When Guillermo del Toro ( Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth ) set out to update the scariest movie he’d ever seen as a child — the 1973 made-for-television movie Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark , about inhabitants of a house who discover sinister creatures living in the basement — he intended to frighten and thrill a new generation of youngsters. Even co-star Katie Holmes , who makes a rare genre appearance in the Del Toro-produced and co-scripted horror pic, found the script to so terrifying that she knew she had to do it. But is Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark , as the MPAA deemed, too scary for kids?

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Guillermo del Toro and Katie Holmes on R-rated Children’s Horror Flick Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark