I felt guilty having this close encounter instead of a Dawson's Creek fan

I had a lot of fun at Monday's New York premiere of Troy Nixey's remake of the classic '73 horror flick Don't Be Afraid of the Dark—the update stars Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce and Bailee Madison (my little pal in real life and a fabulous actress) and is produced/written by genius filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, The Devil's Backbone).

Katie Holmes looked spectacular on the carpet (I always thought she was a dead ringer for Britney Spears) and returned after the actual screening to participate in the Q&A with the Nixey, del Toro and Madison. (During the screening, she and hubby Tom Cruise apparently took Madison to dinner, judging from paparazzi pictures. Cruise stood at the back of the theater during the Q&A, but we never saw him.)

The movie is a pure, unapologetic genre piece that will probably delight horror buffs. It's not without some humor, too, though listening to del Toro curse a blue streak in front of tender-eared Madison (she's 11!) was at least as entertaining as watching the ravenous creatures who are the film's co-stars.

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark releases August 26 from Film District.

After the jump, I have video from the Q&A with many spoilers...