The Dark (2005)

Director:

John Fawcett

Writers (WGA):

Simon Maginn (novel)
Stephen Massicotte (screenplay)

Release Date:

May 2005 (Canada)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

One of the living for one of the dead.

Plot:

In mourning over the tragic drowning of their daughter Sarah, James and Adèle are visited by Ebrill, a young girl who claims she died 60 years ago ... and bares a startling resemblance to Sarah.

Plot Keywords:

Wales | Sheep | Father Daughter Relationship | Guilt | Afterlife

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Maria Bello	...	Adèlle
Sean Bean	...	James
Maurice Roëves	...	Dafydd
Sophie Stuckey	...	Sarah
Abigail Stone	...	Ebril
Richard Elfyn	...	Rowan
Casper Harvey	...	Young Dafydd
Eluned Jones	...	Doctor
Gwenyth Petty	...	Librarian
Robin Griffith	...	Police Inspector
Mike Keggen	...	Rib Skipper
Tonya Smith	...	Main Stumblehead Martyr

Also Known As:

The Dark (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for some violent/disturbing images and language.

Runtime:

93 min | Philippines:92 min (cut)

Country:

Germany | UK

Language:

English | Welsh

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:16 | Singapore:PG | USA:R | Brazil:14 | Germany:16 | Malaysia:18SG (uncut version) | Malaysia:U (cut version) | Australia:MA | Finland:K-15 | Philippines:R-13 | Hong Kong:IIB | Portugal:M/16 | Iceland:16 | Argentina:16 | France:-12 | Italy:VM14 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England, UK

Company:

Constantin Film

Trivia:

The concept of "Annwn" (Annwyn) is not made up especially for the film or the book on which it was based. "Annwn" is an underworld or other world found in Welsh legend, a land of the dead. It is said to lay far in the west and could be accessed by the living through a door located at the mouth of the Severn once a year. Surviving from pre-Christian Celtic mythology, it's neither Heaven nor Hell in the Christian sense, humans can enter spiritually or corporeally. This is the first film about Annwn.

Stock scare horror for the first half, then a somewhat confused but clever psychological horror the second half.

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.