Guillermo del Toro opens a haunted house

“Storytelling is a very basic human need,” he says,“and telling horror stories is a part of that.” Now 46,del Toro exploded onto the cinema scene in 1993 with the acclaimed film Cronos. Since then the Mexican filmmaker has written,produced and/or directed Mimic,The Devil’s Backbone,Blade II,Hellboy,Pan’s Labyrinth,The Orphanage and Hellboy II: The Golden Army,among others. Recently,he spent two years in New Zealand preparing to direct the upcoming The Hobbit. He also devoted untold time to realising one of his dream projects,a film adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness,which fell apart over budget issues. “We tried,” he says wistfully. “I very deliberately choose what movies to do and what not to do,and,if I take one,I take it to the end consequences,and them not happening is included in the puzzle of consequences.”

That’s not to suggest that del Toro is without work—far from it. He’s in Toronto where he’s about to direct a top-secret sci-fi film entitled Pacific Rim. He’s on board as a producer of the upcoming The Haunted Mansion,Puss in Boots,Rise of the Guardians and Pinocchio,and is in negotiations to produce a new Beauty and the Beast starring Emma Watson. More immediately,there’s Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark,a horror film that he produced and co-wrote. Set for release on August 26,it is a remake of a 1973 television movie of the same name. The story follows a young girl,Bailee Madison,who moves into a Gothic mansion with her distracted father Guy Pearce and his new girlfriend,Katie Holmes. It’s not long before Bailee starts hearing voices calling her to the basement and begging to be set free. Sure enough,she opens a gateway that unleashes fearsome monsters—only no one believes her. “I wanted to make a very scary—old-fashioned in a way,but really,really edgy—haunted-house movie that worked because of the atmosphere and because of the characters being interesting and endearing and recognisable.”

Holmes and Pearce are familiar commodities and have carried movies before. However,the film rests on the shoulders of 11-year-old Madison,who is in nearly every scene. “When we were casting,we got a call from Natalie Portman and she said,‘I know you’re looking for a girl,and I just worked with that fantastic girl in Brothers and highly recommend her.’” “So we tested her,” he continues,“and,look,if you ask anybody what the most important element in a horror movie is,they’ll say the monsters or horror. But in reality the most important thing is great actors. And we were really blessed with Bailee,who is extraordinary,and the rest of these really great actors.”

Some moviegoers may wonder about the extent of del Toro’s involvement in Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark,given that it was shot during his extended stay in New Zealand for The Hobbit. The film was directed by Troy Nixey,but del Toro insists that he was as hands-on as possible. “I took a hiatus from The Hobbit for many,many weeks to be involved. It’s a movie I present,like I did with The Orphanage,he concludes. “When it says ‘Guillermo del Toro Presents … ,’ it’s not just me producing,it’s me really saying,‘Look,whether you like it or don’t like it,I’m very invested in this and I have to make sure it delivers.”’ IAN SPELLING