Guillermo del Toro's 'Don't Be Afraid of the Dark' (2011) -- Teaser Trailer

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark was one of the buzz films at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. Word has it the R-rated teaser trailer scared and thrilled audiences in Hall H.

DBAOTD is based on the old TV-movie from the 1970s; is co-written and produced by Guillermo del Toro and directed by Troy Nixey.

Joined on stage by director Troy Nixey, del Toro unveiled a teaser for the film (see end of post). "What was that?!" yelled del Toro as the lights came up, exclaiming that he had just soiled his pants.

Official Synopsis

“Sally Hurst (Bailee Madison), a lonely, withdrawn child, has just arrived in Rhode Island to live with her father Alex (Guy Pearce) and his new girlfriend Kim (Katie Holmes) at the 19th-century mansion they are restoring. While exploring the sprawling estate, the young girl discovers a hidden basement, undisturbed since the strange disappearance of the mansion’s builder a century ago.

When Sally unwittingly lets loose a race of ancient, dark-dwelling creatures who conspire to drag her down into the mysterious house’s bottomless depths, she must convince Alex and Kim that it’s not a fantasy—before the evil lurking in the dark consumes them all.”

IGN.com reports the opening sequence from the film was screened for the Hall H crowd at SDCC. It's a prologue to the main story that takes place perhaps 150 years ago. We meet a young servant in the old house late one night. She's looking for her master, and heads down to the basement . She trips on the stairs and suddenly stumbled upon her now part-crazed employer. He pins the semi-conscious girl to the ground and aims a hammer and chisel at her mouth -- all toothless. The old man then smashes the girl's teeth out (offscreen...eeewwww). He goes about picking up the bloody things off the floor and collecting them in a plate, which he then places in a small access point in the wall. His child is trapped in that wall, and we can hear the boy's cries as he calls for his father. The old man is offering the teeth in exchange for the child to… whatever it is that took the boy. The sequence ends with the mostly unseen critters suddenly rushing the man and yanking him into the wall too as he screams in agony.

Whoa...WICKED! Deliciously EVIL! Can hardly wait until January!

Genre: Horror
Rating: R (for violence and terror)
U.S. Release Date: January 21, 2011
Cast: Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce, Bailee Madison, Jack Thompson
Director: Troy Nixey
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark Official Site

Previous Coverage

Miramax Plans to Release ‘Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark’ Under a New Name

'Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark' Director Troy Nixey's First Film 'Latchkey's Lament' [watch] & Happy Birthday to Guillermo del Toro !

Katie Holmes on the Set of 'Don't Be Afraid of the Dark'

Guillermo del Toro Facebook Group

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Source: IGN