After watching The Darkness I'd have to place it in the family entertainment bracket as opposed to horror, it lacks any kind of threat at all, it makes The Hole loook like a horror. I really loved the idea, a nice clever twist on the usual formula, and nice to see an autiaaut kid centre stage. The idea was good,but the realisation was a disappointment to say the least, the scares were lazy, unoriginal, but worst of all, it lacked any tension of any kind. It wasn't bad, it's what I'd class a back room film, it was on while I did other things. Well acted, but this is Kevin Bacon, he deserves better then this. 5/10
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Sleepin_Dragon3 September 2018
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I thought the movie was 'okay', edging toward bad only because I'm a horror movie buff and I'm a bit jaded. Been watching horror/suspense/thrillers for over *cough* 40 years.
However, it's a decent movie if you look at it from the point of view of a younger person, like a child or teen.
The movie doesn't have very much gore at all. But, it does have 'blood' in one scene that I can recall and it's 'blood spots' not 'blood pools'. The kind you might get if you poked your finger with a needle.
I'm really surprised that the movie did so poorly considering the number of stars in it. Ming-na Wen, Kevin Bacon, Jennifer Morrison, Paul Reiser? Comeon! lol
Anyway, the movie had a lot of potential but, for me, didn't quite do it. I would've given this movie a 7 as a teen or young adult. As an older and jaded adult, I'm tougher on horror because my expectations are high.
Also, I didn't fall asleep while watching like I did with The Conjuring. -
TheLittleSongbird16 April 2018With some talent in the cast, a cool cover, that it did look fairly eerie and that boasted one of the best concepts for any film seen recently by me, 'The Darkness' potential was pretty big. Also appreciate the horror genre and have liked films in similar vein, so watched 'The Darkness' oddly enough with the genuine want and intent to like it.
It does pain me to say it, and it is going to sound repetitive being a common thing found in recent viewings and mentioned, but 'The Darkness' managed to be a big disappointment for me and from the sounds of it many others. Big potential, executed in a way that while not terrible rarely rose above mediocrity overall. There are moments and good things, but they were too far and between and not enough for a film that did little with such a good idea. It may annoy people with me saying this a lot recently, but it is hard to not say anything when wastes of good ideas and talent is a bugbear of mine and something that has featured rather too heavily in my recent film viewings.
Kevin Bacon and Radha Mitchell are reasonable leads and David Mazouz is more than up to their level. So the acting is better than average on the whole and somehow manages to rise above the material that was not worthy of them.
'The Darkness' does have an atmospherically spooky look, an eerie music score and a few unsettling moments.
Unfortunately, the creepiness and suspense not just doesn't come consistently, there is nowhere near enough of either. There is an over-reliance on scares, mainly of the jumpy kind, but few come off effectively. Again a few unsettling moments, but too much of them are easily foreseeable and derivative.
Furthermore, too much is over-explained, there is far too much exposition (much of it clumsy and rambling) and too much is given away too soon. The characters aren't very interesting, not to mention very clichéd that it makes the distinct lack of originality even more obvious, making everything really predictable. The script is lazy and underwritten, with too much reliance on the scares, which are not strong enough to come over successfully, the ending is a very "that's it?" one and the intrusive and obvious sound effects telegraph the outcome of the scares early on in the build-ups.
In summary, not terrible but mediocre and a waste of potential. 4/10 Bethany Cox -
wvlee19 June 2020I am Diné (Navajo) and I am giving this movie one star because the acting was good. But the story line is way off. First of all Anasazi to Navajo is "ancient enemy", Second we don't speak Spanish nor use Christian symbols for ceremonial purposes and third at least use a real Navajo and the one that is fluent in Diné Bizaad (Navajo language). I am sure they can find one person on the rez. We all still practice our culture and ceremonies (medicine men) to this day. Its funny they use Hopi Kachinas as Anasazi people. (Different) Haha, way way way off! Please better educate yourself Hollywood. And no Navajos don't have teepees, we have Hogans.
