This is your stereotypical, “there’s something in the woods!” B-grade horror movie and unfortunately the film’s successfully climactic build-up leads to a disappointingly bland ending, topped off with a frustratingly bizarre twist.
We find ourselves in the little, isolated town of Maiden Woods where strange events seem to be taking place (wild animals fleeing the woods, horses going missing) and spooking the town’s residents. Sheriff Paul Shields (Kevin Durand) and his Deputy Donny Saunders (Lukas Haas) investigate the happenings as theories of monsters and Indian spirits that roam the woods, spread around the town.
Of course the film’s main characters are also fighting their own demons while on the case: Sheriff Shields struggles to deal with the death of one of his sons and the repercussions it has on his family, while Deputy Saunders carries emotional baggage from his mysterious past as a police officer in New York.
This film has all the elements of the stereotypical creature/horror genre: something caught on a video camera, strange footprints from an unknown animal, and the sounds of rustling bushes and twigs snapping coming from the woods – all of which leave you wondering, “What the hell is this thing??”.
Director Jack Heller does successfully build mystery and intrigue around the thing in the woods through his use of dramatic music and fleeting glimpses of parts of the creature for a majority of the film. Unfortunately though, the climax is disappointingly bad, with low-budget movie graphics of the monster taking away any fear that Heller had already created. This is combined with a bland fight scene that leads to a predictably unsatisfactory outcome.
And the film doesn’t end there, because Heller throws in a bizarre twist that defeats the purpose of creating a relationship between the audience and the characters in the first place. This leaves us wondering why we even bothered to sit through the film.
Lead actor Durand (The Strain) unfortunately lacks any kind of emotional depth in his character, which makes his personal hardship difficult to empathise with. He definitely gives the performance of a B-grade actor in this film which is a disappointment. A strong lead may have made the film more enjoyable. Fortunately Haas (Inception) breathes life into his limited character allowing for some relief from Durand’s wooden performance.
For those who love their cheesy, stereotypical, B-grade monster films, Dark Was the Night is for you. For everyone else – steer clear.
Reviewed by Georgina Smerd
Twitter: @Georgie_xox
Rating out of 10: 4
Dark Was The Night will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on 18 November 2015.
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