Writer-director Padraig Reynolds has been doing some great work over the past decade or so. You wouldn't necessarily know that from watching Dark Light thought. Not that it's a terrible film. It's just not very good, and it's not as good as his past work.
Jessica Madsen plays Annie Knox, mother to young Emily (Opal Littleton). They move into an old family home, Annie having recently separated from her husband/Emily's father, Paul (Ed Brody). Strange things soon start happening, including noises, standard opening and closing of doors, and some mysterious figures around the property. Annie decides that she must defend her property/loved ones with a shotgun, which makes things look a hell of a lot worse for her when Emily disappears and she is arrested. None of this is a big surprise, the film starts with that big moment.
What you have here is a standard monster movie, and that's about it. It does the minimum required for this kind of thing, and Reynolds is fortunate enough to have at least cast well. Madsen is very good in the main role, a solid mix of nerves and strength. Littleton and Brody are both fine, both portraying people who don't see the full picture building up around them, and Kristina Clifford is an enjoyable presence as Sheriff Dickerson, someone understandably unaffected by the story that Annie tries to tell her about the circumstances around Emily's disappearance. The other prominent character, who appears mainly in the third act, is played by Gerald Tyler. He's the man who seems to know the truth about our world, and the dangers lurking in some of the shadows, and Tyler plays him well enough, despite being hampered by weak writing.
There are so many ways in which Reynolds could have easily improved this. Maybe create some interesting mythos about the creatures being shown onscreen. Maybe make things much more ambiguous for most of the movie. Maybe do a better job of illustrating the bigger picture that is discussed in the third act. Sadly, he does none of these things. He instead settles on making a film that does nothing more than make you think of better films. Signs often springs to mind, as does The Wretched, as well as many others. Okay, this is better than the similar-ish Dark Encounter, but that's a very low bar.
I don't recommend this. It's a weak film without any sense of Reynolds having a clear idea of where he really wants to take the material. Fortunately, the cast and technical side of things help to save it from being a dire viewing experience. It's just a very disappointing one. I hope the next film I see from Reynolds is a return to form.
4/10
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