Dark Was the Night

I'm very critical of horror movies. Few impress me because I think blood, guts & torture are not scary, just gross. I can watch the news for those. Give me atmosphere & suspense. Dark Was the Night had good atmosphere & great cinematography. I liked the "washed out, almost colorless" look of the film. Kevin Durand was really good. His emotional portrayal was totally believable. He's a very underrated actor. I also liked Lukas Haas' character's & his loyalty to the sheriff. I have to agree with other reviewers that the ending was ...not on par with the rest of the film. This was sad because of the strong acting. I would definitely watch anything else with Kevin Durand, as he greatly impressed me.

This is the kind of film you flick on at 12.30am when you really should be thinking about bed, but instead you find yourself sitting there wrapped up in the story telling yourself '5 more minutes...just 5 more minutes.'

There's very little original or inventive about this movie. On paper it's a decent horror-suspense the like of which you will have seen many times before. It's strengths are in the restrained, yet engaging pacing, but most especially the subtle but powerful performance of lead actor Kevin Durand.

Durand plays small town Sheriff Paul Shields, a man seemingly on the verge of a nervous breakdown after the tragic death of his son and the breakdown of his marriage to his wife Susan, played with depth and compassion by Bianca Kajlich. It is this human element to the story that elevates it beyond your typical creature-feature mystery-suspense.

The premise has been used countless times before, but rarely acted so adroitly. You really feel for Durand, he practically exudes pain in every scene without ever overstating the case. I always liked him as an actor, but after this performance I would rate him as a potential great. I sincerely hope that on the back of this performance he gets more sympathetic, serious roles away from the unhinged baddies he usually plays (albeit excellently).

I don't like to spoil the content of movies in my reviews, so I'll just conclude that this film is good but nothing special. It's well worth a watch for fans of horror and/or suspense, just don't expect a reinvention of the wheel, because you'll have seen most if not all of this before elsewhere.

This was a very low key, engrossing horror tale wrapped up in four people's emotions. Kevin Durand's slow paced Sheriff's voice and deliberate actions make you slow down and process more clearly what's happening to this small town. Interesting elements I've seen in Stephen King movies, like all the animals and birds fleeing the area add to the spookiness and general disquiet you feel as the film progresses.

Lukas Haas as deputy Sheriff plays his part well, also as an ex-patriot from NYC. It is a paper thin degree from creepy and well played by all. I would give it an 8.5 if I could, but that dam ending. Why oh why, filmmakers?

Yeah, I went to go see the movie because it has a cool sounding title.

Overall, it was a good monster movie about a small town being hunted by a mystical creature the sheriff is discovering is real. The whole layout of the movie of was quite interesting. I like how they explained how the myth became real and why it's never been seen before.

Ironically, one of things I dislike about the flick is the amount of talking done in the film. Sometimes I felt in their effort to use the conceal the monster bit, they manage to conceal the fright of the monster. I was not scared, I did not jump so if at any point that was their content, if failed.

Lead actor, Kevin Durand got to show his acting chops in the movie as a Sheriff grieving over the lost of a son, but this seemed like a large focus in what should have been a sub-plot. it's not as cleaver as when it was done in From Dust till Dawn, which also had two distinguishably different but equal plots. All it really did was take away from the primary goal of the picture. It's good for Durand cause his performance was great but help the picture it did not.

The monster that they did create for this movie was well played out both in story and in visual effects, it does not disappoint at all.

Dark was the night gets some brownie points for the title alone. It was a fun quiet movie that moved slowly towards an awesome built up that pays off, but gets sidetrack when it tries to be more than a monster flick. Worth checking out.

Although there are no truly new or astonishing things done in this film, it is good to see Kevin Durand in a lead role. He has played all kinds of characters, which are typically antagonists, he is a very talented actor. So, I tip my cap to him in this thriller.