Back to trending
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

Fantasy · Horror · Thriller · 2010

A young girl sent to live with her father and his new girlfriend discovers creatures in her new home who want to claim her as one of their own.

Movie details

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

“Fear is never just make believe.”

2010 Fantasy · Horror · Thriller 1h 39m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

5.8 / 10

Community rating

A young girl sent to live with her father and his new girlfriend discovers creatures in her new home who want to claim her as one of their own.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Don't Be Afraid of the Dark?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Alligator

Alligator

Horror · 1980

A baby alligator is flushed down a toilet and survives by eating discarded lab animals that have been injected with growth hormones. The now gigantic animal escapes the city sewers and goes on a rampage, pursued by a cop and a big-game hunter.

Brahms: The Boy II

Brahms: The Boy II

Horror · 2020

After a family moves into the Heelshire Mansion, their young son soon makes friends with a life-like doll called Brahms.

Siren

Siren

Horror · 2016

A bachelor party becomes a savage fight for survival when the groomsmen unwittingly unleash a fabled predator upon the festivities.

Slapface

Slapface

Horror · 2022

A boy deals with the loss of his mother by creating a relationship with a dangerous monster.

The Deliverance

The Deliverance

Horror · 2024

Ebony Jackson, a struggling single mother fighting her personal demons, moves her family into a new home for a fresh start. But when strange occurrences inside the home raise the suspicions of Child Protective Services and threaten to tear the family apart, Ebony soon finds herself locked in a battle for her life and the souls of her children.

Bagman

Bagman

Horror · 2024

For centuries and across cultures, parents have warned their children of the legendary Bagman, who snatches innocent children and stuffs them into his vile, rotting bag—never to be seen again. Patrick McKee narrowly escaped such an encounter as a boy, which left him with lasting scars throughout his adulthood. Now, Patrick’s childhood tormentor has returned, threatening the safety of his wife Karina and son Jake.

Wolf Man

Wolf Man

Horror · 2025

With his marriage fraying, Blake persuades his wife Charlotte to take a break from the city and visit his remote childhood home in rural Oregon. As they arrive at the farmhouse in the dead of night, they're attacked by an unseen animal and barricade themselves inside the home as the creature prowls the perimeter. But as the night stretches on, Blake begins to behave strangely, transforming into something unrecognizable.

Color Out of Space

Color Out of Space

Horror · 2020

The Gardner family moves to a remote farmstead in rural New England to escape the hustle of the 21st century. They are busy adapting to their new life when a meteorite crashes into their front yard, melts into the earth, and infects both the land and the properties of space-time with a strange, otherworldly colour. To their horror, the family discovers this alien force is gradually mutating every life form that it touches—including them.

The Gate

The Gate

Horror · 1987

Three young children accidentally release a horde of nasty, pint-sized demons from a hole in a suburban backyard. What follows is a classic battle between good and evil as the three kids struggle to overcome a nightmarish hell that is literally taking over the Earth.

Case 39

Case 39

Horror · 2009

In her many years as a social worker, Emily Jenkins believes she has seen it all, until she meets 10-year-old Lilith and the girl's cruel parents. Emily's worst fears are confirmed when the parents try to harm the child, and so Emily assumes custody of Lilith while she looks for a foster family. However, Emily soon finds that dark forces surround the seemingly innocent girl, and the more she tries to protect Lilith, the more horrors she encounters.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Troy Nixey

Written by

Guillermo del Toro · Matthew Robbins · Nigel McKeand

Katie Holmes

Katie Holmes

Kim

Guy Pearce

Guy Pearce

Alex Hirst

Bailee Madison

Bailee Madison

Sally Hirst

Jack Thompson

Jack Thompson

Harris

Alan Dale

Alan Dale

Jacoby

Emelia Burns

Emelia Burns

Caterer

Nicholas Bell

Nicholas Bell

Psychiatrist

Court is in session

Put Don't Be Afraid of the Dark on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Prestige Tourist

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.