Comic-Con 2010: Don't Be Afraid of the Dark Footage

Based on a 1973 TV movie that forever altered Guillermo Del Toro, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark is comic creator Troy Nixey's first feature film and it looks like a wonderful, visceral experience.

We saw the premiere of the teaser trailer in Hall H today and it is one big build up to a tremendous jump scare.

The teaser opens in complete darkness with an echoey whisper reminding us that "we're sitting there in the dark." The screen stays black for an uncomfortably long time. Finally, the words of the title appear, spooky images inside the lettering. It is very montage-y with images of a castle, stained glass, women screaming and a high angled shot of a woman laying in a tub, grabbing a shower curtain that seems to envelope her.

The only image that isn't lightning fast and associative is a woman holding a flashlight and crawling through her bed sheets. We see close ups of her feet, her hands moving deeper -- the bed seems to go on forever. We know that something is going to jump out, but WHEN?

Even though we know it is coming, the jump comes - and it is a wowza. A disgusting, ghoulish creature appears in a flash. No one will watch this without shouting. 

After the teaser, we watched a short clip. It opens up outside a 19th Century mansion. Inside is a parlor with stained glass and gorgeous trinkets. There is a chambermaid lit by a candle, calling out for someone named Mr. Blackwood.

She descends a staircase, falling onto the floor where a toothless Mr. Blackwood approaches and overpowers her. He takes out a hammer and, while crying and apologizing, bashes her teeth out off-screen. After a dissolve, he takes out her teeth, saying that he needs them to "see his boy." He methodically puts the teeth into a dish and places them at some sort of candlelit altar. He calls out for "my boy," we hear a rushing sound and finally Mr. Blackwood gets sucked through the altar, leading him to his doom or worse.

The question is clear: What are writer/producer Guillermo Del Toro and Troy Nixey's nightmares like?!?