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This is simply a lame and lazy movie. It has the smallest seeds of potential I think in the aspect of the child with autism. There could be something with a horror movie that uses a child who has this disorder and has some sort of psychic or supernatural connections to things, it could make for a good premise for a movie. This isn't it, however. The Darkness is generic all the way down to its title - can you imagine the faces lit up when the actors (who did get paid anyway so whatever) are told they'll be in a new horror movie produced by Jason Blum (whatever you think of Blumhouse they made Whiplash so points there for that), and then comes a script called 'The Darkness' and those faces fall a little - and its laziness comes largely in execution.
These aren't all necessarily bad actors really; Kevin Bacon, Radha Mitchell, even Paul Reiser I've seen do excellent work in major films for major artists. Here, it's slumming in a story that feels like its grafted plot points and character beats from a Lifetime movie; the mother/wife who's an alcoholic; the philandering husband/father who can't keep it in his pants (until he decides to not to that so much due to the crazy s*** at home); the daughter who has bulimia since, you know, she has to be given something to do. And of course the son who is autistic (though we don't see that at the start of the movie, set at the Grand Canyon where he happens to plop into a hole and find some spooky rocks, woo rocks, scary), and the filmmakers use the autism more to keep things in the first half suspicious.
So in other words, it's not taking autism really seriously aside from it being a crutch to hold on to: there's some weird things going on in the house like (gasp) hand-prints and prints on a mirror during a shower, well you can blame it on the autistic kid Mikey, right? The kid is directed to be pretty one dimensional, and there's a few moments that are just laughably poor. And it all leads up to a conclusion that we've seen a thousand times with these possessed-house movies - and for some reason even though I believe the Anasazi are Native American in heritage the "healers" are Mexican because maybe they couldn't afford to hire Native American actors (and having actors speaking Spanish makes things more, uh, 'authentic' or scary).
This is weak by way of building up family drama (also it feels confused as if on the one hand the family had these problems before this phantom menace so to speak arrived, but on the other hand it's also meant to be like the ghosts make them more effed up, which is it) and by the numbers (plus logic stuff, simple things, like is the movie so cheap that they couldn't show the boy at a school - the actor playing him doesn't look too young to be in school as autistic kids *do* attend), and yet its laziness causes it to be borderline offensive. Could you at least TRY to build real suspense? Even jump scares, the more tired of the crutches of horror filmmakers today, at least give us something to do in a theater if only by motor-reaction or something. The jump scares here are non-existent to bare-bones (ooh, the son's behind her, whoops), and by the climax it's ultimately bloodless too with a PG-13 rating so, uh, kids can sit bored too? This is a movie made at the prestigious school for hacks, The University of Don't-Give-a-F***ery, and if you don't care then I don't, either. Kevin Bacon can do better. -
subxerogravity13 May 2016So this kid with Autism is more accessible to the preternatural and disturbs evil native American spirits that decide to disturb him and his family back.
It Reminds me of Stir of Echoes, which also star Keven Bacon, but is nowhere near as good as that movie. in comparison, Stir of Echoes looks like The Exorcist when standing right next to The Darkness.
The story had potential. Some evil native American spirits get their resting place disturbed, by some white folks (shocker), so in return, these spirits decide to unlock these guys inner most demons (mom's an alcoholic, the daughter is bulimic) to split up the family and drive them all crazy.
It was a brilliant idea, but it was done so corny. Even seasoned actor Keven Bacon looked cheesy delivering simple lines and trying to be serious as he reacted to the ghost.
It was a very sad display of what could have been gold. I don't know what went wrong, but I know this: Don't wast your time. -
I love scary movies. I love most things that come out of Blumhouse Productions since it's been around. Things like The Conjuring, Annabelle, Sinister, Insidious, all wonderful forays into the genre of spook. But The Darkness, which I thought had a lot of promise, is absolutely miserable, paling in comparison to the other films from the studio. It seems a desperate, highly formulaic premise that's a money grab at best. There is nothing original; The script is incredibly lazy, relying on jump scares and the musical score stabs. There are no likable characters with any redemptive qualities. It's another well off family in a big beautiful house that you'll never afford in a very basic plot that has zero substance. It's been done over and over, but better by Poltergeist, Paranormal Activity, Amityville, The Shining... the list goes on and on. This film tries very hard to simulate the recipe of the latter films in order to make money rather than entertain.
