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Don't Be Afraid of the Dark [Blu-ray]
| Additional Blu-ray options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
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Blu-ray
October 22, 2019 "Please retry" | — | 1 | $17.99 | $13.99 |
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Blu-ray
April 30, 2012 "Please retry" | — | 1 |
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| — | $2.31 |
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| Genre | Horror, Thriller |
| Format | Blu-ray, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen |
| Contributor | Guillermo del Toro, Lance Drisdale, Nicholas Bell, Guy Pearce, Carolyn Shakespeare-Allen, Troy Nixey, Katie Holmes, Trudy Hellier, Alan Dale, Bruce Gleeson, Emelia Burns, Terry Kenwrick, James Mackay, Garry McDonald, Miramax Films, David Tocci, Bailee Madison, Julia Blake, Libby Gott, Edwina Ritchard, Mark Johnson, Jack Thompson See more |
| Language | English |
| Runtime | 1 hour and 39 minutes |
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![Don't Be Afraid of the Dark [Blu-ray]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51EXHy-S0VL._AC_UL116_SR116,116_.jpg)
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Product Description
Product Description
Sally, a young girl, moves to Rhode Island to live with her father and his new girlfriend in the 19th-century mansion they are restoring. While exploring the house, Sally starts to hear voices coming from creatures in the basement whose hidden agenda is to claim her as one of their own.
Amazon.com
Fondly remembered for scaring the Tab out of impressionable viewers, 1973's television movie Don't Be Afraid of the Dark stands today as a minor classic of irrational dream-logic horror, with an ending that goes straight for the worst-case scenario. Despite (or perhaps because of) its wonky effects, minimalist character development, and snicker-worthy Freudisms, it knows how to linger into the wee small hours. Cowriter-producer Guillermo del Toro's mash note of a remake is a superior movie in virtually all aspects, really, yet it somehow fails to ping the same whimpering neurons. Director Troy Nixey's film follows the same basic blueprint as the source material--a fractured family (Guy Pearce, Katie Holmes, and Bailee Madison) moves into a dark old house, only to be tormented by a gaggle of tiny chatterbox demons--but with a much greater emphasis on the mythology and back story of the creatures. Del Toro has long proclaimed his love for the original movie, and it's rather fascinating to see the filmmaker attempt to shoehorn his own trademark obsessions (grim fairy-tale origins, spooky little girls, odd Lovecraftian angles, etc.) into the existing material. Still, such Gothic curlicues, however nifty, ultimately end up diluting the solid-state nightmare fuel of the premise. Aside from a few solid shocks and a strong performance by Holmes, this heartfelt redo is unlikely to have the same lasting effect on audiences as the much cruder original. Instead of focusing on the hows and whys, that one just wanted to freak the viewer out. --Andrew Wright
Product details
- Digital Copy Expiration Date : December 31, 2017
- Aspect Ratio : 1.85:1
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : R (Restricted)
- Product Dimensions : 0.5 x 5.4 x 6.8 inches; 2.4 Ounces
- Item model number : 24109891
- Director : Troy Nixey
- Media Format : Blu-ray, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
- Run time : 1 hour and 39 minutes
- Release date : January 3, 2012
- Actors : Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce, Bailee Madison, Jack Thompson, Alan Dale
- Subtitles: : English, Spanish
- Producers : Guillermo del Toro, Mark Johnson
- Studio : Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
- ASIN : B005TK22CU
- Number of discs : 1
- Best Sellers Rank: #30,484 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #216 in Fantasy Blu-ray Discs
- #905 in Mystery & Thrillers (Movies & TV)
- #1,206 in Horror (Movies & TV)
- Customer Reviews:
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonReviewed in the United States on October 27, 2020
Top reviews from the United States
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Starring Kim Darby, Jim Hutton, William Demarest, Barbara Anderson, and directed by "One Step Beyond" presenter, director John Newland, this highly effective scary movie about an old mansion infested with three recently released devilish creatures with a sinister agenda leads to a memorably bleak ending that gave nightmares to children for years.
Would be nice if Warner Archive could release other TV films in HD like "The Eyes Of Charles Sand"(1972) and "The Bermuda Depths"(1978), perhaps with new commentaries by Amanda Reyes?
However, the story has merit, and wasn’t a waste of time to watch.
The commentary doesn't have anyone who worked on the film 📽️. One commentary is three guys rambling on. The other is a film historian who has interesting facts, but, she goes on and on.
If you can get this movie at a low price, give it a try.
No atmosphere whatsoever was established; the acting was bland; the story unengrossing. I fast-forwarded quite a bit in the last third to a silly ending which left me feeling indifferent at best. A lot of time, money and effort expended for a barely mediocre result.
