Dark Corners

Please note: I already submitted a review, but I must have forgot to hit a button or something, so this is a rewrite. As such, it will be shorter.

A woman (Thora Birch) is trying to get pregnant but is haunted by mysterious and morbid dreams. At the same time, her dream self is haunted by the dreams of her waking self. Which is the real, and why is her unborn child at the heart of the battle? What role does the hypnotherapist play in all this? My primary motivation for picking up this film was Thora Birch. I loved her in "American Beauty" and even more so in "Ghost World". I am sorry to say she doesn't carry that same beauty here (I like her as the short, pudgy girl) but her acting remains unblemished. Being the main character and the lead supporting character puts a lot of weight on an actor's shoulders, and she carries it.

Unfortunately, she is left to do the work with a team that is unworthy of her. The writer-director is a newcomer, and not particularly skilled. I could give him the benefit of the doubt and say the budget wasn't there or he was strapped for time. But I think this still wouldn't explain the poorly constructed plot and the lack of any real direction. Too many holes remain throughout the film ,and the tone went from serious to humorous in a very disjointed fashion.

I liked some aspects of this film: the dark world was cool, especially if you grew up playing Legend of Zelda. Dark worlds in general are always nice (who doesn't like goth chicks?). The dark humor was also good, like the way the mortician solves the problem of the erect corpse.

Continuity and plot problems run amok, and I have one prime example: the therapist. As the movie goes on, we begin to suspect more and more that he is involved in the darker elements of the film. But we never really get the full story, and worst of all -- her problems begin before we even meet him, making the case for him as a suspect very hard to swallow. Maybe I missed something.

I didn't particularly enjoy this film, and I don't think my friend Hannah did either. You know, if we hadn't just seen "I Know Who Killed Me", this probably would have been the worst horror film we had seen in a long time. Especially after watching a quality film ("Vacancy") the night before. If you can't get enough of Thora Birch, check this one out. But that's the only reason I can think of to deal with this mess, and even that's a risky decision I probably wouldn't make the second time.

This dark thriller isn't bad, its not great, but certainly watchable and suspenseful. The acting is good. Thora Birch gave a pretty nice performance even though she sometimes didn't seem to really understand her character. the atmosphere is great. The dream was good, and the nightmare was dark and disturbing. and it had a morale to the story. Though a lot of people might not like it (which might contribute to the low rating). It will also please gorehounds, as there is plenty of brutality and blood. I think it should have a little higher rating. Its definitely worth the watch if you come across it. I rate it 6/10 Rated R for bloody violence, disturbing images, terror, and brief nudity

Dark Corners, directed by Ray Gower, is one of those films that is designed to have its audience ponder long and hard about events, and then come to their own conclusion about what they have seen. The problem is, even after much consideration (and on-line research), it's unlikely that a satisfying answer will be forthcoming. There's a point beyond which ambiguity simply becomes frustrating and Dark Corners cruises right past it and keeps on going; in fact, the film is so confusing that it's quite possible the makers didn't really know what the hell was going themselves.

Thora Birch stars as a young, blonde wife named Susan who suffers from terrifying nightmares prior to having IVF fertility treatment. In these vivid dreams, she sees herself as another person—a brunette named Karen (also Thora Birch)—who inhabits a hellish world where she repeatedly wakes from her sleep covered in blood and bruises.

In order to try and quell her night-time hallucinations, Sarah visits Dr. Woodleigh (Toby Stephens), a psycho-analyst who suggests hypnosis as a way of dealing with the problem. However, her appointment with Woodleigh proves to be the start of even more horror for poor Sarah, as her life gradually becomes more intertwined with that of her imaginary self, and she becomes a target of a knife wielding killer known as The Nightstalker.

There's a lot of conjecture on the Dark Corner message board about what is really supposed to be occurring, with some posters proposing that both Sarah and Karen are manifestations of Dr.Woodleigh (AKA The Nightstalker), who is reliving his sins endlessly in hell. Whilst this is certainly a possibility, quite how one reaches that conclusion based on the evidence offered in the film is beyond me. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe in being spoon-fed the answers, but in this case, a couple of satisfying morsels wouldn't have gone amiss.

Fortunately, although the story is a real head-scratcher, the quality of the acting prevents this film from being a total loss. Birch is great as both versions of her character (and also rather cute to boot, particularly as the brunette), and she is ably supported by Christien Anholt as Sarah's understanding hubby and Joanna Hole as best friend/work colleague Elaine Jordan. These solid performances, plus a fair bit of graphic nastiness, make the film a reasonably engaging and entertaining experience; just don't expect to understand all that you are seeing.

4.5 out of 10, rounded up to 5 for IMDb.