Great talents are wasted here, Kevin Bacon, most notably. The genre has had far better entries in the last couple of years, so there is simply no excuse for this. -
dance_orluck14 May 2016Hey Everyone,
If you are a horror movie fan like myself, you can probably pass on seeing this one. You knew when there would be a "scare" and the ending was pretty cliché. I do feel that the character development in this movie was wonderful! They actually allowed you to get to know the characters as the story unraveled. However, none of those family dynamics really played into the scares. In my eyes if you are giving me background on a character, or getting to know the characters weaknesses, they should somehow effect the overall story line.
I'm giving this movie a 4 out of 10 because the movie did keep me intrigued through out, and definitely more of a pre-teen horror movie. I wish the writers or director would have put in more scares and jumps. I would consider this more of a thriller than an actual horror movie. I'm interested in reading what other horror seekers feel about this one! -
mjsreg20 June 2016I really don't know why people are writing comments slating this film.
It is not a 'hardcore; horror that is likely to make you seek therapy for the rest of your life, but it is not dull or unwatchable either.
The production is good, the acting is good, and it is the kind of film you can watch when you just fancy a 'movie night' with friends or family.
The story is engaging enough to make it interesting.
All these pseudo-intellectual ramblings criticising the film are just that - pseudo-intellectual.
It is probably not the best film you will watch in your life but is it also very far from the worst. -
riesel7225 February 2017MASSIVE (unavoidable) SPOILER regarding my biggest complaint: After witnessing unexplainable stuff happening early on (like 20 minutes into the movie!!), the husband and wife watch a video which explains EXACTLY what has happened, how it happened, and precisely HOW TO RESOLVE IT... yet no one does anything about it (the rocks) until the final moments of the story. Instead, they go to a hotel (at least they were smart enough to leave the house) but then inexplicably try other methods to end the haunting, that fail miserably... even though they've known why & how all along.... I understand they never bothered to ask the kid (or maybe never expected their kid would even answer) but when crazy stuff is happening in your home, and you've watched a video that mirrors EXACTLY what is happening, maybe you should pay attention to the video when it explains how to end the craziness! Beyond this glaring plot hole/character flaw, the movie has high production values and the actors do a fine job with what they have. But between the plot, and some parenting of the year (sarcasm), for a horror movie, it has MOMENTS that try to scare you, but no real suspense building up. I've seen worse, but there are other activities I wish I would've done instead of wasting my time watching this flick.
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disdressed1211 October 2016I actually enjoyed this supernatural thriller.i found it very suspenseful and eerie at times.the music was great.and the acting was good all around.Kevin Bacon Plays Peter Taylor.Radha Mitchell plays his wife Bronny.Lucy Fry plays their daughter Stephanie,and David Mazouz plays their son Michael.Mazous is a stand out here.the plot is basically this.Peter Taylor(Bacon) and his family return from a camping trip at the grand canyon.almost from the moment they arrive home,strange things begin to happen.little things at first,which slowly escalate to more serious events.the low rating here(4.2/10)is unjustified,in my opinion.while I wouldn't call it a masterpiece,i think it was still effective.for me,The Darkness is 7.6/10
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ajp-061265 June 2016So another example of how IMDb user reviews and ratings have slated another reasonably good film. Clearly everyone has different expectations when it comes to horrors, and for me personally, movies like Insidious, Paranormal Activity, Sinister and Dark Skies etc tick the box. And this was one I would gladly add to that list. Unfortunately with most new movies, the story lines and scares are nothing original and this one is no different. If that is enough to put you off then I suggest you don't watch this. I on the other hand, take a movie for what it is and I was not in any way disappointed. The cast, acting, script and effects were all decent enough and it was all a bit predictable but who cares.... I enjoyed it. Unlike 90% of the reviewers here who seem to be wannabe critics and outright movie boffins, I on the other hand am just a NORMAL person. This film is worth watching if you are not going to dissect every scene from the start to the finish merely to find faults. 7/10
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trans_mauro28 May 2016I do not understand why Hollywood still makes films like "The Darkness"...
