Review of Dark, The

Introduction

John Fawcett, director of the fine Canadian werewolf movie Ginger Snaps, turns his hand to a more atmospheric thriller in The Dark. Adelle (Maria Bello) and her daughter Sarah (Sophie Stuckley) travel to Wales to meet up with her estranged husband James (Sean Bean) with hopes of rescuing their marriage and patching up her strained relationship with Sarah. Shortly after they arrive, bizarre events take place, including a herd of stampeding sheep, some of whom are suicidal, which harks back to a mass suicide that occurred 50 years ago. When Sarah disappears, presumed drowned and Ebrill (Abigail Stone), a young girl who died that fateful day inexplicably appears, events unfold that will test Adelle and James to the limit.

Video

For a film that is predominately grim and dark (no pun intended), the widescreen anamorphic transfer is very clear and scenes that take place with only torchlight as the source of illumination have a good deal of definition.

Audio

The DD 5.1 mix is a decent one, making full use of the surround sound to enhance the atmosphere but some parts of the dialogue are very quiet. The score, however, is presented well and emphasises the more eerie parts of the film to good effect.

Features

The interviews with the cast and crew are horribly put together in no particular order, they are shown giving answers to questions which you can only guess at; some try not to spoil the film by giving away as little as they can whereas others go the whole hog and describe the story.
Do not watch the interviews before the film if you want to avoid spoilers.

The `revised` ending is an interesting feature and is, in my view, superior to that in the finished film.

The DVD also contains the film`s theatrical trailer.

Conclusion

John Fawcett is an undoubtedly talented director as he shows early on in The Dark. He builds the suspense and mystery with great skill as the strange surroundings and traditions of the area compound the grief and bewilderment of Adelle and James, who are struggling to come to terms with the apparent loss of their daughter and the appearance of a girl who seemingly died half a century ago.

The Dark has an excellent premise but it is a shame that it is either poorly acted, directed or feels like it has been done before.

The film hinges on the theme of maternal grief, a subject that has already been tackled in Hideo Nakata`s Dark Water and Ring together with their American remakes; the sheep can almost be seen to replicate the horses in Gore Verbinski`s The Ring. Unfortunately for The Dark, the normally excellent Maria Bello doesn`t have the presence of Naomi Watts or Jennifer Connelly and Sean Bean is exceptionally wooden.. Despite this, The Dark could easily have descended into farce but Fawcett avoids this and includes some well worked `jumps`. However, it is a shame that the third act becomes muddled with scenes that seem to belong to another film and the final and unnecessary twist seems unfair on the audience.