Katie Holmes has been signed on to star in Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, a thriller written by Matthew Robbins and Guillermo del Toro. The latter will also co-produce with the film directed by Troy Nixey, a comic book artist and reportedly a protege of del Toro.

The film is based on an ABC television movie from 1973 and follows a young girls who moves in with her father and his girlfriend in a house they find they are sharing with a host of ghoulish beings.

According to the report on Variety, Nixey got the job after del Toro enjoyed the tone of his short film Latchkey’s Lament.

It also notes that del Toro will also team with co-producer Mark Johson on Hater, an adaptation of a novel by David Moody which will be directed by The Ophanage’s Juan Antonio Bayona.

Sounds like an interesting project with a lot of the concerns that del Toro likes to explore. It’s likely therefore to have some wonderful costume and art design and should, being based on a previous source, provide an opportunity for the director Nixey to take some chances and prove his worth.

Del Toro it seems is really starting to build himself a stable of personnel to be associated with, primarily horror-focused directors with talent on building atmosphere and tone. Don’t be surprised to see more emerge as his power begins to grow following The Hobbit in a few year’s time.