I Will Follow You Into the Dark

It was easy to get into this. It wasn't so easy to get out. This started pretty well and it seemed well paced, well acted and nicely scripted. Then, however, it added a sappy romantic angle that leaves lots of questions, but few answers. Then, it just stopped. (Trying not to spoil it...) Overall, this was all anticipation with no payoff. The abrupt ending seemed to be about a 180 degree turn from what was generally happening. It had its moments. It was ultimately unsatisfying.

I usually try to avoid movies where the writer and director are the same person. There's a reason for this - and this film is a prime example. You NEED that second opinion - there are long, boring scenes that no competent director would have left intact. The basic story could have been done better, but there was so little development other than artsy montages. The production values were actually pretty good, but the story was weak and the plot incoherent. I think the scenes were not chronological - but it was not obvious if they were flashbacks, dreams, or what. The acting wasn't bad either, but without character development I just didn't care about these people.

Mischa Barton was considered a rising star after her TV show "The OC" but ran into some personal issues in 2007 that derailed her. She has some good film credits, a stage background and a pretty face, but after seeing "I Will Follow You Into the Dark," I'm predicting a so-so career. Or maybe it was the director or the script.

"I Will Follow You Into the Dark" is about a young woman, Sophia, who loses both her parents within six months of one another. Her father was a minister, and right before he dies, he tells her that he's decided that there is no life after death. When she speaks at her father's church, she repeats this, tells the congregation she has come to the same conclusion, and challenges God to prove her wrong.

Bizarre little things begin to happen to her, but one day she meets a funny, charming young man, Adam (Ryan Eggold). She's afraid of losing anyone again, so she resists him, but they wind up falling in love. One day Adam disappears, apparently into this haunted building, and Sophia is determined to get him out.

My biggest problem with this movie is that it was photographed in the dark and I couldn't see anything for a large portion of it. My second problem was the story didn't make a lot of sense to me. There's a famous building that's haunted. People have disappeared from there. There are no stairs. So why would anyone live there? Why does Adam live there? Who would live there? That being said, the last 30-40 minutes are scary and made me nervous. The acting throughout was only okay. I thought the script was bad and the photography worse. As far as the romance, it wasn't developed enough so that anyone cared.

A waste.

It's one thing to judge this just by the message it is transporting or by the way the movie realized that same idea. I think the idea behind the movie is really good. And while this is one of the better efforts the former OC girl is involved with, this still lacks a lot of things great horror movies have.

Mischa Barton and the other actors in this look good, the framing and shooting of the movie does not need to enhance anything there. Some scenes could do with some enhancing in the acting area though. The dialog could be a bit better too. If you can overlook all those things, you may be able to see this in a better light than it actually represents though ...

In the last moments of this movie i was thinking: "the only thing that could save this film is if it was a troll, a huge joke..."

but it wasn't. Someone seriously thought that this would sell. I don't know if the budget for this film was spent on Barton (the Only recognizable name on the credits) or if this was a troll, and the "Gotch-a" is at the end of the credits and i left too early. either way, whether or not the movie was a joke- it was bad... ...now, One could rant on and on about what was wrong with this movie, but i'll summarize; -It was too dark, you could not see anything but a beam of light coming from a flashlight 30% of the movie. -the acting was horrible. acting is easier said than done, i realize that, but if you aren't good at acting, then why are you in the film? and such... save some money, skip this film, see The Fog....or better yet. save some sanity...don't see either...