A Sétima Vítima

In terms of its storyline, "Darkness" is pretty much like every other haunted house movie ever made. We start off with the usual unsuspecting family of four who find themselves knee deep in ghouls and ghosts the moment they move into their new residence (the family is American and the home is in Spain in this outing). Of course, anyone in his right mind would hightail it out the door two seconds after setting foot in the house - but not this group! They want to hang around to see what "happens." It is Oscar-winner Anna Paquin, as the moody but perceptive teenaged daughter of the clan, who gets to have her name above the title here - a dubious distinction at best, I'm sorry to say.

"Darkness" has just about all the standard accoutrement's one would expect to find in a film on this subject. In addition to the perpetual thunderstorm taking place outside and the electricity that keeps going out on cue, we also have the self-activating toys, the strange voices on the telephone, the ghostly images on photographs, the father who becomes exponentially more psychotic in every scene in which he appears, and the mysterious old man with the limp who shows up out of nowhere and seems to hold the key to everything. Seasoned veterans will be able to predict just about every hackneyed setup and cliché a full hour before it officially arrives on screen. For instance, we just know, without room for quibble, that the minute the mother brings home a box of colored pencils for her delighted little boy to play with, the tyke will start drawing strange and disturbing pictures to help push the plot points along. It's practically de rigueur when it comes to films in this vein. (However, I must say, in all fairness, that the movie does NOT include the cat-jumping-out-at-the-audience scene, which is pretty much standard issue for every horror flick these days. The filmmakers DO earn some bonus points for that).

Paquin makes for a feisty heroine, and it isn't really her fault that her character always seems to be ten giant steps behind the audience in figuring it all out. And as to the "What the *&$%?" ending - well, it's either so brilliant that it is beyond the ken of mere mortal man to figure out, or it's one of the biggest final curtain stumbles in horror movie history. I have my own personal notion as to which of those two it really is, but I'll let you figure that one out for yourself. After all, I have to leave you with SOMETHING interesting to do while you're watching this film.

The movie centers about a family living outskirts Barcelona and the terrible events that happen to the daughter (Anna Paquin) and the rest of family : father (Iain Glenn) , mother (Lena Olin) and grandfather (Giancarlo Giannini).

The motion picture gets a certain likeness to films as ¨Amytiville¨ saga and the recent ¨The others¨ and ¨The sixth sense¨ , the director Jaume Balaguero takes parts each other films . In the movie there is terror , suspense , drama and from the beginning until ending the horror and tension is endless . The picture plot is pretty twisted and the final has an extraordinary surprise .

Interpretation by Anna Paquin as scared adolescent is average , she's very young and lack her experience , better play her grandfather and parents : Giancarlo Giannini , Lena Olin and Iain Glenn , both of whom are riveting . The film is produced by Julio Fernandez of Fantastic Factory , corporation with deal of hits in terror genre.

Balaguero direction is outstanding , Xavi Gimenez cinematography with lights and shades originates a frightening and scary atmosphere and Carlos Cases music creates true fear . Director Jaume Balagueró (Rec , Rec 2 .., Fragiles , The nameless , Tight sleep) uses uneasy knowledge for both horror and supernatural genre .

The flick will appeal to ghostly atmosphere enthusiasts and horror genre fans . Rating : 6,5/10 good

I had heard bad things from the few people I know who had seen this film. I was still curious though, I think Anna Paquin is a somewhat underestimated actress who is rarely given what you could call a leading roll. Other than that, I knew nothing that the back of the DVD case couldn't tell me. Anyways.

I really enjoyed this film. It was well made, it was tastefully done and yes I found it to be scarier than just about anything else I've seen lately. Plus it features a pretty good turn by Fele Martínez who also starred in 'Abre los ojos', the film Cameron Crowe dubbed in English and called Vanilla Sky.

Well, it is difficult for me to judge this movie. As a die-hard fan of dark moody films, like The Others, The Ring, Sixth Sense, The Blair Witch Series, The Crow, etc. I set really high standards. I expect every scene to have a meaning - if something flickers in the background it has to come forward at some time, if there is a lot of references to something then it means it has to have a deeper meaning sooner or later, etc... but, alas, this movie tried to seem to be more than it was. It's enticing, thrilling and delightfully creepy in the beginning - but later it starts to get more and more repetitive and, frankly speaking, boring. How many times can one character ask another how they got some weird bruises and not get any answer at all? How many times can weird shadows appear in dark rooms, without even trying to mean anything?

