Shudder Saturday: The Dark (2018)

If any one of my friends knows writer/director Justin P. Lange then please do me a favour and give him a big hug from me. He deserves it for crafting such an impressive and interesting horror in The Dark, expanding his short film from five years earlier. As loathe as I am to give in to that habit that many have online, using hyperbole to outweigh extreme reactions that run contrary to my own, I am very surprised that this hasn't picked up some more steam, and good word of mouth, over the past couple of years. It's a near-perfect little gem, in my opinion, and horror fans who love to see the genre used for more than just the usual, and often entertaining, mix of thrills and chills should definitely seek it out.

Karl Markovics is Josef, a man who has kidnapped and blinded a young boy, Alex (Toby Nichols). Things change for the two of them when Josef encounters Mina (Nadia Alexander), a young girl who haunts a forest area, having been the victim of horrific abuse herself. Mina is now a monster, but perhaps she still has some humanity inside her to see a kinship with young Alex, who cannot see her, and is therefore less afraid of her than others.

Perfectly mixing in moments of horror and bloodshed with moments of a very different type of horror, either strongly implied through dialogue or more overtly shown in flashback form, The Dark is the kind of emotionally-resonant horror film that is rightly celebrated when found by film fans, often once it has been discovered as an audience-pleasing festival choice. That's why I am surprised to have not had this on my radar before now, which may just be all my fault. I am friends with a lot of people who attend festivals, and even one or two people who run them, and I cannot recall one of them recommending The Dark.

On the plus side, I get to be the person who tells everyone to watch this. Make it a high priority. You may not agree with my love for it, but I doubt you will come away with a completely negative view of it, considering how it sensitively handles the material while still providing some impressive moments where the blood flows freely.

Alexander is excellent as Mina, and she has to be. The movie really rests on her young shoulders, with Nichols having the advantage of being able to play his character with less nuance. He's a blinded abuse victim, he's scared, and even remains understandably nervous as Mina tries to help him get to safety. Markovics has less screentime than the two young leads, but his character casts a long shadow over proceedings, especially as the abuse picks at the mental scabs that Mina clearly doesn't want to really want disturbed again.

I could spend more time on this, pick some more favourable adjectives and throw them around, but I think I'd then be trying too hard. Suffice to say that The Dark is a wonderful little gem, and I look forward to whatever comes next from Lange. While we wait though, everyone should make sure they treat themselves to this.

9/10

https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews