Melissa suffers from amnesia. When she slowly regains her memory, the world isn't what it supposed to be.Melissa suffers from amnesia. When she slowly regains her memory, the world isn't what it supposed to be.Melissa suffers from amnesia. When she slowly regains her memory, the world isn't what it supposed to be.
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- 22 wins & 9 nominations
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- TriviaDarkness falls was shot only with a crew of two including the director, Jarno Lee Vinsencius.
Featured review
Solid Start, just needed more time!
Robbie K here with another impromptu review. This review is my first one geared towards a short, independent film entitled Darkness Falls. I didn't know much about this film, only that it was designated a science fiction/thriller and had an all European cast. So with only the thriller and a little blurb I'll take a crack at analyzing the short film.
LIKES: True Science Fiction Twists Mysterious Very Well shot
Okay, we often here science fiction and think of space, but the genre has a little more to it than that. Darkness Falls decides to go down the route of true science fiction as made famous in the books of yore. Rather than flash laser shows, hideous monsters, and over the top sequences, this film goes down a more realistic path that pushes the boundaries of what's possible to subtle limits. And the result is a story driven movie that manages to intrigue you as you try to uncover what the truth is in our protagonist's fuzzy memories.
When it comes to a movie about someone with amnesia, often we can expect some twists. Darkness Falls does not fail to deliver on a few surprises and expands upon what starts out as a simple plot. Melissa's journey seems to be so easy to figure out, but quickly takes a sharp turn that changes up the theme of the story. This happens many times in the short 15-minute run time, keeping the film dynamic and the mystery even more thrilling. And it is this mystery that is perhaps the strongest quality for this reviewer. In an independent film, anything is possible. Darkness Falls teases you during the film, trying to lead you down so many paths and keep you away from the real answer. It grabbed my attention and kept it for the most part, as I continued to wait for the answer.
Something else I liked was the cinematography of this film. The setting itself is both beautiful and twisted, very fitting for the thriller genre. Then take that setting and mesh it with filters, creative use of lighting, and some optimum angles to further maximum the mysterious and chilling energy. Finally, throw in some fantastic sound editing and musical scores to the mix and it seals the deal on the atmosphere they were trying to create.
DISLIKES: Stiff at times Somewhat predictable Needed more time for the ending
My dislikes start with the acting. Much of the performances I felt were a little too stiff, lacking emotional edge and diversity. Our actors could have portrayed androids very well with their bland faces and monotone deliveries during the film. While parts of this fit well in the grand scheme of the plot, these performances could have been enhanced and brought more to the scenes. The dryer performances didn't add any urgency to the tense parts and made it difficult to connect with the characters. The exception is the guy named Felix, whose blunt emotions were perfect for his role.
Although the movie has plenty of twists to say the least, I was able to predict much of the ending. And because I predicted the ending I can't deny that I was a little disappointed with the ending. This is where a longer run time would have been awesome to solidify the finish. I'm sure the contest restrictions made telling this story difficult, and for the most part the writers were able to give us a good tale. However, the ending was rushed for me, hastily pieced together to explain the whole matter without the fulfilling effect to accompany it. In addition, there were many questions left unanswered in the short film, which also made the ending a tad frustrating.
THE VERDICT:
For a short film about science fiction, Darkness Falls has high potential to become an awesome story if it could be expanded into a full length feature. It's fantastic design, realistic science fiction, and deep mystery are the selling points of the film. However, the actors need to brush up on their emotion, some tension needs to be injected into the mix, and a deeper story that is character centered is in order to bring this film to its full potential. I look forward to seeing the future works from this director and his team and I only hope that this short film can get a pick up option to expand on a thrilling sci fi tale.
LIKES: True Science Fiction Twists Mysterious Very Well shot
Okay, we often here science fiction and think of space, but the genre has a little more to it than that. Darkness Falls decides to go down the route of true science fiction as made famous in the books of yore. Rather than flash laser shows, hideous monsters, and over the top sequences, this film goes down a more realistic path that pushes the boundaries of what's possible to subtle limits. And the result is a story driven movie that manages to intrigue you as you try to uncover what the truth is in our protagonist's fuzzy memories.
When it comes to a movie about someone with amnesia, often we can expect some twists. Darkness Falls does not fail to deliver on a few surprises and expands upon what starts out as a simple plot. Melissa's journey seems to be so easy to figure out, but quickly takes a sharp turn that changes up the theme of the story. This happens many times in the short 15-minute run time, keeping the film dynamic and the mystery even more thrilling. And it is this mystery that is perhaps the strongest quality for this reviewer. In an independent film, anything is possible. Darkness Falls teases you during the film, trying to lead you down so many paths and keep you away from the real answer. It grabbed my attention and kept it for the most part, as I continued to wait for the answer.
Something else I liked was the cinematography of this film. The setting itself is both beautiful and twisted, very fitting for the thriller genre. Then take that setting and mesh it with filters, creative use of lighting, and some optimum angles to further maximum the mysterious and chilling energy. Finally, throw in some fantastic sound editing and musical scores to the mix and it seals the deal on the atmosphere they were trying to create.
DISLIKES: Stiff at times Somewhat predictable Needed more time for the ending
My dislikes start with the acting. Much of the performances I felt were a little too stiff, lacking emotional edge and diversity. Our actors could have portrayed androids very well with their bland faces and monotone deliveries during the film. While parts of this fit well in the grand scheme of the plot, these performances could have been enhanced and brought more to the scenes. The dryer performances didn't add any urgency to the tense parts and made it difficult to connect with the characters. The exception is the guy named Felix, whose blunt emotions were perfect for his role.
Although the movie has plenty of twists to say the least, I was able to predict much of the ending. And because I predicted the ending I can't deny that I was a little disappointed with the ending. This is where a longer run time would have been awesome to solidify the finish. I'm sure the contest restrictions made telling this story difficult, and for the most part the writers were able to give us a good tale. However, the ending was rushed for me, hastily pieced together to explain the whole matter without the fulfilling effect to accompany it. In addition, there were many questions left unanswered in the short film, which also made the ending a tad frustrating.
THE VERDICT:
For a short film about science fiction, Darkness Falls has high potential to become an awesome story if it could be expanded into a full length feature. It's fantastic design, realistic science fiction, and deep mystery are the selling points of the film. However, the actors need to brush up on their emotion, some tension needs to be injected into the mix, and a deeper story that is character centered is in order to bring this film to its full potential. I look forward to seeing the future works from this director and his team and I only hope that this short film can get a pick up option to expand on a thrilling sci fi tale.
helpful•10
- rgkarim
- Oct 31, 2016
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Mörkret faller
- Filming locations
- Linderöd, Skåne County, Sweden(on location)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime15 minutes
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