With such recent high profile success stories as It, A Quiet Place and Hereditary, the world at large is finally opening up to horror movies of a more sombre, introspective nature than the mainstream crowds tend to expect. Of course, anyone who keeps abreast of international indie horror and the festivals should already be well acquainted with the more understated and intellectual breed of genre material which seems to be the dominant horror format today, and The Dark – which screened earlier this year at London’s FrightFest and is now coming to UK home entertainment via Signature’s FrightFest Presents imprint – is the latest such horror release to fit that mould. On top of its slower pace and more grounded tone, The Dark is also similar to the aforementioned mainstream horror hits in that it largely focuses on young characters, in this case two teenagers who have both suffered horrifically at the hands of abhorrent adults, and come to find the familial bond they need in one another.
With an opening that plays rather like the opening of From Dusk Till Dawn but with none of the humour or cartoonishness, The Dark wrong-foots us from the off, leading us to think we’re about to be told the story of Josef (Karl Markovics), an enigmatic and not especially trustworthy middle-aged European driving through a stretch of backwoods America in search of Devil’s Den, a secluded region infamous for supernatural folklore. However, it soon becomes apparent that the region’s reputation might be more than just old wives’ tales, as we meet local resident Mina (Nadia Alexander), a horrifically disfigured young girl whose feral nature and uncanny physical abilities are enough to make one suspect she isn’t entirely human. Following an altercation with the sinister Josef, Mina happens upon Alex (Toby Nichols), a boy with whom she would seem to share some common ground; firstly as they’re about the same age, but rather more notably as he too is horribly scarred across his eyes, leaving him blinded. Despite her tendency to brutally eviscerate anyone who gets too close, Mina shows uncharacteristic mercy on Alex, reluctantly allowing him to stay by her side; and it may be that this human contact is the only thing to steer Mina away from becoming a bona fide monster.
The feature debut of writer-director Justin P Lange, The Dark is a full-length adaptation of Lange’s 2013 short film of the same name. Even if, like myself, you’re unfamiliar with the short, this origin isn’t necessarily a surprise, as – in common with many shorts remade as features – the premise does feel like it’s stretched a bit thin. Hand-in-hand with this are many of the hallmarks of contemporary introspective horror: long takes, long stretches of silence, minimal dialogue and exposition, and plenty of moments in which you’re going to wonder just what the hell is going on, whilst the film seems reticent to provide clear answers. Moreso, despite the dashes of ghost story and the odd moment of graphic gore, The Dark is another of those films which ignorant broadsheet writers are bound to insist isn’t horror really, as it plays ambiguous with its supernatural elements, and focuses primarily on character and emotion, which obviously hasn’t ever been the case in any horror ever made before the last few years… ahem. (I should hope readers don’t require any explanation as to why that alarmingly recurrent viewpoint is unmitigated bollocks, but our own Nia Edwards-Behi succinctly summed it all up a little while back.)
I can’t pretend that The Dark is entirely my cup of tea. While I’m not inherently opposed to languid, taciturn, chin-stroking horror movies, they need to present a story and characters which really command the attention, and have at least the odd moment of real terror, and I personally just didn’t find those here. Even so, there’s no denying that the film has much to admire, with its striking woodland scenery captured handsomely by cinematographer (and screen credited co-director) Klemens Hufnagel. Above all, praise must be heaped on young stars Nadia Alexander and Toby Nichols, both of whom display tremendous screen charisma. To my mind it doesn’t all add up to anything especially memorable, but it’s one that horror diehards should definitely give a look, and all being well it points to bigger and better things on the horizon for all involved.
The Dark is released to UK DVD and VOD on 22nd October, from Signature Entertainment’s FrightFest Presents label.