At least until you've seen it for yourself. A relatively small number of people have voted on it, so its rating is up in the air. Anyway, I found this movie to be very interesting. Here's what I have to say about it. My summary is at the top and the longer explanation is at the bottom.

SHORT: Genuinely frightening and dark, as well as psychologically complex and chilling. If you can look past the non-linear plot and confusing pace of the film, then you will enjoy this addition to the horror movie genre. 6 out of 10.

LONG: This movie can be somewhat confusing and its direction takes a very schizophrenic approach to showing events in the movie. That can understandably be a turn off for some people, but the fact of the matter is that the direction is one of the elements that helps make Dark Corners a scary flick. From the get-go you have no idea if what the heroine is experiencing is real or imagined. The story follows the life of a woman who's trying to get pregnant; at night she has nightmares and cycles between her life and that of the woman in her dreams.

In the dark surrealistic world of her dreams, she sees people being violently murdered and is killed herself several times. The multiple cuts from fantasy to reality, as well as the camera angles help to unsettle the viewer and put them on edge, leaving them vulnerable to the movie's numerous scare scenes. And as much as they would cut from one scene to another, I never felt cheated or that it was over-done, because Karen's story with her pregnancy would always advance at an adequate pace. As for story, it cryptic all the way to the end, yet we are given small clues along the way. The ending itself is a little flat, yet creepy and appropriate.

The acting was awesome. I loved Karen's actress and that of her husband; they had great chemistry that made you want to watch their banter scenes. Supporting characters were okay. I felt their character parts were more of a draw than what the actual actors brought to the table.

Scares. This movie is genuinely scary! At times it is disgusting and disturbing, but does not have over-the-top gore. It doesn't rely on cheap jump-out scares too much, but instead relies on atmosphere and horrific situations. The two scenes in the mortuary were really what got me. You have to see them for yourself--classic, grade-A American horror. I was impressed.

So for its great scares, atmosphere, and good characters and acting, I give Dark Corners a 6 out of 10. Though the direction and pace of the film may be confusing and off-putting, the plot and story are there. This film is also more entertaining then a lot of other direct-to-DVD horror flicks that have more linear plots, yet look like they were made for the Sci-fi channel. *cough* Bottom Feeder *cough*

I caught this movie several months ago, and it was only after happening to come across it in my collection recently that I realized it was really worth commenting on here. So here goes.

Firstly, my brief take on the plot: Karen Clarke lives in a city where dark and horrifying things exist just beyond the edge of her vision. Susan Hamilton is a happily married woman suffering from recurring nightmares. Each considers the other to be the person they become in their dreams. So who is real? Now, this is not one of those "are you sure this is low-budget?" productions. There are numerous qualities about this film which make it very clear to the viewer that we are, in fact, in the land of independent financing, ranging from certain scenes shot like they're using 1950s camera equipment to the typical "small roles filled by people with all the emotions of a cardboard box" syndrome. This even extends to one of the more significant minor roles, an older blond woman whose acting ability alternates between competent and "Plan 9 From Outer Space" depending on the scene.

With that said, there's still something to this film. It takes a bit to get going, with the first 30-40 minutes leaving the viewer with a lot of puzzle pieces and very few ways to connect them, but the pieces themselves are reasonably interesting. Once we hit the halfway mark, however, things begin to connect a bit more. Most of it is executed well, leaving the viewer feeling neither confused nor as though they've been led by the nose. A few times, however, clues are all but identified with bright neon signs, particularly a seemingly pointless conversation which suddenly draws attention to itself with a rather unorthodox camera pan. The presentation otherwise is excellent, with many of the scenes set in the "dark" city just about oozing a sense of corruption and decay. Much of the content is surprisingly robust as well, with a lot of allegory and outright symbolism present throughout. (Though the significance of it all isn't truly clear until the end of the film) While the smaller roles are filled with the typical low-budget riff-raff, the principals all do an excellent job in this film. Thora Birch is entertaining to watch and, as always, you can sympathize with her character(s) almost instantly. Toby Stephens gives a short, interesting, and dark performance which is perfect for the film, and in a pleasant surprise Alan Perrin makes a highly intriguing detective in both "sides" of the narrative.

However, the real winning part of this film is the final reveal, the "twist" if you will. While it isn't what I would call exactly genius, it's still pretty clever; even the most observant of viewers will at best be able to determine part of the twist, but not all. More importantly, the reveal is both creepy and satisfying, albeit in a Schadenfreude-y kind of way. It's a worthy payoff for 90 minutes of invested time.

BOTTOM LINE: It's not really award worthy and it's certainly not perfect, but it's entertaining and has a wonderfully satisfying-yet-creepy ending. If you're a fan of "twist" movies like Memento and Sixth Sense but prefer a "darker" feel this may be right up your alley.