Dark Was the Night

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J H @UpstateNYThriller Jul 22 6/10 Native American cop Searches for creature after native American land is disturbed Kills townspeople, searched in the woods See more Yor A @YorAyl May 7 Sure it was mysterious along with the imagery and well dragged out leaving audience wondering what was doing all the death and destruction given the fleeting glimpses of the creature; sure it wasn't the best in the jump-scare creature feature genre (or worst). Yet, what may have been anything redeeming was probably the performances of Haas (Witness) and Durand (3:10 To Yuma) otherwise it was one big fat plot hole (out-of-character behavior) and with somewhat of a predictable end. See more Darrell S @RT37459315 Mar 8 Better than some horror films that are similiar. Characters are good, story telling is good. The suspense just isn't as intense as it could be. See more e l @RT12611919 Dec 1 This is a really good movie, super low key and cool. The characters are interesting and compelling. The plot is super simple and due to that it is very satisfying. The main characters are really great. The acting is very good. There are formulas but they are good formulas. You actually care about the characters. The monster was great until the end. The final monster was not as good as it was made out to be. It was kind of lizardy and not as scary as we have been imagining. But anyway, the movie is worth watching if you don't get upset when the real monster is not super scary. Also SPOILER ALERT: the ending where they show that there are two monsters could have been drawn out a little more. Anyway, good film! See more Judy P @RT96093233 Sep 10 Creepy, atmospheric, great performances, pretty good creature. I liked it a lot. See more Allan C @RT15713161 08/03/2025 Well-drawn characters. Dull werewolf-like story. Dark Was the Night (2014) **1/2 I've been loving horror director Mike Finnegan's quote that the best horror movies are those where, if you took out all the supernatural elements, you'd still be interested in the story and characters (i.e., THE EXORCIST, CARRIE, ROSEMARY'S BABY, etc.). This film kind of does that, but the problem is that even if the characters are interesting, the fantastical elements are SO boring! Kevin Durand, an underrated and versatile actor who's done everything genre TV (LOST, LOCKE & KEY) to horror/comedy (TRAGEDY GIRLS) to supporting parts in big budget Hollywood flicks (WALKING TALL, X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, NOAH,) plays A sheriff dealing with familial and personal issues, and his deputy is adjusting to small town life after moving from NYC for reasons he doesn't like to talk about. Most all of the characters, even supporting ones, one of which is actor/writer Nick Damici (STAKE LAND, WE ARE WHAT WE ARE, COLD IN JULY), are interesting and well developed, which the audience will find compelling. This is the best part of the film, and if the film had focused more on that, it might have been an interesting character drama. What brings the film down is that the werewolf-like story is not all that interesting. There are a few okay suspense scenes, but most monster scenes feel lazy and uninspired. I was particularly put off by the photography, which has a perpetual blue tint and is often boring and flatly lit. Horror films should be stylishly photographed and shot, but this one hardly makes an effort to make the film visually interesting. And without spoiling anything, the ending had a cliched tag ending that was completely unnecessary, which I'm sure audiences will roll their eyes at. There was a lot of potential with this cast and script, but the execution drags everything good about the film down. FUN FACT: The film was based on the 1800s UK "The Devil's Footprints" incident, where mysterious hoof-like footprints appeared in the snow for two days in 1855 for 100 miles, appearing to pass through walls and over rooftops, marking a route in a perfect straight line.  AI CAPSULE REVIEW: Dark Was the Night features strong, well-developed characters and a solid cast—especially Kevin Durand—but the supernatural plot falls flat, failing to generate real suspense or originality. Despite its potential as a grounded character drama, the dull creature elements and uninspired visuals hold it back from being truly memorable. See more Read all reviews

Dark Was the Night

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