Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark - The whole is NOT greater than the sum of its parts 

`Don't Be Afraid of the Dark' has a lot going for it, as far as modern horror films go.

(1) It has (almost) A-list actors associated with it, i.e. Guy Pearce, Katie Holmes in front of the camera and Guillermo del Toro behind it.
(2) The little girl at the centre of the film is an incredible little actress who, based on her performance, will go a long way.
(3) The monsters are indeed nasty and brought to life using decent computer effects.
(4) The location, i.e. the big house, is a good, spooky setting for a supernatural horror.
(5) There are even so `jumpy' moments to rattle the popcorn out of your hand.

Based on these points (and possibly because many of the posters advertising this film says things like `The scariest film of the year') you may be thinking that it just might be. However, despite all the things Don't Be Afraid of the Dark has going for it, it has one major drawback - it's about a little girl who goes to live with her father and his new girlfriend in a big house. That's it. That's the problem. All the good elements are held together by a plot that we've basically seen a million times before in recent horror films. And, worst of all, it doesn't offer much that's new. The little girl's parents don't believe her. Therefore we're treated to them going through the disbelieving motions of slowly coming round to the fact that there's something supernatural going on.

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark is not a bad film. Like I said, there are some genuinely spooky bits. However, overall there's nothing new here to rave about. If you like horror, you'll probably enjoy it - just don't go believing that it really IS the scariest film you'll see all year.

6/10 May just keep you awake if Freddy Kruger was haunting your nights