Wow! It appears Dimension/Miramax is actually going to release this one. They must have seen the box office returns on THE GRUDGE (tell me this trailer doesn't bear a slight GRUDGE-esque feel) and decided to unleash this after, what is it, two years?

http://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/darkness/

EDIT: I just saw on Fangoria.com in Tony Timpone's AFM preview section the following info on Jaume Balagueró's new film FRAGILE. Here is what he says:

FRAGILE: A GHOST STORY: The new film from Jaume Balagueró, whose previous films, THE NAMELESS and DARKNESS, have yet to open in the U.S. FRAGILE takes place in a haunted hospital and stars Calista Flockhart and VAN HELSING’s Richard Roxburgh and Elena Anaya. The movie features the atmospheric, Gothic stylings of returning Balagueró cinematographer Xavi Giménez. I’m betting that FRAGILE will be a winner, especially since the film was made without an interfering U.S. partner breathing down Balagueró’s neck, as befell the director on his previous picture.

I see DARKNESS is rated PG-13, too...

Hmmmm, while not super-gory, I'd have pegged DARKNESS as an R-rated film. I wonder if Dimension has cut it, or if the MPAA actually gave it a PG-13 sans edits.

Vincent

I don't agree - it should easily be classified PG-13 without cuts.

I missed the world premiere of DARKNESS at Sitges 2002 but viewed it on Spanish DVD recently. It's not bad, but feels a little too much like a comrpomise. Compared to the ice-cold terror of THE NAMELESS it's almost a family film!

I don't know if it's because I saw DARKNESS first, but I like it more than THE NAMELESS. The ending of THE NAMELESS was a let-down to me. I thought DARKNESS ended on a far grimer and more satisfying note myself. THE NAMELESS's ending seemed almost like a cop-out, after all that build up I was expecting more.

Vincent

According to Fangoria, this WAS rasted R at one point:


http://fangoria.com/news_article.php?id=3177

According to the MPAA database, DARKNESS has not yet been given a rating. Unless it was rated under a title other than DARKNESS or THE DARK.

Yeah, I tried looking myself butto no avail. Unless it was provisionally granted an R.

Ratings can be funny. Since, last I checked, the MPAA asks a filmmaker/production company what rating they want, it's always possible to get a stronger rating then what the film may warrant.

The trailer I watched on-line last week had a PG-13 tag at the beginning of it, although the listing for the film at apple.com/trailers said "film has not yet been rated".

Speaking of ratings, what's the deal with HIGH TENSION? I thought it was confirmed long ago that Lion's Gate got an NC-17 on this and was going to release it that way, and yet the on-line trailer that was recently released says "This film has not yet been rated". WTF?

Vincent

Sigh. According to the MPAA movie ratings site, DARKNESS has been edited for a PG-13.

I hope it's just a matter of maybe a few seconds or so. I've really wanted to see this for a long time now and would hate to see a butchered version.

HIGH TENSION is still listed as an NC-17, though.

I just saw this. Had to spend the holiday alone, I'm glad it was released today.


SPOILERS







3/4 or so of a pretty good, evocative haunted house flick. I liked Anna Panquin, who manages to do what you think you might do, if you were under these circumstances. (I hate horror movies were everyone is all of a sudden hardcore rationalists. That's certainly not true to real life, where people believe all sorts of mystical things.) The story's a grab bag of themes you've probably seen a million times, from "house was once an occult temple" to "father is slowly going insane while the family's in the middle of nowhere", but it puts them together pretty well. I liked the Spanish setting, and all the rain/water images were evocative.

Unfortunately it doesn't make much sense in the final quarter. A few of the plot twists are really neat and very original, but other moments come out of nowhere: the bad guys suddenly develop abilities you didn't know they had, and one major character does some pretty bizarre things. It's irritating, too, because I have the feeling some things were cut out of this, most particularly explanatory material that might have straightened some of this out. (Either cut for the PG - 13 or it's lying on the cutting room floor somewhere.) I did like the ending, though, which, while it didn't make a lick of sense was evocative and nicely grim.

If it has been cut, wait for a no-doubt superior dvd release.

doug

According to estimates at Boxofficemojo.com, DARKNESS actually fared a lot better this weekend than people were predicting, grossing close to $6.5 million (predictions were around $4 million). It also had a higher per screen average than LEMONY SNICKET'S and OCEAN'S TWELVE. I will hopefully be checking it out this week.