It is always the same thing. There is nothing new, no creativity. They change one or two elements on the script but in the end it is the same type of reheated and recycled haunting story.
If they had, at least, included some gratuitous nudity or sex to make things a little more interesting or less soporific the film could be watchable.
As it is, The Darkness is boring as it can possibly be, without any scares, and in the final act, the introduction of the healers and their magic feather is painfully ridiculous.
I wonder what forced Kevin Bacon to star in such drivel.... -
MattBrady09930 May 2016If you have seen: The Amityville Horror, The Exorcist, Poltergeist, Paranormal Activity, Paranormal Activity 2, Paranormal Activity 3, Insidious, Sinister, and The Conjuring.
Then you most likely have seen "The Darkness". It's nothing new or original.
It's a lazy copy cat of better horror movies that came out in the last few years- With endless amount of clichés that you thought died out years ago. The acting was so awful and not convincing at all. Well, coming to think of it, Kevin Bacon is the only actor in the movie that wasn't terrible, because he is the Bacon.
The only scary thing I can say about this is that I got to see the preview of the upcoming horror film "Don't Breathe". That film looks really intense and way more scary than this. -
Oberrated12 May 2016*Deep dark scary horror movie voice* When the music stops and the lights go out... Kevin Bacon must kick off the dancing shoes and face....... 'The Darkness'. Okay, that was a horrible intro but I swear it is not half as horrible as this movie. Damn, wait, did I just spoil my opinion section? Oh well... Friday the 13th of May 2016 brings on the release of 'The Darkness' starring Kevin Bacon where his family must do battle with ancient spirits of the Grand Canyon... No, I am not making this up. Just keep reading, thanks.
'The Darkness' begins as Peter Taylor (Kevin Bacon) and his family have a camping trip within the Grand Canyon. During this trip, Peter's kids, Stephanie and Michael (Lucy Fry and David Mazouz) go exploring some trails with family friend Andrew (Parker Mack). While exploring, Andrew and Stephanie continue their exploration while Michael decides to stay back. An incident causes Michael to fall through a hole which leads him into some old caves below the canyon. These caves navigate to a shrine of some sort which consists of five stones. Intrigued by these stones, Michael takes them for himself which only leads to a living nightmare for the Taylor family as these stones bring terrible misfortune to those who posses it. Thus beginning the horror sequence that is 'The Darkness'.
*MINOR SPOILERS* Sorry, I spoiled my opinion already. 'The Darkness' is yet another film victimized by my favorite term, "Hollywood Horror". Except ironically enough, it hardly had any typical Hollywood Horror pathetic jump scares, which is an issue all in itself. This plot was all over the place as the core story was focused on the evil Michael brings upon the family. Yet, there were random inserts of inner family turmoil spread across the film for pointless reasons whether it had anything to do with this "darkness" that was taking hold of the family or if it truly was pointlessly inserted into the film. Regardless, a terrible attempt at a linear plot. To give it any kind of positive feedback, I would say it was very odd. Odd enough to give it some credit yet still too odd for my taste. Again, overall bad. Yet another movie that if you are in desperate need of a date night horror movie or want to have a "bad movie" day/night, well, you have your winner. -
The_Depressed_Star_Wars_fan12 May 2016This movie suffers from something A LOT of modern Horror movies suffer from. They Explain Too Much! There is too much time spent explaining the villains, how they work, what their entire history is, and how to stop them. Remember the scene in ALIEN when they explain all that about the Xenomorph? I don't. The characters in this movie are all stereotypes. You have a father who doesn't spend enough time with his family, a mother who is broken up about it, a teenager who only cares about herself and is annoyed with her weird younger sibling who turns out to be the main target of the supernatural beings. We have never seen characters like this before. Isn't that right INSIDIOUS, POLTERGEIST, THE POSSESSION, SINISTER, and various sequels, remakes, and rip-offs of the aforementioned movies? The only thing I was able to appreciate was the music. The music for the movie sets up this creepy mysterious tone that works at creating this unnerving dread and is actually kind of unique for a movie like this. Otherwise this movie is not worth seeing. It's cliché, uninspired, and above all Not Scary. Save your money.
