The Dark Lurking

World, this is a warning.

This so-called movie's current IMDb rating - 3.6 out of 10 - is an affront to cineastic taste and decency. It is absurdly too high, and will go down. This is one of those movies that have zero reason for existing, whose every aspect of production is A JOKE of derivative and artless incompetence and desperately and despicably amateurish commercialism of the most contemptible kind. There are nary a redeeming value to be found in this piece of offal masquerading as a movie. The main movies it rips off are Event Horizon and Alien, but of course it does so without having any technical competence of any kind, giving the impression that all aspects of the production were presided over by 12-year-olds.

The characters are never introduced or established (there IS no characterization), and there is no discernible plot; no explanations for either the zombies or the aliens. Or if there is, it doesn't come across. This movie is physically and mentally painful to look at, and I feel that humanity as a whole must be warned against it. AVOID AT ALL COSTS.

I would give this movie several minus points if I could. Still, I will say one good thing about it. The zombies (or whatever the bloody hell they were) were well-made. Quite capable gore effects there. But that's all the praise I can muster for one of the absolutely worst movies I have ever seen. Please do not waste time, and especially avoid wasting money, on this screaming stinker. It will have you writhing in agony, and possibly resorting to gnawing off a limb for solace. Please understand: This is not so bad that it's good. It's just plain awfully, unendurably, insultingly BAD.

I wish I hadn't paid the on-demand fee for this one.

As my title states, the effects were decent for a low budget film.

The worst element, however, was the ridiculous dialogue, particularly from one of the rescuees who whined and complained about everything rather than showing any fear or nervousness which would be entirely natural given the circumstances. I only kept watching so that I could see her get her come uppance.

I agree with the other comments about it blending aspects of Aliens and Resident Evil. Unfortunately, since it is so obvious it only serves to highlight how much this film is lacking.

Skip it.

Well, watching this movie isn't the greatest pleasure on earth, to put it mildly.

After the first half hour i began to regret the decision not to do something (anything!) else. The acting varied from terrible to mediocre. Although i have to say; Tonia Renee (as Lena) wasn't that bad. If the other actors were anywhere near her performance (which i would describe as adequate), then this movie could have been something worth watching.

Could have been. The story of 'The Dark Lurking' in a nutshell really. Or perhaps 'should have been' is what describes it best.

First, there should have been (done) proper casting. My first impression says it all: "did they cast the actors straight out of a local pub or what?". Poor doesn't begin to describe their performances. Especially Davyd Williams (as Canning) and Cassia Rosenstraus (as Jen) were absolutely horrifying. And not the good kind of horrifying. The kind one would expect to see in these sort of movies. No, this was horrifying as a synonym to terrible, abominable, dreadful, you name it. Overacting is the first term that springs to mind. Closely followed by: 'completely out of place', 'unrealistic' and 'plain stupid'.

Good thing it is a survival movie, meaning: people die. A blessing for the movie really.

The second 'there should have been' regards the choice of locations. Or the lack of it. How many times can you move around in freaking ventilation shafts and pretend it is a different one? Quite a lot, i know now. One or two rooms and a couple of meters of shaft, there's really not a lot more to see...

The third and final 'there should have been' is about the script. Which is weak. Especially the storytelling. The story is unfolded in about a minute time and doesn't explain too much. Far too little actually, even for an action flick/thriller. And maybe i missed it, but i never saw the aliens. Plenty of zombies around, but no aliens. Anyway, besides that; the overall quality of the script is (as i mentioned before) weak, bad even, although better actors would probably concealed most of it. Still, i expect much better for a million dollar budget movie.

Despite my previous critics, it wasn't all bad. It seemed like the movie makers came about halfway through to their senses (probably sobering up), making the movie more or less watchable. Not in the last part because of the 'removal' of the worst actors. The action was still kinda cliché, but acceptable and Tonia Renee definitely showed she deserves better. And the ending was - although not something i haven't seen before - quite surprising actually.

First part gets 1/10. Anything above that is just an insult for any self-respecting movie-maker out there. But the second part gets 5/10, because of a significant overall improvement. Still, the movie is substandard - to say the least - and is really nothing special. It's for most people one and an half hour of wasted time. I like post-apocalyptic movies, but i won't see this one again. Meaning to forget about it as soon as possible.

Verdict 3/10.

Yeah i just got a look at it. Very cheeky, i know but there is some REALLY good gore and lots of action. The last 25 minutes is fast. Has that typical Alien feel but thats a good thing IMO. Its not Alien, not even close but its a start. Better than a lot of other trash like AVP (i know someone will have a problem with me saying that) but its got no budget and holds up to something like a bigger budget. In a lot of ways i wish it had a bigger budget so we could see more monsters and more spaceships, was cool to see models being used btw. I give it a 6 for being better than it should. Hope the DVD has some special features when it comes out.

This is another movie about experiments that go terribly wrong (Yep. Those craaazy scientists again!).

As a rule, Boloxxxi does not spoil (not knowingly, anyway). It is my every intention to continue this noble tradition. So I have to ask you this question: Would it spoil it for you to know what sort of experiments these afore mentioned crazo scientists were up to? ---If the answer is yes, then STOP RIGHT THERE!! Proceed to the next reviewer and God bless. However, if your answer is no, then forge on ahead good soldier and may God have mercy on your soul.

In an underground facility in outer space somewhere scientists, using human test subjects, perform UNGODLY experiments in order to bring back the "Fallen Angel", or less poetically, "The Devil". Some aspect of him anyway, using some ancient DNA from where he landed on his ass after God gave him the boot (I'm not making this up folks, it's in the movie!). Why the HELL would they want to do this, you ask? Beats the HELL out of me. I guess curiosity sometimes trumps good sense. Anyway, as might be expected, the human test subjects turn into horrible, toothsome monsters who see potato chips where they should see humans.

I actually liked this movie even though it was unoriginal, except for how the monsters are explained (the product of a fearless imagination, no doubt). As well, the acting, writing, and the general presentation was a bit amateurish. --But who cares? I thought it was suspenseful enough and the monsters ugly enough to hold my attention. I found myself rooting for the little horror film that could because I liked the people and the effort. Finally, if this movie were a meal, it would be fast-food. It's health benefits may be questionable, but it tastes good. So, again, who cares? Love, Boloxxxi.