In other words, if you're not a "horror connoisseur", and just enjoy a good scare that does not necessarily have to be a piece of art, and don't mind a banal plothole-ridden outcome, then you're going to like this movie a lot. But if you expect innovation, pieces perfectly fitting one another at the end, subtle innuendoes that converge in a final surprising climax - then, sorry, you're looking on the wrong shelf. 5/10.

Darkness was purchased for distribution in 2002 as what appears to be a tax write-off on the part of Dimension Films. It has yet to see so much as a straight-to-video release in Australia, and appearances suggest that in spite of Anna Paquin's minor stardom, it never will. This is a pity, because Jaume Balagueró's economical approach to making a horror film is something that we need more of in today's box office. Like Tobe Hooper before him, Balagueró gives the viewer short bursts of scenery for the imagination to use as a foundation. Everything that scares the viewer in this film is the product of their imagination, which might go some way to explain the poor reception it appears to have had on the IMDb. Trusting in the imagination of your audience is a risk, especially when a large part of that audience has been indoctrinated against using theirs by twenty or more years of eMpTyV. Put simply, the reception Darkness suffered in the US market can be attributed to a clash of cultures.

This is not to say the film is not without flaws. The first half hour in particular comes across as a collection of scenes without transition. This is something that occurs often in British television, where people are shown doing things in different places with nothing to explain how they got there. Those who have seen Lock, Stock, And Two Smoking Barrels or any of the Law & Order series will have some idea of what I am talking about. In comedies, this can help reduce the lag time between laughs. It can also help dramas function effectively in scope. In the case of Darkness, unfortunately, it can leave the viewer in some state of confusion as to what is meant to be happening, or the chronology of events. Subtitles are occasionally flashed across the screen to indicate what day of the week it is, but this leaves the events of the film seeming to not fit.

The acting, on the other hand, is top-notch. I am not ashamed to admit that the entire reason I bought the DVD is because of how prominently Anna Paquin was featured on the cover. The entire film rests on her slender shoulders, and she carries it heroically. Lena Olin and Iain Glen give Anna plenty to bounce off, and they all make it seem as though they thoroughly enjoyed working together. Stephan Enquist is, naturally, the weakest link in the main cast, but he holds up his end of the story with a grace you rarely see in one so young. Granted, the scenes he appears in are more or less specifically tailored to him, but this is only natural. This film is the only credit listed under his name on the IMDb, so it is possible that he never even had any plans to become an actor in the first place. He is more of a plot device than a character, but he fills that role very nicely. Giancarlo Giannini appears to have bounced back nicely from Hannibal, and proves that he can deliver a great performance when the script is right.

Rather than cover up the holes in the story or its execution with a hodge-podge of computerised graphical effects. Darkness, on the other hand, relies upon practical effects in order to deliver what some might call the money shots. Lights flicker on and off in predetermined sequences, subliminal images rocket across the screen to disorient the viewer, and sound is effectively placed or mixed in order to place the viewer in the scene. The only practical effect here I can seriously object to is the manner in which Jaume Balagueró shakes the camera during some of the scenes that are meant to be high-tension. This is the first time I have seen this despicable move during a European film, and Darkness in particular reminds me of how the technique throws me out of the picture. It reminds me that I am watching a film or DVD, not a family acting out a crisis before me. It's a shame that I have to even mention this, because the other effects in the film deliver far more punch.

As I tried to make clear, this film is very much an acquired taste. Fans of Paul Verhoeven's work in the Dutch film industry will have little trouble adjusting to the Spanish stylings of Darkness. Those who are only acquainted with the American film industry will have a little more trouble, in spite of the fact that in terms of content, Darkness differs little from most American fare. It is the little things, such as the casting or the ability to show things that America's attempts to appeal to everyone disallows, that make Darkness stand out. Sure, it is a standard horror formula, but the fact that it has not been attempted in this manner for some time is a bonus. The twist ending is hardly a surprise, but it does add an unusual edge to the proceedings. In spite of some very conventional material, the end result is anything but.

In all, I gave Darkness an eight out of ten. There is plenty that it does wrong, but there is also so much that it does right. While I don't recommend it for a look at foreign film industry, I do recommend it if you need to see that an effective horror film can be made for less than a hundred million dollars.