HORROR DVD/BLU-RAY REVIEWS

Some teenage boys discover a nasty little book that wreaks havoc among them all. Once they open the cover, bad things tend to happen.

Of Darkness is a 15 minute short that does its best to embody the spirit of Evil Dead. From the camera techniques to the simple fact that some teens find a “book of the dead,” I couldn’t quite figure out if director Gary E. Irwin had created a homage to the ultimate cult classic or if he ripped it off. Either way, it’s an effective short that utilizes the Hitchcock formula (or what I call it anyway) or not having to show the evil spirit i.e. villain. Granted, they didn’t have the budget for some nutty specter, but leaving it in the dark, never allowing the audience to see what’s killing everyone makes it more effective and frightening. I wish more directors would use this approach, big budget or not. All too often people are spoon feed every image and fear in film, never allowing imagination to take place.

With the short runtime, I thought a short discussion on the effects seemed suitable. Here, the villain works through electricity, or light bulbs to be more exact. That’s an effective devise as there’s literally no escaping light. While there isn’t anything overly elaborate here, it works very well. With Irwin’s next outing, it’d be nice to create some more interesting characters. They felt a little too standard issue. At the same time, I’m a big believer in gripping beginnings. This felt like 876 other horror films as it showed two boys in the basement, moving stuff around, and stumbling on a book of the dead that carbon copy of Raimi’s book. Come on, you can do better than that.

Well, it's a blank screener copy, but it was widescreen. The film looked and sounded top notch, considering the budget and the run time.

Notta.

Of Darkness is a nice short that’s worth the 15 minute runtime. It’s professionally done, but perhaps a bit too like Evil Dead. It’s like remaking the Gone with the Wind. It can’t be done.