Dark Was the Night - Movie Review
What do you get when you take the plot of a Bigfoot themed horror movie, add an incredible cast of character actors, and then attempt to add a slice of Jurassic Park?
A hot mess that should have been amazing.
Let’s Discuss.
Dark Was the Night is a terribly titled, 2015 slow burn creature feature brought to us by writer Tyler Hisel and director Jack Heller. The story is based on an unsolved mystery from 19th Century Devon, England. The phenomena was called The Devil’s Footprints. Where mysterious hoofed footprints were found in a straight line through the town, as if the devil walked through buildings and fences. It’s one of those great historical mysteries like Roanoke, that sounds amazing if you don’t think about it too much. To expand on the story successfully, you need to give a satisfying theoretical answer, or don’t attempt to answer the mystery at all.
Unfortunately, the filmmakers didn’t choose either option and instead produced a well acted, compelling thriller that falls flat on its face.
The film focuses on embattled Sheriff Paul Shields, played to perfection by prolific character actor Kevin Durand, as he investigated a string of ominous happenings around the small town of Maiden Woods. It’s deer season, but there’s no deer, the birds should be flying in for the spring season, but what little were in the woods have fled, and then there’s the hoofed tracks. Massive hooded tracks appeared overnight. Their path leads straight through the town from one end to the other. Pressure mounts on the shoulders of the Sheriff who is already attempting to deal with the recent death of his youngest son. As events escalate and bodies pile up, will our hero stop the monster or will Maiden Woods go the way of Roanoke? Find out in Dark Was the Night.
Before I get into Spoiler territory, let’s get this out of the way…
Don’t watch this movie. It’s not good. The first 40 minutes are a solid mystery flick with an emotional heart based around the relationship of two fantastic character actors in Durand and his gorgeous cinematic wife Bianca Kajlich. Their chemistry is organic, heartfelt, and believable. The Sheriff’s deputy is played by the always dependably likable Lukas Haas, who also shares great chemistry with the two leads. This trio is the heart of the film and they do such a great job that as the film reaches it’s lame climax, you stick around just because you care about them. Too bad the filmmakers didn’t see what they had and decided to go into a shitty CGI fest that made 0 sense and has an ending that attempts to be a family friendly version of The Mist.
Okay, I’m getting too worked up.
Let me catch my breath.
WEEEZE…Spoilers…WEEEZE…Spoilers….WEEZE…
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Seriously, what in the hell were they thinking? I’m hoping that they just ran out of funding and were forced to end the film in such a iamfisted, amateurish manner, but I don’t think that’s the case. There are a ton of rookie mistakes in this film, namely the use of the fucking filters. It feels like the filmmakers watched Soderbergh’s Traffic one too many times and fell in love with the blue filter. Rather than attempt to show cold in its natural bleakness, they use an oppressive blue filter through half the movie. It makes all of the actors look like they’re animated corpses. It’s not flattering and it distracts from some of the best scenes in the film. I feel like they tried to use it when the Sheriff and his wife were interacting, to illustrate the coldness between them, but their relationship isn’t frigid. There isn’t a rift between them other than the Sheriff’s guilt. His wife supports him, treats him with respect, and encourages him in every way. So, they should have adjusted the character if they wanted the filter to imply this.
This is an independent film that attempts to use a large CGI set piece.
What’s the #1 rule students?
DON’T USE CGI IN INDIE FILMS!
That’s correct class!
I’m so proud of you. :)
The ending of this films involves the reveal that the creature is a giant reptilian beast that looks like a small child attempting to draw a Hunter from the Resident Evil series. As soon as they reveal the creature, the film implodes. It’s one of the lamest, disappointing finales I’ve seen recently. Look at my recent Movies to Avoid on Streaming to see the toilet bowl class of films I’ve been watching to see how big a statement that truly is.
I am a sculptor and sfx artist. I could have made them a monster given a month and an affordable fee in my garage that looked better than this shit. It’s so bad. The CGI looks like the old kids show Reboot.
Yeah, it’s that bad.
It actually pissed me off, because I was invested in the characters. There were so many ways this film could have ended without needing CGI. Let me list the ways:
The reveal was a rabid Bigfoot. It’s a much easier practical effect and it would have been more relatable. Yes, the footprints were hoofed, but why can’t you make a hoofed abominable snowman?
Don’t show the monster. I know it sounds counter intuitive for a creature feature, but it’s an unsolved mystery. Have the town hideout in the church and fight off an unseen menace. Have them run out of bullets just as the sun comes over the horizon. The creature vanishes as the Spring sun melts the snow leaving the town to wonder if the beast will return with the snow next season.
Have the creature not be a creature at all. Utilize the genius of films like The Wolf of Snow Hollow and make the beast a serial killer that covers their tracks with the hoax of a monster.
End on the arrival of the State Police at dawn only to find the town abandoned. All that remains is blood and an unanswered question Ala Roanoke.
All of these would be better than what they gave us. To end on a downer and have it be so poorly executed makes it doubly terrible.
Don’t watch this movie.
If you feel so compelled, it is streaming on Amazon Prime and TubiTV.
