What a bummer. Last week it was Katie Holmes in "Jack and Jill" — this week it's Mrs. Cruise again, in "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark." The former is a comedy and the latter a remake of a horror film (actually a TV movie) from 1973. But whatever the emotional situation or physical location, Holmes remains herself: a slim little mass of nihilistic joylessness somehow mindful of a ¥100-shop home-decor product.
Arguably, her discount aura could mean that she's tailor-made for B-grade scare movies, but her charms fall short of the kind of charisma needed for a vehicle such as "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark." Almost all the action takes place inside a run-down rural estate, there are only three central characters and the plot relies heavily on dialogue and ambience.
Can Holmes pull it off? Unfortunately not, and the story is carried on the small shoulders of Bailee Madison, who was 10 years old when the film was shot in 2009.