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herzigmary12 November 2017When I saw the darkness, I felt like I needed to take out a ghost movie checklist and start listing everything I had seen before. Weird or Special needs child who communicates with the spirits? Check. Annoying, angry teenager that adds nothing to the plot? Check. Father with fidelity problems that doesn't believe in the spirits at first? Check. Mother with alcohol problems that seems crazy to everyone else? Check. The Darkness follows a strict character and story design and doesn't try to add anything unique or interesting. The movie is also terribly fast paced and tries to throw way too much in one sitting that everything just seems squished together and has no emotional impact. There are no real scares or thrills, only non-impactful jump scares that fall flat. The sad thing is that we have very good acting talent in this film, but the writing, directing, and editing is done so badly that the acting looks terrible.
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creeking23 May 2016This movie was so bad. The acting was bad, effects were bad, the plot was bad. This movie was just overall bad. The trailer and the artwork of the movie cover made the movie look good, but in reality the movie was just horrible. The actors put what seemed like no effort into the movie, and the special effects were almost worse. Not only is all of this true, but the plot was just horrible, I mean what kid takes rocks and hen get haunted(not a spoiler because it mentions this in the trailer). So sorry to the producers of the movie, but they honestly just wasted their money on what seems like a "iMovie" production a child made. Personally, this movie was a 1 out of 10 because of all of the horrible qualities that this movie had. So, if you or someone you know is planning on watching this movie, don't waste your time or money on something that is distressingly bad. Thanks for reading my review.
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dave-mcclain13 May 2016Anaasází (or, Anasazi) is what the Navajo Indians called a mysterious ancient Native American civilization (also known as the Ancient Puebloans) which existed around 1,000 years before Jesus walked the earth. The name has been translated as "Ancient Ones" or "Ancient Enemies", among other things. The Anaasází built seemingly inaccessible cliff dwellings throughout the region that is now known as the Four Corners area of the United States. The sudden, unexplained complete disappearance of the Anaasází has mystified archaeologists for 150 years. One theory is that the Anaasází underwent a profound change in their religious beliefs, some scholars even suggesting that this involved demons from Anaasází folklore. Native Americans consider the Urraca Mesa in northern New Mexico (to the east of the Four Corners) to be a gateway to the demon realm. Some parts of the Grand Canyon (to the west of the Four Corners) are said to be haunted. What's the relationship between these legends, which are so loosely connected by geography and a general belief in a supernatural evil? Well, the 2016 horror film "The Darkness" (PG-13, 1:32) ties these legends together. Unfortunately, the scariest thing about this movie is how bad it is.
As the story begins, two families are camping together in the Grand Canyon. Joy and Gary Carter (Jennifer Morrison and Matt Walsh) have a teenage son named Andrew (Parker Mack). Peter and Bronny Taylor (played by Kevin Bacon and Rhada Mitchell, and, yes, I checked those spellings) have a teenage daughter named Stephanie (Lucy Fry) and a tween son called Mikey (David Mazouz), who happens to be autistic. After their families enjoy a cookout, the three kids wander off to check out a cool-looking rock formation. When Andrew and Stephanie climb higher for a better view, Mikey falls through the ground and into an ancient room constructed and used for some spiritual purpose. On a stone altar, Mikey finds five carved black stones, which he puts in his backpack. No one else is aware of any of this and Mikey either wasn't aware or didn't care about the rules in our national parks. To quote the Grand Canyon website: "Possessing, destroying, injuring, defacing, removing, digging, or disturbing from its natural state any plants, rocks, animals, mineral, cultural or archaeological resources is prohibited." Oh, yeah, and ancient evil spirits. You probably shouldn't disturb or remove them either.
Back home in L.A., bad things start happening to the Taylors. (The Carters aren't seen or mentioned again, so you can just forget about them.) Peter gets an attractive new assistant (Trian Long-Smith) at his architectural firm and his boss, Simon (Paul Reiser), practically dares Peter to sleep with her. Bronny, who rarely smiles, grows more sullen, drinks vodka straight out of the bottle, nurses a grudge about one of Peter's past indiscretions and fears that he's having another one. (Oh, and Peter and Bronny argue more and more about pretty much everything.) Stephanie is a typically disagreeable teenage girl who develops an eating disorder and has wild mood swings. The only one in the Taylor family who seems happier than before is Mikey who now has a new imaginary friend whom he calls Jenny. The family writes off Mikey's imagination (and his increasingly bizarre behavior) as manifestations of his autism.
