Just last night, Harry and I were marveling at Guillermo del Toro's knack for discovering talented young filmmakers who share his macabre sensibilities. From Juan Antonio Bayona's masterfully-crafted THE ORPHANGE to Guillem Morales's JULIA'S EYES (which played very well at Fantastic Fest this week), he's establishing an aesthetic that is unmistakably his, while also developing new voices that will likely mature and flourish on their own. Del Toro is an industry unto himself now; in a decade, he could have a catalogue of horror films comparable to the '50s-'60s output from Hammer.
According to the L.A. Times' John Horn, he's got another indelible fright flick on the way with Troy Nixey's remake of DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK. As an avowed fan of the original (which scared the crap out of me as a kid), I'm insanely jealous that Horn got a chance to check this film out - though it's heartening to know that Nixey and del Toro have delivered the goods. Not that there was ever any doubt.
Horn says the film is "intensely scary", calling the scares "as much psychological as they are physical". The narrative now centers on a ten-year-old girl being frightened by the Homunculi (instead of a bored middle-aged housewife in the '73 film), which is interesting seeing as how the movie will evidently be sporting an R-rating when it hits theaters on January 21st, 2011.
This is one to look forward to, folks. Here's the very effective teaser that debuted last July at Comic Con...
