Starring
Nadia Alexander, Toby Nichols, Karl Markovics, Sarah Murphy-Dyson.
Directed by Justin P. Lange. (2018/95 min).
AVAILABLE
ON BLU-RAY FROM
Review
by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀
Having
just suffered through Hell Fest and The Nun, maybe I'm
being overly generous in my assessment of The Dark, but
compared to those two dumpster fires, this humble little
horror flick was a breath of fresh air.
While
not exactly groundbreaking - or particularly scary - The Dark may lack flash, cash and panache, but it's suitably grim and full of emotional surprises. Writer-director
Justin P. Lange also appears to know that horror isn't always found in
jump-scares and buckets of blood. In fact, despite the story's undead
main character, The Dark's most disturbing moments are
grounded in reality.
Explaining
the basic plot is difficult without providing significant spoilers,
but I will say that the backstory of the two main characters - both
children - involves severe physical and sexual abuse. These moments
are handled tastefully, but are devastating nonetheless, and
as-it-happens necessary. The strong emotional bond between Mina
(Nadia Alexander) and Alex (Toby Nichols) stems from the empathy she
develops after saving him from his abductor. In the process, she
becomes his de-facto guardian and begins to regain some of the
humanity she lost when she died years before.
 |
| Emos go camping. |
Though
not a traditional horror film, The Dark is still plenty
horrific. Alex wasn't merely kidnapped; his eyes have been torn out,
and judging from the scars and lingering symptoms of Stockholm
Syndrome, he'd been missing for quite a long time before Mina kills
- and eats - his abductor. Mina herself is (sort-of) a zombie,
animal-like, violent and willing to kill anyone who ventures into the
woods, as demonstrated when they come-across a few unfortunate adults in the cast.
Still,
there's a sweetness to these kids' friendship that's engaging,
despite the rest of the film's unnerving elements.
Because of this,The Dark achieves a poignancy atypical of the
genre. It's refreshing to occasionally take in a horror film with
characters we actually care about, even if their behavior is often
monstrous. A nice change of pace from some of the other mallrat mayhem I've endured lately.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
TRAILER
KITTY CONSENSUS:
PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS.
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