First Full “Don't Be Afraid of the Dark” Trailer

Maybe we just have a hard time getting excited about a feature-film adaptation of a decades-old made-for-TV movie, but this first full trailer isn't really spooking us in the right ways.

"Don't Be Afraid of the Dark," a remake of the 1973 tele-movie of the same name, stars Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce as your classic "couple with a kid who move into a creepy old house only to find that it's scary the bejeezus out of the little girl." OK--so Holmes isn't the girl's mother, but still... There's even a grouchy old gardener who tries to warn them the "house isn't safe for a little girl!"

Del Toro co-wrote the new screenplay, and served as producer for the film, while comic book artist Troy Nixey directed. The trailer looks OK, but haven't we seen this all before?

Del Toro has said that they original sought to make the film PG-13, but the MPAA gave it an "R for 'pervasive scariness.' We asked them if there's anything we could do, and they said, 'Why ruin a perfectly scary movie?'"

It's a good line, but the MPAA finds the human body and history to be "perfectly scary," so take that as you will.

"Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" opens Aug. 21.

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