnificent house and its atmospheric grounds that the film is shot around are perhaps the most interesting of the characters in the film- full of hidden depths and tenderness that the acting talent just fails to display. This film will shock you, but maybe not for the right reasons.