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How many terrifying and/or suspenseful TV movies can you name? That’s a rhetorical question, but the point is there aren’t that many. One of the very few scary as hell movies made for television is 1973′s Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark.

The Hollywood Reporter reports Guillermo Del Toro is hopping on the remake bandwagon and producing a re-imagining of the TV thriller. Troy Nixey, a comic book artist/writer, will make his directorial debut on the Miramax film. The production’s still in the early stages of monster development, but “moviegoers can expect an upscale creature feature along the lines of… Pan’s Labyrinth.”

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark stars Kim Darby and Jim Hutton as a young couple who inherit an old home with a secret. Unfortunately, the secret is not a good one… there are tiny demons/monsters living in the basement and they’ve taken a liking to the new lady of the house.

The movie used to cycle through in syndication pretty frequently, but I haven’t seen it in a while. I remember it scaring the shit out of me as a kid though, while I was simultaneously amazed by the special effects. I’m not sure if the little bastards were stop-motion or just guys in suits, but they were creepy as they dragged Miss Darby down the stairs, one step at a time, and into the fireplace…