Film Reviews

Darkness

• Rating:
• Director: Jaume Balaguero
• Starring: Anna Paquin
• Details: US/ 88 mins/ (15A)

A remarkable movie only in that the filmmakers seem intent on making it as ridiculous as possible, Darkness sees Regina (Anna Paquin), her parents (Lena Olin and Iain) and her little brother Paul (Stephen Enquist) moving to a remote house in rural Spain. The family, constantly on edge for reasons not best explained, don't seem too happy to have moved country and home, something which isn't helped by the fact that the electricity has a habit of failing on a nightly basis in their very American looking house. Before long, the father, traumatised by an event from his childhood, begins to lose the rag, and the picture threatens to become a low rent version of The Shining. However, as the unnaturally perky Regina looks into the history of her family's home, with the help of boyfriend Carlos (Fele Martinez, last seen in Bad Education), she discovers some terrifying secrets. Yawn.
For a film that only lasts a paltry 88 minutes, Darkness takes an eternity to get moving, never quite managing to find a discernible rhythm or even having the decency to provide a few cheap shocks. Rather the director, Jaume Balaguero, takes over an hour to establish his flimsy central premise, trading off the well-worn formula of recounting the events over the course of a single week in an obvious attempt to crank up the feelings of dread. It doesn't quite work as Darkness has a ramshackle, thrown together feel to it, with events happening for no logical reason, while the characters are simply motiveless, their actions bereft of any rationale. By the time Balaguero eventually jacks things up in the final twenty minutes you'll be long pass caring.

Review by Garreth Murphy