The film's focus is primarily on what happens to the individual family members and the bonds between them as things go from bad to worse, but there are also strange happenings inside casa Taylor. Scary shadows are seen, strange noises are heard, unusual animals appear, the neighbor's dog starts barking a lot more and black handprints appear on walls, bedsheets and, eventually, people. Fearing some kind of haunting, Bronny discusses all of this with Simon's wife, Wendy (Ming-Na Wen) who once used a Native American spiritualist to heal her sick son. Next thing we know, Teresa Morales (Alma Martinez) and her granddaughter, Gloria Ortega (Ilza Rosario), stop by the house for coffee and an attempted exorcism.
"The Darkness" is a derivative, condescending mess of a movie which is not frightening in the least. Director and co-writer Greg McLean has said, "The story is based on a true story that was relayed to me first-hand many years ago about an actual haunting." If that's true, the person who "relayed" the story must have been helping Bronny finish off those bottles of vodka because this story's mythology is an awkward and enhanced combination of legends separated by many centuries and many hundreds of miles, but everything focuses on a specific spot in the Grand Canyon in the 21st century – and plays out like "Poltergeist". The film's scariest images are black handprints, which are as horrifying as a careless auto mechanic coming home from work without washing up. And, one time, black liquid spills from Mikey's mouth, but, like many details in this movie, that moment doesn't clearly connect to anything.
There are almost no characters to root for and they're mostly caricatures (all men are pigs, all women are either bitches or crazy, all thin girls have an eating disorder, all autistic kids are to be feared and so are Native Americans). Character development isn't bad, but most of it takes place on that camping trip, after which three of the characters don't reappear and I strongly suspect that whole sequence was an afterthought in the film's development. The acting is decent, but with unlikeable characters and a disjointed and ridiculous script, who cares? The movie's climactic scene has some good visuals, but it's tantamount to finding a single puddle of water in the desert – and about as satisfying. In my opinion, the only way to enjoy "The Darkness" is with the lights off. And the movie projector. "D" -
s32761695 June 2016The Darkness is, in my opinion, a pretty obvious Poltergeist knock off, with an American Indian mythology twist.
This film follows much the same formula made famous by Poltergeist. It makes a few distinctions, by drawing on American Indian mythology but beyond that, its business as usual.
That said, this film is in no way as creepy or frightening, as Poltergeist. The demons, look more like a bunch of bad extras from a cultural festival. Their evil is not really all that evil either. They feel more like bad tenants or squatters, who have personal hygiene issues. Hand washing in particular, is not their thing.
That said, in fairness this is not a bad film. Its moderately entertaining and it has a good cast, including Kevin Bacon, who I have a lot of time for. His performance helps lift this film and is complimented by a capable cast who generally share good chemistry.The family dynamic, in particular, is very believable in a middle aged, kind of yuppie-ish way.
I give The Darkness a six out of ten. Its not exceptional but it is still quite watchable. -
Leofwine_draca27 May 2018THE DARKNESS is another hodge podge of tired ideas like many horror films today. The story is about an ordinary family who visit the Grand Canyon. A kid brings some rocks back home, but it turns out they're cursed by a demon which proceeds to follow them and make their family life a misery. Despite the presence of some useful players here this is very much an ordinary production which I found very mundane. There are bits and pieces of THE EXORCIST, POLTERGEIST, INSIDIOUS and plenty of other films visible throughout and yet the film has no distinct voice like any of those other movies. Kevin Bacon and Radha Mitchell are good value as the parents but they have little to work with here and Bacon's STIR OF ECHOES was much more entertaining. Director Greg McLean previosly made mini-masterworks like ROGUE and WOLF CREEK so it's a shame to see him wasting his time on this; try THE BELKO EXPERIMENT for a much more enjoyable time.
