Dark Was the Night is a nice, if not uneven, creature feature that is well worth at least a rental thanks in large part to the underrated character actor Kevin Durand and a half-decent yet compelling story. The Blu-ray offers good video/audio transfers while the bonus material is limited.
Dark Was the Night
(2015)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Horror, Thriller
RLJ Entertainment | NR – 98 min. – $27.97 | September 1, 2015
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MOVIE INFO: Directed by: Jack Heller Writer(s): Tyler Hisel (written by) Cast: Kevin Durand, Lukas Haas, Bianca Kajlich, Nick Damici, Sabina Gadecki, Steve Agee, Heath Freeman DISC INFO: Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1) |
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THE MOVIE – 3.0/5
Plot Synopsis: Maiden Woods is a remote and quiet town of decent, hard-working people, but something stirs in the dark woods surrounding this isolated community. After a logging company decimates an area of the forest, a rash of increasingly violent and unexplainable events transpires. Sheriff Paul Shields (KEVIN DURAND) and his deputy (LUKAS HAAS) struggle to confront their own personal demons while facing down a new breed of raw terror that is possibly older than humanity itself… and much, much hungrier.
Quick Hit Review: Dark Was the Night is a low budget monster flick but effective and fairly efficient in its storytelling. The dramatic back-story for the sheriff feels a bit forced and its insertion to Shields’ struggles in the finale even more so, yet I still enjoyed the film for what it was. On the downside, due to the film’s limited budget, the visual effects are substandard, probably along the lines of a SyFy made-for-TV affair. The film does feature better acting, led by Kevin Durand, an underrated character actor.
The film was helmed by Jack Heller, known more for producing a variety of DTV flicks like Tactical Force, Homecoming and The Stranger and though this is only his second feature as a director, he doesn’t do a half bad job with the material.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.0/5
This release comes with a title embossed slip cover.
Behind the Scenes: A Trip to Maiden Woods (7:34; HD) is a basic making-of with on-set interviews with members of the cast and crew as they talk about the project and characters.
Q&A with the Cast of Dark Was the Night (8:38; HD) has actors answering questions about the film after what I think was a screening.
VIDEO – 4.0/5
Dark Was the Night has the typical look of a direct-to-video flick: glossy and clean. Detail is at least decent enough however this isn’t the kind of movie that looks particularly good in HD mainly because it’s devoid of color and tones are far cooler in most shots. That said, it’s still a fine 1080p transfer, just nothing amazing.
AUDIO – 4.0/5
The movie comes with an effective 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track providing for good dialogue levels and shows nice depth with the more thriller-aspect scenes especially at the end as the creature pounds on walls and roofs. However, as with the video, I wouldn’t say it’s fantastic or anything but efficient enough for the production values.
OVERALL – 3.0/5
Overall, Dark Was the Night is a nice, if not uneven, creature feature that is well worth at least a rental thanks in large part to the underrated character actor Kevin Durand and a half-decent yet compelling story. The Blu-ray offers good video/audio transfers while the bonus material is limited.
Published: 09/13/2015
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.