Final Girl
06-20-2003, 12:06 PM
THEY (*** out of ****) vs DARKNESS FALLS (*1/2 out of ****)
In the latter part of 2002 and early part of 2003, two films that dealt with the notion of evil creatures that thrive in the dark and fear the light were released.
The first one was THEY, an elegant and effective piece of horror movie-making. It had a talented cast who fleshed out well-written roles. Even the most minor characters were painted in vivid strokes. Laura Regan as the heroine is someone to watch out for. I see good things in this girl's future. THEY also had a talented director who favored a subtle but endlessly creepy approach. Despite the much bally-hooed rewriting of the script from sci-fi to more traditional horror, the story was still quite potent. And frankly, after having read Brendan William Hood's original draft, I much prefer the "night terror" creatures that the villains evolved into. It was much easier for me to buy than the sci-fi, people-erasing original villains. But the director did keep the original story's audacious and downbeat ending, which ultimately may have hurt the film, but next to Laura Regan's character moving to some place like Anchorage for its endless summer sun, I don't know how else it could have ended. In many ways, this is a better film than THE RING. It's certainly way better than DARKNESS FALLS. This film deserves the success which that pathetic movie enjoyed (however briefly). It is a dread-filled, creepy, disturbing, claustrophobic, and atmospheric ride that just might make you take a second look at that dark doorway down the hall.
DARKNESS FALLS. This film is symbolic of everything wrong about modern horror films. All style, no substance. With the exception of an initially intriguing premise, and some creepy imagery in the beginning, this film is a bust. No characters to speak of, no real scares, no feeling of dread. Just a bland and mechanical horror movie made by ADD sufferers, for ADD sufferers. I'm told that the director's original intention was to create a film more in the vein of THEY, and that a lot of the "character" scenes were deleted. Okay, fine. But I have to rate the film on what made it to the theater. And what made it on screen is an utter waste of celluloid. The film briefly comes to life in the tense scene wherein the group tries to escape the darkened hospital by jumping from one meager light pool to another. But when the "people" doing the jumping are nothing more than stick figures, what the fuck is the point. Everyone looks so utterly bored and disinterested. Unlike the actors in THEY, these folks can't be bothered. Unlike the characters of THEY, these folks are flat and lifeless.
In the end, THEY is the winner by a long shot. DARKNESS FALLS may be more action-oriented and fast-paced, and may have opened to 12 million dollars its first weekend, but in the end it is the much weaker of the two. And the fact that it succeeded, and a thoughtful horror film like THEY failed at the box-office , is another sad sign that the mainstream American movie going public are little more than lemmings.
But, as I always say, I think that any horror film these days, whether it be crappy (DARKNESS FALLS), or semi-crappy (FINAL DESTINATION), good (FINAL DESTINATION 2), good but overrated (28 DAYS LATER), or very good (THEY, THE EYE), as long as it gets attention or some degree of B.O. success is a good thing, because it keeps the genre alive.
But with DARKNESS FALLS, I sometimes wonder.
In the latter part of 2002 and early part of 2003, two films that dealt with the notion of evil creatures that thrive in the dark and fear the light were released.
The first one was THEY, an elegant and effective piece of horror movie-making. It had a talented cast who fleshed out well-written roles. Even the most minor characters were painted in vivid strokes. Laura Regan as the heroine is someone to watch out for. I see good things in this girl's future. THEY also had a talented director who favored a subtle but endlessly creepy approach. Despite the much bally-hooed rewriting of the script from sci-fi to more traditional horror, the story was still quite potent. And frankly, after having read Brendan William Hood's original draft, I much prefer the "night terror" creatures that the villains evolved into. It was much easier for me to buy than the sci-fi, people-erasing original villains. But the director did keep the original story's audacious and downbeat ending, which ultimately may have hurt the film, but next to Laura Regan's character moving to some place like Anchorage for its endless summer sun, I don't know how else it could have ended. In many ways, this is a better film than THE RING. It's certainly way better than DARKNESS FALLS. This film deserves the success which that pathetic movie enjoyed (however briefly). It is a dread-filled, creepy, disturbing, claustrophobic, and atmospheric ride that just might make you take a second look at that dark doorway down the hall.
DARKNESS FALLS. This film is symbolic of everything wrong about modern horror films. All style, no substance. With the exception of an initially intriguing premise, and some creepy imagery in the beginning, this film is a bust. No characters to speak of, no real scares, no feeling of dread. Just a bland and mechanical horror movie made by ADD sufferers, for ADD sufferers. I'm told that the director's original intention was to create a film more in the vein of THEY, and that a lot of the "character" scenes were deleted. Okay, fine. But I have to rate the film on what made it to the theater. And what made it on screen is an utter waste of celluloid. The film briefly comes to life in the tense scene wherein the group tries to escape the darkened hospital by jumping from one meager light pool to another. But when the "people" doing the jumping are nothing more than stick figures, what the fuck is the point. Everyone looks so utterly bored and disinterested. Unlike the actors in THEY, these folks can't be bothered. Unlike the characters of THEY, these folks are flat and lifeless.
In the end, THEY is the winner by a long shot. DARKNESS FALLS may be more action-oriented and fast-paced, and may have opened to 12 million dollars its first weekend, but in the end it is the much weaker of the two. And the fact that it succeeded, and a thoughtful horror film like THEY failed at the box-office , is another sad sign that the mainstream American movie going public are little more than lemmings.
But, as I always say, I think that any horror film these days, whether it be crappy (DARKNESS FALLS), or semi-crappy (FINAL DESTINATION), good (FINAL DESTINATION 2), good but overrated (28 DAYS LATER), or very good (THEY, THE EYE), as long as it gets attention or some degree of B.O. success is a good thing, because it keeps the genre alive.
But with DARKNESS FALLS, I sometimes wonder.