Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

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Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

R

2011

1h 39m

Fantasy

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

60%

Tomatometer

176 Reviews

34%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Lonely and introverted, young Sally (Bailee Madison) has just arrived at the 19th-century mansion that her father (Guy Pearce) and his girlfriend (Katie Holmes) are restoring. While exploring the sprawling estate, Sally discovers a hidden, long-undisturbed basement. Unwittingly, she unleashes a race of malevolent, dark-dwelling creatures who intend to drag her and her family down into the mansion's bottomless depths. A remake of the 1973 made-for-TV movie.

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Critics Consensus

While it's pleasantly atmospheric and initially quite scary, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark ultimately fails to deliver the skin-crawling chills of the original.

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Keith Uhlich

Time Out

Jul 1, 2024

3/5

You can sense producer and cowriter Guillermo del Toro’s hand in every shadowy nook and cranny.

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

Jan 27, 2012

3/4

Next to Attack the Block, this beautifully realized bit of H.P. Lovecraft-like nastiness might just be the most fun I've had sitting in a theatre this entire Summer, the final product a B-grade sensation worthy of adoration.

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Paul Byrnes

Sydney Morning Herald

Nov 3, 2011

3/5

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark is horror by-the-numbers. Parts of it are effectively chilling, and the performances are fine, but there's no sense of reality.

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Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

Sep 9, 2025

4/5

Maybe not the unrelenting descent into terror some were expecting, but a fantastical creature feature with lots to offer, nonetheless.

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Paul Lê

Bloody Disgusting

Aug 26, 2025

2.5/5

Its technical merits can’t fix an overlong and repetitive story that fizzles out before the last leg.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Mar 9, 2023

3.5/4

Guillermo del Toro has always been fascinated with putting a face to our nightmares. And to be sure, many moviegoers will have nightmares from Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark.

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B P

@Bradster69 Sep 6, 2026

Not Bad, but Not My Favorite

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The W

@TheWagners Jul 5, 2026

One heck of a bad movie. This movie had little goblins as the villain but all they did was talk and not do anything even remotely scary. The little girl instead of stomping on them or killing them like when you see a roach, instead let these things try to kill her. I don't understand how a great director made such a bad movie. Also this is a remake of a made for TV movie so it wasn't good material to begin with. Not scary, boring at times, and laughable at some points. I'm not afraid of the dark but I am afraid of wasting my time with this movie.

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Jessica M

@Jess123 Nov 21, 2025

Switched it off as soon as I saw the super spoiler- didn’t realise what it was, maybe my fault- but I’m not keen on those sort of films. Should have read the reviews before watching- but up until then it was okay and I would have given it 3 stars.

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Siripiras S

@RT44842350 Oct 24, 2025

Not bad, but not great. This film from my childhood still scares me. Nooo, Kim! I’m going to kill every last one of them! 👿😭

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Richard L

@KaneLives Oct 18, 2025

An impressive ode to Weird Fiction, Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark is the kind of lovingly detailed movie that doesn't get made anymore these days. Though it's not exactly scary, and it does start to drag a bit even at the lean runtime, this dark faerytale is absolutely oozing with style and atmosphere right from the opening credits and will draw in anyone with an interest Del Toro's glory days.

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Sankalp good S

@Sanna Dec 3, 2024

It's a bit thrilling film unlike other not bad good for children watching Holmes Pearce performance r great also Sally's it's a okay film ♥️😃

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Troy Nixey

Director

Katie Holmes

Kim Raphael

Guy Pearce

Alex Hurst

Bailee Madison

Sally Hurst

Jack Thompson

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Synopsis

Lonely and introverted, young Sally (Bailee Madison) has just arrived at the 19th-century mansion that her father (Guy Pearce) and his girlfriend (Katie Holmes) are restoring. While exploring the sprawling estate, Sally discovers a hidden, long-undisturbed basement. Unwittingly, she unleashes a race of malevolent, dark-dwelling creatures who intend to drag her and her family down into the mansion's bottomless depths. A remake of the 1973 made-for-TV movie.

Director: Troy Nixey
Producer: Mark Johnson, Guillermo del Toro
Screenwriter: Guillermo del Toro, Matthew Robbins
Distributor: FilmDistrict
Production Co: Gran Via, Necropia
Rating: R (Violence|Terror)
Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 26, 2011, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 8, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $24.0M
Runtime: 1h 39m

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