This remake was co-written by Guillermo del Toro. It comes across as a more sinister and scary version of Gremlins.

The movie begins with a maid having her teeth nastilly chiselled out and they are given as an offering to some creatures in a pit.

Back in the present day. A young girl Sally (Bailee Madison) has gone to live with her dad Alex (Guy Pearce) and his girlfriend Kim (Katie Holmes.) They are fixing up an old gothic mansion in Rhode Island and discover a hidden basement. The staff in the house seem to know the history behind the basement and tell Sally to stay away from it.

However sinister voices beckon Sally in to the basement. Sally pleads with her father that she wants to go back to her mother but he does not listen. The creatures then cause havoc for the family.

The film is atmospheric, with a few good scares. The actress playing Sally is very good. Being shot in Australia meant a reunion of former Neighbours actors Guy Pearce and Alan Dale.

However it was too slow to get going. Maybe the family should had listened to Sally who wanted to leave the mansion. The most scary and distracting thing about the movie was Guy Pearce's hair.

This movie starts some time in the past at Blackwood Manor. The maid goes into the basement to be jumped by Lord Blackwood. He chisels out her teeth. He put the plate of teeth inside the furnace as an offering as he pleads for his son back. There is a deep hole which emerges a swamp of creatures that takes Lord Blackwood down into the depths.

Now in modern day, Alex (Guy Pearce) and his girlfriend Kim (Katie Holmes) take in his daughter Sally (Bailee Madison). She was taking pills for depression living with her mother. He's restoring the old manor to be resold but the kid discovers the basement where the old furnace is. Kim isn't ready for a kid.

The movie shows its hand right off the bat. I'm not sure that's a smart move. It robbed the movie much of the horror element. This is more of a thriller. It has the feel of a Guillermo del Toro movie but it isn't quite as fanciful. It has the look at times but the feel of amazement is missing. As always, there is the question of why stay. This is usually where most horrors fail, and this one is no exception. It just doesn't make sense that they don't take off right away after the failed dinner. Instead they drug the girl. Bailee makes a good scream princess. Pearce and Holmes are frustrating parental figures. It always seems to be struggling to be a better Guillermo del Toro movie.

In Rhode Island, the interior designers Alex (Guy Pearce) and his girlfriend Kim (Katie Holmes) welcome Alex's nine year daughter Sally (Bailee Madison) that was sent by her mother to live with Alex. The couple brings Sally to the manor of the painter Emerson Blackwood (Garry McDonald),who had disappeared with his son many years ago, and Alex has invested all his money in the mansion expecting to be promoted in his business with the restoration of the house.

Sally rejects Kim and feels lonely in the mansion and while walking on the real estate, she finds that the manor has a hidden basement. Alex's employee William Harris (Jack Thompson),who is a descendant of Blackwood, warns Sally to never go to the basement but the girl overhears voices in the ash pit calling her. However Sally brings a wrench and removes the bolts of the ash pit cover. Sooner Sally finds that evil creatures that fear the light have escaped from the underground through the ash pit and are threatening her. However, Alex and Kim believe that it is only her imagination.

"Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" is a remake of a 1973 film that I have never seen. The cinematography and the performance of the girl Bailee Madison are great. Unfortunately the lame screenplay has many plot holes and, for example, the disappearance of Kim and the weird events that the guests have witnessed have no consequence in the end of the story.

The DVD has interviews and behind stage footages and it is visible the interference of Guillermo del Toro in the direction. Unfortunately his participation is not enough to save this film. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Não Tenha Medo do Escuro" ("Don't Be Afraid of the Dark")