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Literally if The Darkness had been announced as an Insidious remake I would have believed it. There are so many things that are identical between the two films. The good news for them is that Insidious is freaking amazing so watching a similar story done nearly as well is worthy and was entertaining. It wasn't nearly as creepy and it did feel very cliché but it was still solidly entertaining. The cast was very good and the story was well written. Essentially if you liked Insidious or even the plethora of similar "Amityville Family gets haunted" style PG-13 horror like Sinister, The Conjuring, Possession and so on then you will really enjoy The Darkness. Literally the only thing stopping this from at least being a huge 9 is the fact that it is cliché and recycled in a lot of ways. Even the name itself "The Darkness" seems almost too stereotypical. It also lacks a truly great scary scene. There were certain moments in any good horror film that just get under your skin and The Darkness is lacking that "moment."
The cast is very solid as I mentioned. Kevin Bacon fills the father role very nicely. Perhaps the script doesn't give him as much to work with as he could have but certainly his chemistry on screen and star power is enough to drive the film. Not to mention the fact how damn good this guy looks at FIFTY-EIGHT years old. he is actually believable as a middle-aged-ish guy with younger kids. He's also believable with Radha Mitchell who plays his wife and 15 years his junior. I've always liked Mitchell, especially in Silent Hill. I think she has a certain look that fits the tough scream queen image. She is a little underused in this film but she still plays the Mom role nicely. Much like Bacon though she is underdeveloped as a character. David Mazouz who was excellent on Fox's Touch plays a similar character here as an autistic boy haunted by ghosts. He obviously plays it well and it's a subtle role but very good for the type of character he is. Lucy Fry is also very good as the daughter of the family.
Director Greg Mclean was behind the brilliant horror film and it's even more brilliant sequel, Wolf Creek so I know he has the eye for horror. He certainly sets a tone here and the film is very dark and creepy and commanding. I think it just lacks polish in some areas and it struggles to differentiate itself as we mentioned. It feels like the script was left over bits from stronger stories. Nonetheless, I'm not bashing the film. I liked it a lot. It definitely has it's moments and well worth the time. It just won't be as memorable as the other aforementioned titles. 8/10 -
Just got back from seeing this in cinemas & have say it was pretty good though not 100% great.
The film starts with a family who go camping in the Grand Canyon & their youngest son, who has autism falls into a cave & discovers a post supernatural ritual camber of some kind. But after returning from their camping trip, the family start to discover scary occurrences!
The film as a whole was pretty good! Worth a watch definitely! Though I think it lacked jump scares here & there & a few other scary occurrences which could've been thrown in, but it was a satisfying!
The jump scares were OK, not the best but OK. Typical of horror clichés like the whole, "I'm taking to my friend who isn't there" or the father trying to fix everything & not excepting the supernatural you know the score! But still it was good!
The ending was quite satisfying & no one died or got killed so that was a great ending if I ever saw one! The demons at the end were pretty greatly executed!
I overall would give this a 7/10. It was great, but lacked a bit here & there! But it was a pretty creepy dark horror film! -
Reno-Rangan4 October 2016Usually horror films are the most clichéd genre, especially when it comes to those scaring parts, all the films use the same sudden sound effects and disfigured human images with the strong makeup or the graphics. This film is nothing less than any of those, but a bit too much in the first three quarters. Like they are keeping some suspense, but it was just dragging to extend the film length and what comes in the final quarter is actually the story with a twist. So when that revelation happens, you would probably lose complete interest on this. Because that's not the demons you're expecting after all the hype was created in the earlier segment.
The story was just okay, but it was well known to us in different forms from the different films. In this, it is set in a different location with different cast, so that makes the film is fresh, but it wasn't. Some ancient spirits were set loose when a family was picnicking and it follows them to their house. Now they suffer from some unexplainable events and they decide to get rid bringing the people who can. That leads to the final act where the story comes to end.
They say it was inspired by the real event involving a family. So that might interest some viewers to check it out. But if you're an atheist, this is just a joke. From the director of 'Wolf Creek' with the decent performances by Kevin Bacon and Radha Mictchell, the film did not become best among its theme. Just a watchable film, after that you won't going to remember it a week or a month later. Very few might like it, but it's impossible to say who they're, so I'm not going to suggest or reject it.
