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List Price: $14.94 | | Label: Sony Pictures
Salesrank: 17010
Released: April 11, 2006 |
| Our Price: $3.65 |
| Used Price: $0.01 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Set in Wales, an estranged couple tries to cope with the death of their young daughter Sarah when a child appears telling them Sarah is trapped in the underworld and they must rescue her.
Genre: Horror
Rating: R
Release Date: 8-SEP-2006
Media Type: DVD
Description of The Dark (2005):
Dark is as mysterious as it is horrific, making it refreshingly eerie compared to the current wave of lackluster horror films. Dark's protagonist, Ada (Maria Bello), a heroically sly mother who aims to bring her allegedly dead daughter back to life, further clarifies director John Fawcett's affinity for femme fatales, best exemplified in his juicy feminist werewolf film, Ginger Snaps. This time mining the indestructible psychic mother-daughter bond for material, Fawcett tells the story of Ada, who brings daughter, Sarah, to Wales for a visit with husband and father, James (Sean Bean), an artist relocated to a remote seaside haunt. After Sarah becomes obsessed by a monolith carved with cryptic text about Annwyn, the pagan Welsh equivalent of purgatory, Ada predicts her daughter's fall off a cliff in a nearby pasture. Search parties fail to locate the girl's body, so Ada heads to the local library for research, discovering that the house they live in is inhabited by the ghost of Sarah's doppelganger, Ebrill, who seeks rebirth after a similar drowning accident. Ada makes the ultimate sacrifice to rescue her daughter while Sarah's father stands idly by. Dark's plot directly relates to the classic psychological thriller, Don't Look Now, but lacks the same subtle visual beauty, instead opting for a modern primitive look. But with Welsh mythology mixed in, not to mention subplots involving a psychotic shepherd into trepanation, and a local sheep population afflicted with a suicide-inducing virus, Dark contains appealing medieval imagery, and its contemporary take on pagan self-sacrifice is sick and cultish rather than sexy and natural, as in The Wicker Man. Dark can at least be applauded for entering some intriguingly creepy territory. --Trinie Dalton
The Dark (2005) Reviews:
This movie should have been so, so much better than it is. 
2009-07-28 - The Dark (John Fawcett, 2005)
Fawcett (Ginger Snaps) has found most of the work as a TV director, but he does make the occasional feature film, and for the most part, those feature films are ignored by the public and as excellent as you'd expect given that fact. So it seemed to me that Fawcett directing an adaptation of Simon Maginn's stellar novel Sheep was a guaranteed shot out of the park. That was unfortunately not the case, thanks mostly to Stephen Massicotte (Ginger Snaps Back)'s screenplay, but it certainly doesn't deserve the oblivion it has been relegated to in the years since its release.
James (Sean Bean, recently of Silent Hill) and Adele (The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor's Maria Bello) have recently lost their daughter Sarah, who drowned. Soon after, where they are visited by Ebril (Abigail Stone in her first screen role), a girl who claims to have drowned sixty years before. Could this be the spirit, or the reincarnation, of Sarah?
The concept of Annwn is not unknown to Americans, thanks mostly to Lloyd Alexander's tales of Taran, steeped in the same mythology that guides The Dark. And since the movie was made for a British audience, you'd think they'd have done something a bit more advanced than Annwn 101. Yet that's pretty much what we get here, and the balance that comes from the tension in the novel is erased (there's one scene, especially, that's noticeably absent from the film that worked very, very well in the book, the midnight flight to the doctor's house). Plotwise, this one feels almost phoned in. Yet Fawcett's distinct sense of atmosphere remains in this movie, even when it goes far, far over the edge of cheesiness in its climax. Fawcett knows how to create a scene, and he does it as well here as he ever has; pity there's so little substance to go with the style. A major disappointment. **
Seaside Getaway... 
2009-03-04 - I love John Fawcett's GINGER SNAPS. It's a visceral romp w/ fantastic characters and a twisty storyline. In THE DARK, Fawcett goes for more of a haunting sense of building dread and ultimate doom. Maria Bello (Payback, A History Of Violence) excells in her role as Adele, the mother who will make any sacrifice in order to retrieve her daughter from the dark, rotting hallways of Annwyn. Sean Bean (Silent Hill, Lord Of The Rings) is his familiar, consternated self as the husband / father, James. THE DARK does have some atmospheric elements similar to other creepers like THE RING, but has enough originality to make it all work. Well worth owning... P.S.- I enjoyed both endings. One is bleak and unforgiving, while the other is more hopeful and idealistic...
Good, and freaky sheep 
2008-12-16 -
In recent years, this new chick flick styled horror has sprung up. The Grudge, The Ring, Darkness, and The Dark. This 2005 British production adds a few new twists to the genre, but doesn't take the next step in standing out amid such similar films.
After separating from her artist husband James (Sean Bean), Adelle (Maria Bello) travels to Wales with daughter Sarah (Sophie Stuckey) for a visit. Things have been tough between the ladies, but the Welsh countryside seems good for the reuniting family. The area is full of mysterious buildings, cult legends, and lovely beaches and cliffs. Unfortunately, Sarah vanishes on the beach. While James and local handyman Dafydd (Maurice Roeves) lead a massive search, Adelle discovers a strange girl named Ebril (Abigail Stone) now living in their home.
