Darkness (2002)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Jaume Balagueró

Writers:

Jaume Balagueró (written by) and
Fernando de Felipe (written by) ...

Release Date:

25 December 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Some secrets should never come to light

Plot:

A teenage girl moves into a remote countryside house with her family, only to discover that their gloomy new home has a horrifying past that threatens to destroy the family.

Plot Keywords:

House | Blood | Darkness | Teenage Girl | Children

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Anna Paquin	...	Regina
Lena Olin	...	Maria
Iain Glen	...	Mark
Giancarlo Giannini	...	Albert Rua
Fele Martínez	...	Carlos
Stephan Enquist	...	Paul
Fermí Reixach	...	Villalobos (as Fermi Reixach)
Francesc Pagés	...	Driver Traffic Jam
Craig Stevenson	...	Electrician
Paula Fernández	...	Girl 1
Gemma Lozano	...	Girl 2
Xavier Allepuz	...	Boy 3
Joseph Roberts	...	Boy 4
Marc Ferrando	...	Boy 5
Josh Gaeta	...	Boy 6

Also Known As:

Darkness (Spain)
The Dark (USA)
La séptima víctima (Argentina) (Mexico) (Venezuela) [es]
Тьма (Russia) [ru]
A Sétima Vítima (Brazil) [pt]
Apolyto skotadi (Greece) [el]
Dâkunesu (Japan) [ja]
Darkness (France) [fr]
Darkness - Die Macht der Finsternis (Germany) (TV title) [de]
Darkness - pimeys (Finland) [fi]
Karanlik (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
La séptima victima (Chile) [es]
Tema (Slovenia) [sl]

MPAA:

Rated R for terror/violence and language. (original version); Rated PG-13 for disturbing images, intense terror sequences, thematic elements and language. (edited version)

Runtime:

102 min | USA:88 min (PG-13 version)

Country:

USA | Spain

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Australia:MA (original rating) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Ireland:15A (cut) | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:12 | Philippines:R-13 | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:Unrated (unrated DVD version) | USA:R (original rating) | USA:PG-13 (edited for re-rating)

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

Company:

Castelao Producciones

Trivia:

Miramax/Dimension had paid $4 million for the rights to distribute the movie in North America and some other territories, but then shelved it for more than two years. The company gave the film a US theatrical release at Christmas 2004 after heavy editing to secure a PG-13 rating.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: Twenty-three minutes into the movie, Regina comes down the stairs and sees that her dad has found a secret room under the stairs. Her father comes out holding a picture apparently very interested. Regina asks her father, "What's that?" looking at the space under the stairs. We then see a still frame where just barely, you can see Regina's father still in the space looking at the picture even though he had just stepped out of that area.

Quotes:

Paul: I don't like the dark here, it keeps eating my pencils.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Benchwarmers (2006)

Subtle yet truly frightening

This movie is not your typical American horror flick (which makes sense since it's a Spanish film). It's a far cry from the gory, cliché-ridden and painfully explained horror movies that American audiences are used to.

Darkness disturbed me on different levels. One of them was the family dynamics (notably the father's mental issues), and the suggested potential for violence. The other was the supernatural element, which was used in a subtle and truly frightening manner.

I've seen thousands of horror movies in my lifetime, and this is one of the best. However, if you are not one for nuances and feel that gore is a requisite from a horror movie, then stay away from this one.