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60 out of 75 people found the following review useful: Stock scare horror for the first half, then a somewhat confused but clever psychological horror the second half., 30 August 2005 Author: Richard Brunton (imdb-update@brunton.org.uk) from Edinburgh, Scotland
Sean Bean is such a lost talent, he's a great actor and never seems to be given a decent or lead role. Even in Lord of the Rings he was cast as the turncoat. So I was excited to hear that he was the lead man in this movie, although not the lead it was a good step. Plus it was a British film and a horror. These things all combined to make me think that this was a movie to see.Both Bean and Maria Bello are very convincing in the movie. Bean plays the straight up man who is confused by the happenings around him and just wants to make the family happy again, he plays a super convincing Father. Bello gives a great performance as she is called upon to be a trying mother, confused, insane, panicked and totally distraught. Not that much of a range really! The interplay between these two actors is very good, and when Bean has scenes with the daughter, he's just superb.Something that becomes quite annoying through the first half of the movie are the deliberate scare tactics used by the Director, they are exceedingly formulaic and you know when they are coming and even when the shock comes. Still, all credit to them, you still leap out of your chair even knowing when a scare is coming. The formula is pretty constant through the first half, slow music, a long single scene, slow movement and no action, usually in the darkness, then a few fast cuts together accompanied by a loud sound and a raise in the music tempo, and there you have the scare. During the screening people were leaping like mad! After a while following this formula the film does turn around on itself and become something different. It's here that it becomes a lot more psychological and indeed, clever. There was a big feeling in this half of Event Horizon, particularly the flashbacks to being strapped in the chair, fast, multiple cuts of horror.However during the latter half it also becomes confusing and very weird, yet I wish the whole movie had been like this. It could have abandoned its standard scare tactics and concentrated on the plot in the latter half, and this would have provided for a much more psychologically scary movie.There's a particular moment near the end of the movie when a door closes in front of the lead, and your emotions are totally with the character at this point. Confusion for a few seconds and then a slow building understanding. It's a very good moment.Still, however clever the entire ending is, I still felt it lacked clarity and subtlety. Dropping the scare formula of the first half would have brought a much better movie, and getting rid of the premise of scary sheep would have helped too. Perhaps it's a British thing, but sheep are not in the least bit scary, in fact coming from a Northern Scottish town sheep are considered far from scary. It just seemed to be a plot device that was struggling not to be absurd.That said, you'll still leap, you'll still be scared, and when the film finishes you'll still like the conclusion.
53 out of 65 people found the following review useful: Surprisingly good except the sound work, 7 March 2006 Author: rust37 from Moscow, Russia
The most disappointing thing about this movie is sound FX work. While every other crew member tried to avoid clichés and worked minimalistic the sound operator did his best exactly in the opposite direction. Sure he was proud of himself - every possible library sample from "Horror FX" folder (squeaks, boos, bangs and so on) has been employed at times "to make it scarier". Otherwise the movie is surprisingly good. Cold and dark Welsh mythology, no fun. Acting is full of nuances. Scares are delivering (reminded me feelings of "Ju-on" (Japanese original of "The Grudge")). No major holes in script, everything is logical, worked in great detail. The climax is overloaded a bit with twists, but except the last one (too confusing way of depicting it) is impressive anyway. My deepest respect to the cameraman for that catch of the Northern landscapes beauty, for the tricks with focus, for many unusual angles and meaningful use of color FX. That chapter in Annuun treated in sepia is simple and convincing - bravo!8 marks for the well-worked atmosphere, fresh scares, interesting story, eye pleasures, serious attitude and creativity.
31 out of 38 people found the following review useful: Wasn't as scary as suggested but still pretty good!!, 7 April 2006 Author: billsvg3 from United Kingdom
The Dark shocked me really, after seeing the trailer on TV my initial thoughts were that it was going to be a genuinely scary film, however after watching it, it appears it is not as much scary as it is strange!The concept of it will seem pretty weird to you but it actually works, however there are times in it where the acting is pretty sketchy. I think all in all this film will appeal to people who like a bit of the supernatural or spiritual stuff, and maybe not as much to the people who like a really scary horror flick.Hat off to Sean Bean, i like most of the films he's in, and Maria Bello does make viewing slightly more pleasant. Some will like it, some won't. Would definitely watch again though.
