The Absence of Light

I found this movie to be quite interesting. The special effects and CGI was very good for an independent film, and the story line was very interesting.

I was very impressed with the number of stars I saw in this film. The guy from Candyman was in this film, as a scientist. Sex Machine from From Dask Till Dawn was a boss of a band of assassins.

The action scenes were great. The film seemed to have a good flow and I didn't notice a lot of inconsistencies like I pick up on in major films.

Overall I thought this movie was really good. Probably the best independent film I've ever seen. I can't wait to see the directors next project.

I saw this movie in at a horror convention in Ohio and then twice again in its more refined and edited versions. I love to see young filmmakers take chances and go "big" with their ideas. I believe Desmond has done this. He was able to elicit the acting talents of skilled horror/thriller genre actors to add body to his cast of unknowns.

The editing and quality of special effects are a testament to Desmond's ability to use the best of what he has. I especially like some of the action sequences and stunt work.

Hooray for the "little" guy with big vision and guts to roll out this type of independent movie.

This move looks like it's come a long way from it's infancy. I saw the final cut of it a few days ago. This is the only action film that I've ever seen that had no foul language or nudity. If this is not the first, then it's the first in recent history.

The attention to detail is unsurpassed. Unlike a lot of professional Hollywood films, you cannot find a single spoof in the production. All the costumes are correct from scene to scene, and the weather changes relevant to the time given in the film.

The stunt work is also very good and rather complex for a self funded film. I got to talk to the stunt coordinator at the same convention that the director was at. He explained to me that no one who did any of the stunts ever had any formal training for that, and the fact that his best friend did the stunt driving in his own Camaro.

All in all, this movie is great!

I am very lucky to have been involved in this project. everyone was really nice to work with and it is a shame that someone posted a bad review on here when this director has made its audience involved with this project. He deliberately is showing the movie as it goes through many stages of development. I think that is a wonderful thing to do. This person saw the cut of this that was nowhere near finished and was told that before the film started. I think it is a horrible thing to post such negativity when you haven't even seen the finished project. very unprofessional thing to do in my opinion! Also, he says that many actors left during this film preview. Well that is true, but also false! I was there! I had to leave early because I was at the convention to sign autographs and meet fans etc...none of us could stay to watch the film, but it had nothing to do with the film itself, it had to do with what we were hired to do that weekend and obviously if you even noticed any of us leaving you weren't really paying attention to the film anyway, so how can you even review it.

I am proud of how this film is developing, Robyn Griggs

"The Absence of Light" is told from the point of view of an unscrupulous killer who's got a job to do and doesn't care how many people he'll have to kill. In this case, a senator wants to be re-elected and witnesses of his countless mistakes have to be removed permanently. It's the point of view which makes the movie different from the average TV crime story, doing the devil's work adds some refreshing political incorrectness. And violence. Also it's a nice touch that several veteran actors were involved: Tom Savini plays the killer's boss, modestly named Higher Power, David Hess is his equivalent on the other side, Caroline Munro just has to sit in a chair and speak a few lines, and Michael Berryman appears as an almost supernatural weirdo. On the other hand, "The Absence of Light" has quite a few problems. Taking the crime story into the science fiction area with a genetic experiment, illustrated with home-made computer effects, damages the professional look seriously. The soundtrack sounds very direct-to-video and lacks good background music. The characterization isn't interesting enough as the dialog often tends to turn in a kind of "we've got to do what we've got to do" circle. A final remark to the reviews I've read. Either personal friends of the director shout "masterpiece!" and give ten stars, or frustrated buyers cry "worst movie of all time" and click the lowest possible mark. Isn't the truth usually somewhere in the middle? Just my two cents, therefore.