The Dark (2005)

Director:

John Fawcett

Writers (WGA):

Simon Maginn (novel)
Stephen Massicotte (screenplay)

Release Date:

May 2005 (Canada)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

One of the living for one of the dead.

Plot:

In mourning over the tragic drowning of their daughter Sarah (Stuckey), James (Bean) and Adèle (Bello) are visited by Ebrill (Stone), a young girl who claims she died 60 years ago ... and bares a startling resemblance to Sarah.

Plot Keywords:

Mass Suicide | Mother Searches Missing Daughter | Father Daughter Relationship | Missing Daughter | Flashback Sequence

Cast

Maria Bello	...	Adèlle
Sean Bean	...	James
Maurice Roëves	...	Dafydd
Sophie Stuckey	...	Sarah
Abigail Stone	...	Ebril
Richard Elfyn	...	Rowan
Casper Harvey	...	Young Dafydd
Eluned Jones	...	Doctor
Gwenyth Petty	...	Librarian
Robin Griffith	...	Police Inspector
Mike Keegan	...	Rib Skipper
Tonya Smith	...	Main Stumblehead Martyr

Also Known As:

The Dark (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for some violent/disturbing images and language.

Runtime:

93 min | Philippines:92 min (cut)

Country:

Germany | UK

Language:

English | Welsh

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Portugal:M/16 | Malaysia:U (cut version) | USA:R | Philippines:R-13 | Ireland:16 | France:-12 | Argentina:16 | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG (uncut version) | Finland:K-15 | Hong Kong:IIB | Brazil:14 | Singapore:PG | Germany:16 | Australia:MA | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England, UK

Company:

Constantin Film

Trivia:

The concept of "Annwn" (Annwyn) is not made up especially for the film or the book on which it was based. "Annwn" is an underworld or other world found in Welsh legend, a land of the dead. It is said to lay far in the west and could be accessed by the living through a door located at the mouth of the Severn once a year. Surviving from pre-Christian Celtic mythology, it's neither Heaven nor Hell in the Christian sense, humans can enter spiritually or corporeally. This is the first film about Annwn.

THE DARK (John Fawcett, 2005) **1/2

I had enjoyed Fawcett's knowing revision of the werewolf myth in GINGER SNAPS (2000), but wasn't really expecting much out of yet another ghost story (which, in recent years, have flooded the horror market from all over the world). Still, it turned out to be a pleasant surprise which, given my initial skepticism, managed to win me over with its intriguing - if highly derivative - plot line, good performances (by all five main actors but especially Maria Bello, in a difficult and rather unsympathetic role, and the two ill-treated girls) and the unfamiliar seaside Welsh setting.

As a matter of fact, the film borrows and mixes together elements from a wide variety of classic and cult horror/fantasy titles - ORPHEUS (1950), DON'T LOOK NOW (1973), THE WICKER MAN (1973) and THE BEYOND (1981) - and even features a Bernard Herrmann-esquire score! Unfortunately, it becomes confusing towards the end and the final twist feels rather like one too many trips to the well; actually, I much preferred the serene (and more balanced) alternate ending!

Despite some editorial flourishes throughout and the occasional cheap shock, the film's tone is generally low-key and introspective; far removed from the hipness of GINGER SNAPS, it's undeniably a more mature work.