22 out of 27 people found the following review useful: Had the potential to be much, much better., 1 February 2006 Author: Nessa
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Okay, I know from the get-go that this was going to be a horror movie and they are going to apply the conventions that is so typical of the genre i.e.: scary music, mystery plot line, dodgy camera angles, scary make-up and screaming girls. I love horror movies and I was mentally prepared for this to just be another typical film.My problem with it was it was TOO typical. You know that when the daughter sat too close to the edge of the water that she was going to fall in. You know that when the camera focuses on someone's back, something is going to creep up on them, making them squeal. You know that when the man follows the girl into the barn, he's going to get killed.In short, it is just too predictable. The worst thing however, was the fact that the climaxes are too many and the twists and turns of the plot are too tedious to really leave an impact on me. The ending was disappointing and I felt that it would have left a bigger impact if without the entire "bad girl wins scenario". Pathos is a powerful theme in a horror movie, which was why I felt that movies such as The Exorcist, The Ring and Ju-On (Japanese version of The Grudge) excels in the genre that they represent. The Dark doesn't even manage to do that.I think it would be better just to have Ebrill and her father in the realm of the dead, Adele stranded in the house while Sarah and her father reunited. The pathos would work very well here on various levels because 1) Ebrill's wish to have a loving father is unfulfilled, especially sad because she was cruelly tortured 2) Adele finally managed to do something right for her child at the price of her own life 3) Sarah, the victim throughout the show, is finally allowed that one bit of happiness and can think fondly of her mother at last.Instead, they made Ebrill the "bad girl" like her father and that upsets me because I can't feel sorry for any of the characters now. Understanding her plight was the key I think, but since they made her "bad", it just ruined it for me. Plus, the whole issue with Sarah isn't resolved which leaves me thoroughly dissatisfied also.In short, this had the potential to be a rather good film but falls short due to its too ambitious attempts at wanting to be different from the other movies of the same genre. Which is a shame, considering the excellent cast that they had working for them.
24 out of 34 people found the following review useful: Interesting ideas, not as bad as people are making out., 4 March 2006 Author: NothingSadderLonelyQueen (frombubblegumtosky@googlemail.com) from United Kingdom
Hey, i just thought i'd comment here to say that, while this is not the BEST horror movie made, it shows some very interesting ideas, and some great directing, it has a few jumps, and some scenes (especially near the end) that look pretty creepy, this really did have the potential to be a brilliant film. The main problem though, was with the structure of the film, from about 30 minutes into the movie, things start to feel muddled, and some of the characters actions don't seem to reflect the motivation you'd think they would have. For instance, when brought back from the dead, by her father, Abrill caused the sheep to go insane and die (yes like in the ring, with the horses), and the way her father treated her, seems unbelievable, considering that actions he took to bring her back, i mean, whats more important, his own daughter, or some sheep? for crying out loud man, dump the sheep and get a new career! you just brought your daughter back from the freaking dead!! If you ask me, without spoiling it for you, Abrill was very justified in her actions after what happened to her, after all she didn't ask for any of it. Another thing was what Dafyyd did to Abrill, surly he would be mad at the man that killed his parents!? If i were him i wouldn't want to do anything to Abrill but thank her! moving on... even despite this, i still found this movie very enjoyable, the opening and the conclusion especially, and the relationship between Sarah and Adele, and when you compare it to a lot of rubbish that makes it to the cinema (boogeyman, hide and seek,alone in the dark), it makes you wander why this is going straight to DVD in most places, because it certainly deserves a lot more attention than it's getting.6 out of 10
38 out of 62 people found the following review useful: Genre-by-numbers Saturday night shocker, 25 August 2005 Author: Chris Docker (eyeforfilm) from Scotland, United Kingdom
Can a horror film be scary and boring at the same? The Dark has an extremely good effort – about equivalent to lifting one's little finger. The plot shows all the attention span of someone reading a Welsh mythology after smoking several reefers. Formulaic scare-mongering knocks you out of your seat at regular intervals, though without enlivening the story or characters much, the most interesting of which, a girl called Ebrill, is temporarily back from the dead after a number of misled churchgoers and nigh on a flock of sheep have been offered in her place.Young Sarah arrives with her mum at a remote cottage on the Welsh coast where her dad is staying. Legends, hallucinations, nightmares of sheep and people going over a nasty bit of cliff abound and we hear of how it might be possible for some people to pop back and forth between this world and the next – at a price.Director John Fawcett, who showed promise and originality with Ginger Snaps, has here gone for banality enlivened by the most unashamed editing. If you flash a very sudden, very bright image at someone, and simultaneously make a very loud noise, they will jump. Traditionally, filmmakers have used this technique to emphasise a plot turn – the appearance of the bogey-man, monster, serial killer. Fawcett doesn't bother, he just inserts it. One minute you're watching the sleep-inducing story and the next you are shocked awake by a loud crash together with a bright light. Explain it to yourself as a deep insight into the unsteady mind of one of the characters? Well if I was a character in such an insipidly put together movie I'd probably need to be deranged for fun too. The trouble with this technique is that there is no plot momentum to keep you excited until the next loud bang. After the first two, I started trying to predict the next one (wait for a false alarm, then a lull, then the bang) and with reasonable accuracy till I lost interest.It picks up a bit towards the end, and the scares are scary, however contrived. All in all it's standard Saturday night horror fare, nothing that special. If you don't mind the clichés, sit back and go whaaaaaa (as I did!)
