The Dark

Sean Bean is such a lost talent, he's a great actor and never seems to be given a decent or lead role. Even in Lord of the Rings he was cast as the turncoat. So I was excited to hear that he was the lead man in this movie, although not the lead it was a good step. Plus it was a British film and a horror. These things all combined to make me think that this was a movie to see.

Both Bean and Maria Bello are very convincing in the movie. Bean plays the straight up man who is confused by the happenings around him and just wants to make the family happy again, he plays a super convincing Father. Bello gives a great performance as she is called upon to be a trying mother, confused, insane, panicked and totally distraught. Not that much of a range really! The interplay between these two actors is very good, and when Bean has scenes with the daughter, he's just superb.

Something that becomes quite annoying through the first half of the movie are the deliberate scare tactics used by the Director, they are exceedingly formulaic and you know when they are coming and even when the shock comes. Still, all credit to them, you still leap out of your chair even knowing when a scare is coming. The formula is pretty constant through the first half, slow music, a long single scene, slow movement and no action, usually in the darkness, then a few fast cuts together accompanied by a loud sound and a raise in the music tempo, and there you have the scare. During the screening people were leaping like mad! After a while following this formula the film does turn around on itself and become something different. It's here that it becomes a lot more psychological and indeed, clever. There was a big feeling in this half of Event Horizon, particularly the flashbacks to being strapped in the chair, fast, multiple cuts of horror.

However during the latter half it also becomes confusing and very weird, yet I wish the whole movie had been like this. It could have abandoned its standard scare tactics and concentrated on the plot in the latter half, and this would have provided for a much more psychologically scary movie.

There's a particular moment near the end of the movie when a door closes in front of the lead, and your emotions are totally with the character at this point. Confusion for a few seconds and then a slow building understanding. It's a very good moment.

Still, however clever the entire ending is, I still felt it lacked clarity and subtlety. Dropping the scare formula of the first half would have brought a much better movie, and getting rid of the premise of scary sheep would have helped too. Perhaps it's a British thing, but sheep are not in the least bit scary, in fact coming from a Northern Scottish town sheep are considered far from scary. It just seemed to be a plot device that was struggling not to be absurd.

That said, you'll still leap, you'll still be scared, and when the film finishes you'll still like the conclusion.

The Dark is OK for its day but The Hallow (2015) and The Daisy Chain (2008) are much better Celtic movies dabbling in local myth. The Dark is a pretty ad hoc jumble of bits and pieces (past/present, real/dreaming, myth/crime, etc) strung together in what seems like, to me, an attempt to make a 90 minute movie out of only 60 minutes of material. In the last half a lot of sequences look very similar to previous sequences, although I admit the idea was torture and descent. Mind you, The Dark did try to make sheep seem spooky, and one has to admire the attempt. For looks it's very similar to The Daisy Chain, indeed, that movie may have seen what was working or not working in The Dark and proceeded appropriately. In the end the story does make sense, and it is a very chilly conclusion. I still enjoyed it, and it is original to a degree. My main criticism is that the filmmakers needed to make this a darker journey and not such an action movie for the Mum. It needed more pauses, more shocks, and better shocks, maybe a storm, the odd spider. The Dark, however, still tackles a difficult premise to pull off, and in this it has made an accomplishment.

The Dark shocked me really, after seeing the trailer on TV my initial thoughts were that it was going to be a genuinely scary film, however after watching it, it appears it is not as much scary as it is strange!

The concept of it will seem pretty weird to you but it actually works, however there are times in it where the acting is pretty sketchy. I think all in all this film will appeal to people who like a bit of the supernatural or spiritual stuff, and maybe not as much to the people who like a really scary horror flick.

Hat off to Sean Bean, i like most of the films he's in, and Maria Bello does make viewing slightly more pleasant. Some will like it, some won't. Would definitely watch again though.

I had enjoyed Fawcett's knowing revision of the werewolf myth in GINGER SNAPS (2000), but wasn't really expecting much out of yet another ghost story (which, in recent years, have flooded the horror market from all over the world). Still, it turned out to be a pleasant surprise which, given my initial skepticism, managed to win me over with its intriguing - if highly derivative - plot line, good performances (by all five main actors but especially Maria Bello, in a difficult and rather unsympathetic role, and the two ill-treated girls) and the unfamiliar seaside Welsh setting.

As a matter of fact, the film borrows and mixes together elements from a wide variety of classic and cult horror/fantasy titles - ORPHEUS (1950), DON'T LOOK NOW (1973), THE WICKER MAN (1973) and THE BEYOND (1981) - and even features a Bernard Herrmannesque score! Unfortunately, it becomes confusing towards the end and the final twist feels rather like one too many trips to the well; actually, I much preferred the serene (and more balanced) alternate ending!

Despite some editorial flourishes throughout and the occasional cheap shock, the film's tone is generally low-key and introspective; far removed from the hipness of GINGER SNAPS, it's undeniably a more mature work.

It's a confusing movie with a poor story. I felt I was watching the wrong movie when I stepped into the theater. It took me some time until I could realize what was really happening.

Plus, mentioning the Welsh mythology sounded more like an excuse to hook the story.

Although it contains some disturbing images, it is not scary at all. Well said: 'when a film has to relay on loud music and flashy imagery to scare people then the film isn't scary'. So, that's the whole truth about this movie. I expected something better.

I am completely disappointed.