Top reviews from other countries
Nixey’s nightmarish adaptation of the ‘73 TV film, rarely alters the original’s plot. By only introducing the daughter and modifying the origins of the mischievous creatures, writer and producer Del Toro retains the core essence of Newland’s instance, allowing attentive detail to be applied on other elements. The ornate production design, from the manor’s gothic tapestries to the whimsical labyrinthian gardens, has Del Toro’s fingerprints plagued throughout. The verminous design of the creatures, described to be folklorish tooth fairies, derived from writer Machen’s work. A name Del Toro has mentioned before for his influence on ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ and ‘Hellboy II’. With one eye close to the project, it’s ultimately surprising why he decided to hire another individual to cover directing duties instead of himself, as the final product clearly exudes an imitation of his previous endeavours. The increasingly slow atmospheric tension as the camera swoops through the tenebrous corridors whilst sinister whispers echo across the manor. Beltrami’s strengthened score granting the restored structure life.
Unfortunately, explicit modernisations within the story prevent the success of the inherent chills from creeping through. The inclusion of Sally, performed energetically by Madison whom practically held the feature together, applied an unoriginal gloss over the finished painting. A typical plot strand of adults not believing the child’s imaginative stories revolving around mystical creatures, so they send them off to a therapist etc. before they realise they were telling the truth all along. It undoubtedly makes for a predictable plot, diminishing the majority of characterised development in the process. Much of the runtime is expended on Kim’s natural motherly instinct wanting to bond with Sally, with Holmes delivering a decent performance. Sally’s hostile confrontations with the creatures representing the catalyst for their growing relationship. The ending however seems somewhat mean-spirited when the central bond is shifted onto the father whom has not cared in the slightest. Almost seemed like a waste of time. Especially when they decide to stay the night after Alex and Kim realise Sally has been terrorised by these unknown entities (fantastic parenting...).
The creatures themselves succumb to overexposure, with their contorted bodies being fully introduced too early, lessening the second half’s creep factor. And an expositional scene involving a librarian, attempting to tackle the similarities between Blackwood’s unpublished artwork and Sally’s tales, was derivatively redundant considering the introductory scene. Relinquishing the majority of the mystery.
Alas, Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark is a fine folklorish fairy tale that offers just enough atmospheric chills and technical astuteness to be classed as watchable. Regrettably the plot and its fundamentally detached scares were surprisingly ineffective, which unequivocally should’ve been better executed given Del Toro’s involvement. You won’t be afraid of the dark after watching this, that’s for sure.
Off to a bad start, Sally is an obnoxious child who can't seem to decide if she is angry with the world or completely oblivious to danger by listening to creepy voices coming from deep underground, imploring her to come and play with them in the basement. Unfortunately, for the bulk of the film she is both and garnered little sympathy from me as the viewer. Guy Pearce seems largely disinterested in his daughter and spends the film in various degrees of bad temper involving everything and everyone around, which becomes tiresome quite quickly. Katie Holmes as the girlfriend starts off rather weakly and looking extremely sick but comes into her own as things progress and ends up being the saving grace for the story. Unfortunately, the monster element was not the slightest bit frightening and seemed to draw much of their antics from that old comedy 'Gremlins'. Add to this a preposterous ending where the characters just let things happen and don't attempt any investigation or explanation, and it was all too much for me.
On the plus side, the production values are excellent and this is apparent in the locations, props and of course the acting talent that the filmmakers were able to employ with their bigger budget. This is also reflected in the excellent digital effects.
The Blu-ray disk presentation is top notch which is a bonus although much of the film is shot in the dark often making it difficult to see what is going on. There are a number of lossless audio options available - I chose the dts-HD MA 5.1 option which was excellent with great clarity in voices and effects and realistic use of ambient sounds from the surround channels. But all up I was very disappointed with the film and wouldn't recommend it unless you are looking for something with limited scares and silly monsters.
There is a tangible 70s feel to this production which is treated very much as a classic Gothic horror story typical of that period, although this has a contemporary setting.
It differs from the original in that the main character is a child rather than a housewife and the malevolent presence in the basement is given the full benefit of CGI.
A well-paced story-line, convincing sets and a chilling visual realisation of that presence make this a tight, suspenseful and wholly convincing frightener, driven on by a fine musical score provided by Marco Beltrami.
The actors acquit themselves well enough, Bailee Madison in her first leading role carries things along very well.
A satisfying and enjoyable old-school horror, well-made and respectful of its antecedents. The DVD extras don't amount to much (cumulative running time is about 15 minutes) but they provide some interesting background to the film, which - incidentally - was shot in Australia.
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