14 out of 17 people found the following review useful: Promising, But Very Confused in the End, 2 September 2006 Author: Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
While in Wales visiting her husband James (Sean Bean), Adele (Maria Bello) tries to fix her relationship with her teenager daughter Sarah (Sophie Stuckey). They see a weird memorial without the plate and with the name "Annwyn" marked, and the local Dafydd (Maurice Roëves) explains that this would be the place where people go after dying in accordance with the Welsh mythology. Later, Sarah vanishes on the beach and the daughter of the local fanatic shepherd, Ebrill (Abigail Stone), who died fifty years ago, appears in her place. Adele makes a research trying to find how to rescue her daughter from Annway."The Dark" begins as a promising suspenseful horror movie, but first of all, the mystery is disclosed too early. In accordance with the free encyclopedia Wikipedia: quote Annwn or Annwfn, ("under-world" or "un-world", sometimes inaccurately written Annwyn, Annwyfn or Annwfyn) was the Otherworld, the land of souls that had departed this world in Welsh mythology. Ruled by Arawn, or much later by Gwynn ap Nudd, it was essentially a world of delights and eternal youth where disease is absent and food is ever-abundant. Annwn was said to lie so far to the west that not even Manawydan ap Llyr had found it, for you could only reach Annwn by dying yourself. It was also said, though, that Annwn could be entered by those still living if they could find the door. unquote Although being based on a Welsh mythology that I am not familiarized, that is not the problem of this movie, but the confused screenplay after the plot point. It is never clear who came back in the end (Sarah, Ebrill or an evil entity?). Nevertheless the good performances of the cast, the very reasonable special effects, the beautiful landscapes, the conclusion spoils this promising good movie. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "Escuridão" ("Darkness")
21 out of 31 people found the following review useful: enjoyably suspenseful, 3 April 2006 Author: Ste Williams from Lampeter - United Kingdom
OK while not a great film it is very suspenseful. i saw this movie almost 3 month's ago at the Cardiff film festival an i can tell u that the cinema was packed an at the end of the film it got a great applause because of the suspense it held throughout the film! on the whole a throughly enjoyable film i found this too be a film with a level of suspense that i have not seen in many supposed thrillers in a number of years. yes i'll agree that the film didn't have a storyline that truly linked together but this is becoming a much more common trend in many films now. Also the film is made all the more enjoyable because it is a British made film showing the quality of films that can come out of this country when we try to make a good film.
15 out of 20 people found the following review useful: THE DARK (John Fawcett, 2005) **1/2, 21 August 2006 Author: MARIO GAUCI (marrod@melita.com) from Naxxar, Malta
I had enjoyed Fawcett's knowing revision of the werewolf myth in GINGER SNAPS (2000), but wasn't really expecting much out of yet another ghost story (which, in recent years, have flooded the horror market from all over the world). Still, it turned out to be a pleasant surprise which, given my initial skepticism, managed to win me over with its intriguing - if highly derivative - plot line, good performances (by all five main actors but especially Maria Bello, in a difficult and rather unsympathetic role, and the two ill-treated girls) and the unfamiliar seaside Welsh setting.As a matter of fact, the film borrows and mixes together elements from a wide variety of classic and cult horror/fantasy titles - ORPHEUS (1950), DON'T LOOK NOW (1973), THE WICKER MAN (1973) and THE BEYOND (1981) - and even features a Bernard Herrmann-esquire score! Unfortunately, it becomes confusing towards the end and the final twist feels rather like one too many trips to the well; actually, I much preferred the serene (and more balanced) alternate ending! Despite some editorial flourishes throughout and the occasional cheap shock, the film's tone is generally low-key and introspective; far removed from the hipness of GINGER SNAPS, it's undeniably a more mature work.
11 out of 16 people found the following review useful: I enjoyed it, 22 April 2006 Author: cheerleader122 from United States
As a huge fan of horror movies, I give pretty much everything in this category a chance. I had never heard of this movie before, just stumbled upon it at the video store. I know a lot of people think it was a stereotypical horror movie but I jumped A LOT. And to be honest, I didn't always see the frights coming. I do see similarity between The Ring and The Dark but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I am still a little unsure about the ending but I guess that happens sometimes in this category. The camera work made it a little difficult at times to see but I guess it is called The Dark for a reason. The little girl was creepy which seems to be a requirement for child roles in horror movies. All and all I would say it's worth a peek.
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