Film Review: DARK WAS THE NIGHT (2014)

I love a good monster movie and when its well-executed with a good cast that makes the film even better which is what you get in the film Dark Was the Night (2014).  Kevin Durand (of TV’s The Strain and Lost) stars as Sheriff Paul Shields whose small town of Maiden Woods is suddenly assaulted by strange and unusual cattle and animal deaths that start to pop up.  When people start to disappear, Shields and his deputy Donny Saunders (Lukas Haas) starts to investigate but soon start to believe that an old Native American legend about what lives in the woods may be the culprit.

 Their investigation leads to a logging company that has been taking up residence North of their town but may be the cause of pushing an ancient predator closer to civilization in search of food.  Shields soon comes to the realization that the creature assaulting his town may now have acquired a taste for human flesh and he and Saunders must find a way to save the people of Maiden Woods before everyone is left of the creature’s menu.

The film itself may take a little time to get to the real action as it presents all its characters with deep psychological trauma that makes for interesting characters and character interactions but it is definitely worth the wait as when the monster kills, it really kills.  If there is any really problem it might be that the CGI for after when the monster is finally revealed may not live up to audience expectation (sometimes less is really more).  This being said, the film is actually quite good and will satisfy most horror fans due to the strong writing from Tyler Hisel and direction from Jack Heller.

Book Review: DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK: BLACKWOOD’S GUIDE TO DANGEROUS FAIRIES by Guillermo del Toro and Christopher Golden and Troy Nixey

For those of you who know a little about director Guillermo del Toro’s fascination with the original TV movie Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (1973) then you’ll understand his passion for the story and his eventual remake of that very film in 2010 (which he produced and co-wrote).  The book Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark: Blackwood’s Guide to Dangerous Fairies is an extension with his fascination with that film and with fairies and monsters in general.  Co-written with Christopher Golden and illustrations by Troy Nixey, del Toro’s book is an extension of his film and the world of fairies as seen through the eyes of the character of Emerson Blackwood whose home is the one in which the tooth breakers (or tooth fairies in the film) nest. 

This book is a catalogue of Emerson Blackwood’s life in documenting all the dangerous fairies across the globe.  After an incident that caused his best friend to be killed (and he believes a tooth breaker was the cause) Blackwood dedicates his life to documenting all the dangerous fairy cultures for what he thinks is an altruistic reason which is to educate the world about the “hidden people” that co-habitat our realm.  Intermixed with Blackwood’s list of fairies are his personal journal entries which include his romantic relationship with Annelise (daughter to his friend that was killed).  

What makes the book so fascinating is not just the large list of fairies documented in the book from all over the world as depicted through Blackwood’s interviews and adventures with the people all over the world but also his journal entries where he depicts how his growing obsession with the tooth breakers that killed his friend threatens his whole way of life when he gets too close to seeing the truth and discovers that the most dangerous fairies in the world may also be the most intelligent and they can hold a grudge.   

To add to the allure of the book are Nixey’s amazing illustrations of all the different fairy folk and hidden people.  You have to give it to del Toro, Golden and Nixey who have crafted a beautiful book not only to read but to look at as well since many of the pages are designed so that readers can see Blackwood’s actual handwriting.  This is one of the better books to tie-in to a film since it doesn’t require knowledge of the film nor having had seen the film as it survives on its own and even if you have seen the film then it adds to the richness and enjoyment of the film.

Film Review: THE DARK (1993)

In the ‘90s it was very common for horror films to have giant monsters and depending upon the type it could either be good or bad.  In The Dark (1993) there is a prehistoric subterranean rat-like creature that feeds off the dead corpses buried in a cemetery. 

Character actor Stephen McHattie is a researcher searching for this creature for its regenerative abilities that could revolutionize science.  Close on his tale is a disgraced federal agent played by Brion James and caught in these two hunters close fire are a couple local cops (one played by Neve Campbell in an early role) and two grave diggers.  The night is long as the two hunters fight each other over the fate of a giant creature that may kill them both just to survive.

Written by Robert C. Cooper and directed by Craig Pryce the film is actually quite entertaining and hasn’t aged as badly as some other films of the ‘90s.  One of the reasons for this is the presence of McHattie and James who play off each other really well and are great character actors that drive the film.  There are also some interesting moments with the creature who makes its home underneath the cemetery (and there is some great production value added in the subterranean tunnels) and the creature for the most part is kept in the dark, so the low budget doesn’t betray the film too much.

There have been other films that have used a similar theme since this one was released in the ‘90s but this film retains a charm of the ‘90s that doesn’t betray its low budget roots too much because any film with McHattie, James, and Campbell can be all that bad.