4/10 -
On a family holiday in the Grand Canyon a young boy with autism takes five black pebbles marked with symbols. These stones belonged to the Anasazi tribe and by removing them he inadvertently releases supernatural forces into his home.
Not to be confused with Jaume Balagueró's Darkness (2002) talented director/writer Greg McLean of sleeper hit film Wolf Creek and underrated killer croc flick Rogue offers a supernatural horror in the vein of Poltergeist and Amityville Horror including their remakes.
What really works in McLean's favour is the Taylor family is not made-up of the stereo type character models synonymous with the genre. No stranger to mainstream horror Kevin Bacon returns to genre looking fittingly pasty and washed out as a former philandering workaholic father Peter who is determined to change his ways. Incidentally, his wife Bronny effortless played by the excellent Australian actress Radha Mitchell is a recovering alcoholic mum. To add to their rocky relationship, their son Mikey is autistic and their teenage daughter Stephanie is bulimic. The cast deliver the obvious challenges as well as underlying pressures of the family dynamics engagingly.
Worthy of note is Lucy Fry's Stephanie Taylor, the actress really portrays the teen angst and hysteria convincingly. Trian Long-Smith's Sammy Levin, the savvy, bright intern leaves an impression but is sorely underused possibly to avoid clichés with Bacon's Peter. Also writers McLean, Shayne Armstrong and Shane Krause effectively unfold some plot points, from Bronny's alcoholism to Peter's self obsessed boss Simon Richards played (notably) by Paul Reiser. Although a functional role, he gives background to Peter as well as moving the story forward with regards to his own family history.
The derivative setting of American wealthy suburbia is eye-rolling. Yet, you kind of get the impression that Australia's McLean, Armstrong and Shane Krause intended this to possibly be set in Uluru (formerly Ayers Rock) rather than the Grand Canyon, maybe to appease producers. Also there's a choppiness that suggests there was another cut. As it plays out McLean offers, taps inexplicably turning on and doors closing by themselves. There are shadows in the background, demonic shapes in photos. The demons with animal headdress are creepy enough along with a few jump scares including a dream sequence with a wolf and a nasty dog attack. Johnny Klimek's music is particularly notable with it tribal-like beats and the sound design peaks when spiritual healing Hispanic women Teresa and granddaughter Gloria (salient Ilza Rosario) try to 'cleanse' the home Tangina Barrons' (Zelda Rubinstein) style.
The corresponding mystical stone pebbles to each animal, wolf, snake, dog, crow, cow to their five un-rested spirits (with excellent earthy costumes) which the Anasazi tribe used to keep them at bay is an interesting element but like the family set-up there's little pay- off apart from lessons – 1. A family should stick together no matter what 2. Don't remove items from an ancient cave or you'll unleash vicious demons that will break up your family, take your child or send you mad. To McLean's credit we get to see each animal practically (rather than CGI but disappointingly we never get to see the bull. Thankfully an attack on Mikey's grandmother's cat tastefully takes place off screen.
Considering this feature is based on a true story that was relayed to McLean the build up follows all the usual horror tropes, things going bump in the night, investigating the cause, calling in the spiritual help and so on. There's even Exorcist homages with noises in the attic and Mikey's Mr Howdy-like imaginary friend Jenny. As the story develops the special effects also increase. While the portals, shadows and black hand prints and swirling clouds are finely executed as with many paranormal horrors the effects driven closing undermine the grounded set up. Instead of CGI for CGI's sake it may have worked in its favour for the family to physically race to return the stones.
In true late 70s and 80's style during the end credits there's a shot leaving it open for a follow up or putting it to rest. Either way while it doesn't tread any new ground in terms of supernatural horror, those unfamiliar with the aforementioned supernatural films will certainly get a kick out of this and for old hats there's the alternative family set-up. That said, given McLean's creativity and originality with previous works this has too many moments of déjà vu and not enough scares to give The Darkness its own legs despite the well developed family drama foundation.
Overall, worth checking out if only for the performances and creepy costume design.