Dark (2015)

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Load of rubbish!!

Let's be realistic.

I'll tell you why so serious

WARNING: This is a thinking person's movie. After watching it the other night I was on the fence. I didn't know if I loved or hated this movie. Looking at reviews on here, it seems like other people have the same split reaction. On one hand it was NOT the movie I was expecting. From the description I thought it would be a thriller about home invaders during a blackout, instead of the slow psychological drama about a very depressed and paranoid woman who is coming apart from the inside. The blackout only works as a catalyst for her mental disintegration. After it was over I wasn't sure what the filmmaker was trying to say. Then as the next couple of days passed I realized the movie stuck with me. Whitney Able's performance was emotionally heartrending and the film has a way of getting under your skin. Certain aspects of the film started to impress me more 24 hours after I had watched it. So much of going to the movies today is about being mildly entertained for two hours and then walking out and forgetting about the experience. This film is the opposite. I can see why now some people hate it and others seem to love it. The film grew on me and I am really impressed with what the filmmakers did, especially on a low budget. It's not a perfect film but it is an emotional one which feels very personal. And that is refreshing in this day of mostly forgettable entertainment.

This is an underrated work of art. I was blown away by the performances, especially the lead Kate played by Whitney Able (who was also fantastic in Gareth Edward's Monsters). It's a slow burn thriller which builds to an ultimate and tragic finale. The intense emotions on display are really well done. Underneath the surface it's really a study of depression and mental illness with moments of such deep despair it reminded me at times of Lars Von Trier's Melancholia. I will say I think this movie was marketed wrong as a horror film and the poster art is misleading. Some reviews seem to be people expecting a "jump scare" horror movie which this definitely is NOT. If that is what you are expecting you will be very disappointed. But, if you are like me, and really like and seek out more art house, character driven, psychological thrillers this film really delivers. It's a film that will stick with you for awhile. Like Antonioni's Blow-Up, Dark is an atmospheric journey with more layers to it than appear on the surface.

A young bisexual former-model-turned-yoga-instructor (Whitney Able) is in a deteriorating relationship with her girlfriend (Alexandra Breckenridge). When her girlfriend leaves town in the midst of an unresolved argument, she is left alone in their run-down NYC loft just as the famous blackout of 2003 occurs. She has encounters with a couple of potentially sinister men--a weird, overly friendly neighbor (Brendan Sexton III) and a guy she unsuccessfully tries to pick up at the bar. She may be being stalked and externally threatened in real-life, but judging from some quick-cut flashbacks and scars on her wrists, the worst danger may really be in her own mind. . .I suspect when this movie is more widely released, it may have some trouble finding an audience because it looks enough like a horror movie to chase away a lot of the art crowd, but a lot of horror fans may not appreciate its artier trappings and its slow, subtle and largely psychological approach to horror. This movie falls in the school of horror typified by films like "Repulsion", "The Tenant", "Let's Scare Jessica to Death", and "Session 9". These kind of films are rarely made, especially these days. The last two I remember both came from south of the US border--"Magic, Magic", which I thought was unfairly panned, and "La Casa Muda", which was successful enough to inspire an American remake, but was then overshadowed by the failure of said remake. Personally though, I LOVE this brand of arty, slow-simmering horror. I wish they made more of them, but they are both hard to pull off and a hard-sell once produced.The two actresses here are real revelations, especially Whitney Able. They are both known as typical "hot" actresses who take their clothes off a lot (actually they do that here too in an opening sex scene), but they have both gone through some physical changes for this movie and look quite convincing as a NY lesbian couple. Breckenridge's acting is spot-on in her few early scenes, and after she goes, Able has to really carry this movie herself, perhaps even more than Catherine Deneuve does in "Repulsion", where SHE could fall back on the talents of great director Roman Polanski. I don't mean to oversell either the movie or the performance, but it really works, and it really works because of her. It's also good to see the once-busy East Coast indie actor Brendan Sexton III, who was in "Welcome to the Dollhouse", "Boys Don't Cry", and "Session 9", but largely disappeared after that. This movie was also actually filmed in New York City, and like a lot of genuine NYC-filmed movies, the city itself is an important character.This movie is not an easy sell to anybody, but people that really like "Repulsion"-type movies will definitely appreciate this.

I never write reviews for movies, but this was just a waste of my time and all involved in the movie. While I wasn't expecting much with the score it has on IMDb, I usually don't let that stop me from watching a film that intrigues me. Well, in this case I should have.The lead role is so uninteresting. She's a yoga instructor, but she sure doesn't look like one (not slim and slender plus she smokes - things you don't usually see in a yoga teacher), she acts like she's the prettiest thing in town (don't get me wrong, she is pretty, but her ego is waaay too big and her attitude towards men is as if her poo don't stink), she acts weird in the beginning when she's having sex with her girlfriend (which i might have missed the explanation, but don't understand why), and the last part of the movie was pure torture (watching her flail around in the darkness, using the camera to light her way...)The worst part of all, there was no point. Where was the pinnacle? I kept watching and hoping, just to be let down. People don't waste your time on this flick.