"Dark Was The Night" (2014)

The plot to this film is really quite simple: the sheriff (played by Kevin Durand) of a small isolated town in upper New York state investigates a series of strange deaths and disappearances in the surrounding forests  by what looks to be some unknown animal.  He quickly comes to the conclusion that this creature is stalking the outskirts of town, but may soon make its way into the heart of it and start killing more townspeople after a blizzard moves in and shuts everything down.

In truth, I went into this expecting nothing since this is the kind of film that has been done to death and often times not told very well.  Honestly though, I found myself drawn into it, mostly because the director, Jack Heller (who also directed the terrific low budget thriller, “Enter Nowhere”), takes the material seriously, which I appreciated.  Typically in these kinds of films we’re treated to the usual stock characters, but a lot of this film feels more like a character study with Durand’s character having to cope with his son’s recent accidental death and the after effects it’s had on his family.  Durand (a Canadian character actor who usually is known for playing villains) does an admirable job here in creating a very vulnerable and down to earth protagonist who is trying to keep it all together, while at the same time protect his town from this seemingly unstoppable creature.  Lukas Haas (who famously played the little Amish boy in 1985’s “Witness”) is also quite good as Durand’s deputy recently transplanted from New York City.  He and Durand share some good chemistry together and come off as two men who feel quite real, facing something completely unreal.  And rounding the cast out is another character actor who seems to be making a name for himself in the horror genre (and one I’ve become a big fan of), and that of course is Nick Damici, who plays a local bartender who regales everyone with Native American legends that seem to fit their current circumstance.   Having Damici in your cast, no matter how big or small his part, always adds a touch of class to any film he’s in.

Now, I’m not saying the film is anything earth shattering or is in any way going to create new trends, but for what this film is, I found it to be a top notch, low budget monster film.  It certainly feels like something in the vein of Stephen King during the 80’s (think “Cycle of the Werewolf” with a touch of “The Mist”), which in itself was instantly appealing to me having grown up reading King heavily during that period.  I also appreciated the way Heller wisely keeps the creature in the shadows and out of view for most of the film, much in the same way Spielberg famously did in “Jaws” or even like M. Night Shyamalan did with the aliens in “Signs”.  It’s much more suspenseful that way as it adds a lot more life to the creature, given that as an audience member your allowed to project your own image of it in your mind, as opposed to seeing it fully throughout.  And too, most of the effects for it are practical, save towards the end, which is always a plus in my book.

If I do have any complaints (other than the blue filtered, desaturated look that is used all the external scenes, I suppose to give it a feel of winter, but in reality it becomes a little distracting), my biggest would the very abrupt ending.  Without getting into spoiler territory, I’ll just say that it felt like it should’ve gone on further, but under the obvious budgetary constraints it stops short, which was very disappointing. 

That said though, it’s well worth checking out, especially if you like a solid monster movie told with a straight face.  It’s nothing you haven’t seen before, believe me, but at least the actors are given a chance to do more with it than would normally be permitted.  It’s not too often a monster film will allow for some back story for it’s characters so that you might actually care for them when they head into peril.  Plus, for me it felt like a breath of fresh air when you consider all the deliberately bad, “made-for SyFy” type of low budget monster fare we seem to be getting so much of lately.   7 out of 10 for me.