Saw it on Christmas Day (well, evening of Christmas Day) and have to say I was pretty unimpressed. *SPOILERS*

Which is weird, because, much like THE GRUDGE, DARKNESS seemed to take exactly the kind of approach to a horror movie I usually like - takes it's time, has an interesting setting, director has an eye for related imagery, etc.. But, like THE GRUDGE, it just didn't click for me and it's hard to say why. It felt kind of tired and there were too many elements pathworked from other films/stories. The overuse of certain images was also a weakness (looming figures standing behind character in darkened room - scary the first time, not so much the seventh or eighth). I felt really sorry for the Father character, not for his role in the plot but for how the movie treated him (I would have liked maybe some more subtle indication of his growing imbalance, preferably while NOT interacting with the family - ala Nicholsan in the Overlook's bar from THE SHINING). Unlike Doug, I felt that Anna Paquin was leaning on some weak acting crutches in the film and about 3/4 of the way through, finally realized who she reminded me of - Heather Lagenkamp in NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET - another example of an "adequate" job as a main character but nothing more. The shaky camera was effective at first, then annoying as it revealed itself to be nothing more than a cheap device to create anxiety. And, although I like movies with vague or unresolved endings, I felt that a little more explanation of the "threat", what was to be gained by the completion of the ritual, might have helped. Horror movies tend to be vague and lazy in regards to these things, it's always some inchoate "evil". Even the "pursued in the subway by dimming lights" bit, which really should have worked, seemed flat....

In a way, what struck me on leaving was that DARKNESS seemed to be a pretty good example of that rare phenomena, the solid, creepy kid's horror movie. Yes, there's a lot of family strife in it, yes it has a downer ending (something that, again, I usually like in films if handled well but just seemed perfunctory here) but, all in all, if I was a 13 year old going to see my first "scary movie" in an actual theater, DARKNESS would have probably worked on me. But I'm not 13, I'm 37, and it just seemed like weak tea. FX was really pushing this thing during the KING OF THE HILL marathon and, presumably, all week so the good numbers don't surprise (the commercials make it seem more effective than it is and the PG-13 rating probably helped in this case) but I'd be suprised if it doesn't sink like a stone in the second week as word of mouth travels (the family audience I saw it with, many more people than I expected for Christmas afternoon in rural Pennsylvania, were vocally disappointed at the end).

Something I really liked - the idea that the initial kid got away because the father realized he didn't love him, thus nullifying the ritual. THAT is a pretty cruel, dark moment there. Too bad we didn't see much interaction between the Father and Grandfather as adults to back it up....

SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS was surprisingly good, however. As was the trailer for WAR OF THE WORLDS.

Maybe sometime here somebody can answer these questions for me.


MASSIVE SPOILERS














1. Why did the Grandfather free Anna Paquin? If he's that sadistic, why not kill her? While I very much liked the twist that it's not the boy at all who's in danger, it's the dad, there's a structural problem, which is that the only way for us to discover this is to put Paquin in a threatening situation -- even though she's not really that important to the story.

2. I take it Lena Olin was a nurse or a doctor or something like that? This is not clear.

3. I was under the impression that for the ritual to work, the killers had to slit the throats of the children knowingly, ie understanding the purpose behind what they were doing. At the very least, I thought, they had to be killing somebody they loved. A botched trachio counts? I'd count that as an "accident", myself. I wonder if some gore wasn't cut out here, by the way.

4. I was under the impression that the evil was "house-bound", at least until the eclipse. Yet somehow they can reach out and kill the old man architect before hand?

doug

I finally got a chance to see this tonight and enjoyed it. It wasn't a horror classic (too derivative in spots for me) but some of the twists were neat and the build up of suspense is great. I certainly chose the wrong day to go though, as I was in a theater packed with teenagers who all booed at the end (something that reinforced to me that the movie was good).

Doug, I will try to answer some of your questions

SPOILERS

1. Why did the Grandfather free Anna Paquin?

From what I took of that, it was part of the plan to get Paquin to the house. Giannini said that, "the Darkness is very tricky" and Paquin kept saying she knew her mother would not kill her father (which she didn't do). Paquin thinks she is there to save her family, but is really the force that will unleash the Darkness. After all, she is the one who ended up cutting her father's throat and she loved him so therefore she completed the ritual.

2. I take it Lena Olin was a nurse or a doctor or something like that? This is not clear.

Yeah, this wasn't clear at all. She just mentioned that she would be working night shifts at the beginning.

3. I was under the impression that for the ritual to work, the killers had to slit the throats of the children knowingly, ie understanding the purpose behind what they were doing. At the very least, I thought, they had to be killing somebody they loved. A botched trachio counts? I'd count that as an "accident", myself. I wonder if some gore wasn't cut out here, by the way.

Yeah, this is where it gets iffy on the script's behalf. Paquin was fully aware of the plot, but wasn't doing it to be sinister but I am assuming she loved her father. Maybe after 40 years the Darkness didn't want to be too picky. It did look like some gore was cut from that throat cutting.

4. I was under the impression that the evil was "house-bound", at least until the eclipse. Yet somehow they can reach out and kill the old man architect before hand?

Good point. I didn't think of that.

The one thing that didn't work for me was the Grandfather character. I made sure to stay away from reviews and everything, but from his first line of dialogue, you knew he was in on something that happend in the past.