Okay, so the chick flick horror genre really began with Jamie Lee Curtis and Halloween, but this recent trend of chick horror always has the same key pieces: An American woman in a foreign country with a child somehow involved in said horror. The Dark brings a nice twist with its Welsh mythology, but there isn't much time invested in this notion. Two scenes of the staple `talking to the old person who was there' and the standard `lost journal/internet/microfilm' montage set the intrigue but doesn't take what makes The Dark unique far enough.
Maria Bello (A History of Violence, ER) is finely cast as the not so perfect mother on a quest to find her missing daughter. She's the right style; a bit edgy, off her rocker, yet hip, blonde rocker chick. Bello does fine, and it's a strong role for what is odd to say an `older maternal' part as compared to a teeny sexy chick part. The Dark, however, is not going to make Maria Bello a movie star anytime soon. Nothing ill against her, but everyone does the foreign low budget horror flick at some point. The Dark isn't bad, just meh. Naomi Watts, Sarah Michelle Gellar, aren't they all the same?
Likewise I am curious why Sean Bean (The Lord of the Rings) took two so similar parts within a year. Silent Hill and The Dark are very much the same vein, and Bean plays the searching, protective father in both. Odd that he has come down to independent horror features after such success with The Fellowship of the Ring. However, after seeing him in so many villainous roles, it is nice to see the softer side of Bean. (My husband kept suspecting he was someone involved in the evil!) Still, I can't help but chuckle during his scenes with Sophie Stuckey and Abigail Stone. Do these little girls know who he is? Were they afraid of him? Don't they say to never work with kids or dogs?
There is no question, however, about the lovely locations in The Dark. The stunningly beautiful yet violent and creepy cliffs and oceans onscreen add to the parental fear of the leads. My goodness how do British people really live so close to these cliffs without fearing their kids are going to plummet? This realistic filming adds to the creepiness of the abattoir. Based upon the novel Sheep by Simon Maginn, the animals are also a bit freaky; Herds of sheep surrounding folks, looking at people and baa-ing. The Dark shows promise with these foreign and weird touches, but it's not enough.
I suppose the biggest question is this: Is The Dark scary? First viewing; maybe. Bean and Bello fans will tune in for sure, but those made to jump moments are now so commonplace that the spooks don't work. Television Director John Fawcett's (Xena, Queer as Folk, Taken) jagged abattoir flashbacks, cliff plummets, and otherworldly Annwn hell-like filming make great strides and look very cool, but don't top what's already been done onscreen.
Outside of a few f-bombs, I don't see why The Dark is rated R. The child torture scenes are mild compared to other films, and the blood and gore isn't heavy. Maybe European audiences prefer the parental struggles and life versus death debates, but us Americans want Blood! Gore! Sex! And we want it Now!
The Dark does nothing wrong, in fact its foreign and mature takes add to the film, not detract. The Dark is good. I've watched it several times, I'd watch it again, and I recommended The Dark to my horror loving husband. Too many similar films and not enough umph unfortunately give The Dark a feeling of déjà vu and familiarity instead of nail biting horror.
Although the dvd only offers one extra-an alternate ending that isn't too shocking-if you're looking for a bit of weird and creepy, The Dark is an affordable show without too much commitment.
Spooky and atmospheric
2008-07-27 - It doesn't matter who did or did not direct or produce this film. The result is way out of the ordinary with an ending that blows you out of your socks. The characters are fully fleshed out with Maria Bello giving an outstanding performance as the mother you just love to hate: mean-spirited, selfish, you choose your own term.
The horrid little creature that is her daughter is as loathsome as the girl who returns is sympathetic, a victim of her father's insanity. Until the point comes when you realise that this is not quite the case...
The only downside of this beautifully crafted film is the ubiquitous Sean Bean who, like Michael Caine, never seems to turn down work. Even so, his is a solid performance. As unlikable as the characters are, do they really deserve their fate?
This is a gritty and thoroughly unnerving picture. The photography is exceptional, particularly in the "Anwyn" sequences - the real horror of which is entirely in the presentation. The score, by Edmund Butt (who also did the music for the BBC's "Sea of Souls") is anything but forgettable. You just don't know what's around the corner with this music.
I've had this sadly overlooked gem for years. I don't know how I came by it but it stands up, over and over again. I'm only sorry that I have waited three years to speak up for it.
Don't Waste Your Time..... 
2008-02-18 - A muddled, confusing and very disappointing horror film from the director of the excellent Ginger Snaps. Mario Bello stars as a grieving Mother who meets a young girl who startlingly resembles her late daughter, Sarah. Bello chews the scenery every moment she is on screen and Sean Bean - who plays her equally depressed husband - simply looks uncomfortable in a phoned-in performance at best. The film tries very hard to be intriguing and original, but ends up wrapped in its own tangled web. Do not waste your time on this, buy a good ghost story such as The Innocents, The Haunting or The Others.
