Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

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I rarely check out trailers of upcoming movies as trailers lie and it's not the movie's fault if it doesn't turn out the I thought it would. There is excitement in the opening sequence: Nixey kicks off this horror at the turn of the 20th century where a maid is called to the creepy basement by her master, Blackwood (Garry McDonald). It's a trap: the half-mad, toothless master pins her to the ground, takes a chisel to her teeth and offers them to the demons whose whispers waft up from under the grate in the corner. As he edges closer to the grate, he pleads with the unseen shadowy beings to release his son, but is sucked underground. Nice set up, nice mood.

A slight disappointment then that after this pre-credit darkly gothic sequence the action is updated to today. Guy Pearce's architect and girlfriend Katie Holmes have bought the same house to renovate it. With them is Pearce's daughter Sally (Madison – the annoying kid from Just Go With It) who now hears the same whispers. But director Nixey finds his feet again: ignored by her busy father, and snubbing the gardener's warnings, Sally follows the voices down to the basement and to that grate…

Nixey is a student of del Toro and the producer's stamp (he also co-wrote the script) is all over this: the sets, which have a fairy tale funnelled through a nightmare vibe, and the look – it has to be the darkest horror released in some time, squint-inducing stuff – brings to mind Pan's Labyrinth. The whispers are creepy – "we'll be your friends, Salleeeeeeeeee," "Come play with us, Salleeeeee," "We're very hungreeeeee." – and Nixey knows that what you can't see is always scarier that what you can. The film is bathed in shadows, putting the audience in Sally's shoes – she can't see into those corners and neither can we.

For as long as he can the director resists the temptation to show us the ghouls but once he does, Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark (the title doesn't work because we're told with every frame that we should) loses its mystery and spark. Once that cat is out of the bag, or the demon out of the grate as the case may be here, it doesn't recover – one of the reasons for that is that the demons look a bit naff frankly.

Pearce and Holmes are fine but it's Madison that runs away with the acting accolades. Nixey puts her through the mill and Madison delivers every time, perfect at pulling the 'I'm alone and absolutely terrified' face. The whole movie rests on her shoulders and she holds our attention throughout.