END SPOILERS

:: 1. Why did the Grandfather free Anna Paquin?

Because she loves her father, and he's the seveneth child, so if she kills him, the ritual will be complete.

:: 3. I was under the impression that for the ritual to work, the killers had to slit the throats of the children knowingly, ie understanding the purpose behind what they were doing.

That's not what I took way from the film. As I saw it, seven people had to kill a person they loved for the ritual to be complete. They didn't have to neccessarily be aware that what they were doing was helping the evil force, and the force had gathered power from the previous six sacrifices and was able to influence events, even though it didn't have its FULL power yet.

I haven't seen the PG-13 edit (and doubt I ever will), but the overseas DVD version of the tracheotemy has a nice bit of spurting gore.

Vincent

Thanks to Mr. Wilson and Mr. Pereira! :)


SPOILERS




The stuff about the Grandfather now makes more sense, although it still doesn't make a great deal of sense. A bit clearer of an indication about the darkness's powers and the extent of it's influence would have been nice. Especially considering the amount of talk we do get from him.

#3....okay (he said uncertainly). It does fit in with a lot of the bitter ironies of the movie, although that one might be a bit forced.

I'm convinced this has been cut to pieces for release here in the States -- I did do some searching around on the net about it yesterday. Presumably for the rating, though I don't know -- I have a gut feeling at least some explanatory material was cut. Since I see the bulk of my movies on the big screen, this kind of thing irritates me tremendously. I certainly would suggest people wait for the dvd, or get the overseas one if they can find it.

doug

Does anyone have the running time for the dvd? The PG-13 version has a listed time of 102 min. but then so does the dvd apparently. It sure is soundling like more then a few trims were made.

MOVIE SPOILERS and DELETED SCENE SPOILERS

The movie as presented on Filmax's 2 disc Edición Coleccionista runs 1:39:22 (the packaging lists "102 min. Approx."). I think that would be over 103 min. at 24fps, but that includes studio logos that I imagine aren't on any domestic presentation. I haven't seen the version playing in American theatres, but I'm thinking at least the ball-point tracheotomy and the three non-sexual uses of the Worst Expletive would have to be edited to get a PG-13.
As for plot elements that seem vague, there are three escenas eliminadas and an alternate title sequence, but they only hint at further details:

- the incomplete title sequence, opening with the rattle of a projector and B&W footage of one of the seven children, relies on more lingering shots and less on quick cuts. It also involves some misdirection in that seems to show young Mark being chased after rather than being searched for. The most interesting bits show the three Old Women more explicitly as nuns, involved in the sacrifice of the children and the cleaning up afterwards. Quite a lot of blood is shown - a sinkful, in fact - most of it free from its fleshy containers.

- a dream sequence involving Regina encountering the six children rising in unison from the waters of the swimming pool. If I'm interpreting some of the "Making Of" footage, it seems the darkening of the water was acheived on set rather than digitally and is very effective.

- a direct encounter between Regina and one of the children, that seems to imply that the physical contact between them confers to her flashes of understanding regarding the death of the children.

- an additional scene between Albert and Regina, with Albert feigning regret about the way things have to be.

(The "Making Of" also offers glimpses of other unused scenes; a different photograph of the Old Women, more pictures drawn by Paul showing the knife-wielding trio, footage of young Mark in the hospital, and a version of the ceiling walk with the Old Woman in full habit rather than seemingly nude.)

And FWIW this set is one of the most beautiful transfers I've ever seen, with blacks so deep they could suck out your eyeballs and colors so vivid the water scenes seem to be chiseled out of blue light. As a purely visual experience, it was the sweetest thing I've watched on my HD Wega since I got it (the DVD was an Xmas gift), which made the aspects of the pacing and the performances that I didn't enjoy a little more palatable.

During the father's rampage at the end, he uses the word "freaking" a lot.

"Open the FREAKING door!"

"Here are my FREAKING pills!"

It sounds changed and I assume the strong word "f#cking" (a no-no in PG-13 if used more than once I believe) is used in the overseas version. Is that correct?

Yes, those are full expletives on the DVD. There's also an earlier instance when Mark sees the record player start working and says, "F---!" in surprise and there's a shot of Regina reacting to her father's utter impropriety. Was that one left in? Or did they change it to "Freak!"?

Nope, that is totally gone. Wow, I've definitely got to seek out the Spanish set now.

:: Nope, that is totally gone. Wow, I've definitely got to seek out the Spanish set now.

I'm guessing that the eventual domestic DVD release of DARKNESS will be the uncut film ("The R-Rated Version Too Scary For Theaters!!!"), as Miramax has been doing that of late.*

Of course, it will probably be digitally-filtered and edge-enhanced to hell-and-back, as they're also likely to do with most of their DVD releases, so the Spanish DVD set might be the way to go, after all.

Vincent

* Now if only they'd revisit SCREAM and give it an unrated, anamorphic release in R1, or at least let Criterion do it.