Darkness (2002)

Director:

Jaume Balagueró

Writers:

Jaume Balagueró (written by) and
Fernando de Felipe (written by) ...

Release Date:

25 December 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Some secrets should never come to light

Plot:

A teenage girl moves into a remote countryside house with her family, only to discover that their gloomy new home has a horrifying past that threatens to destroy the family.

Plot Keywords:

House | Blood | Darkness | Teenage Girl | Children

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Anna Paquin	...	Regina
Lena Olin	...	Maria
Iain Glen	...	Mark
Giancarlo Giannini	...	Albert Rua
Fele Martínez	...	Carlos
Stephan Enquist	...	Paul
Fermí Reixach	...	Villalobos (as Fermi Reixach)
Francesc Pagés	...	Driver Traffic Jam
Craig Stevenson	...	Electrician
Paula Fernández	...	Girl 1
Gemma Lozano	...	Girl 2
Xavier Allepuz	...	Boy 3
Joseph Roberts	...	Boy 4
Marc Ferrando	...	Boy 5
Josh Gaeta	...	Boy 6

Also Known As:

Darkness (Spain)
The Dark (USA)

MPAA:

Rated R for terror/violence and language. (original version); Rated PG-13 for disturbing images, intense terror sequences, thematic elements and language. (edited version)

Runtime:

102 min | USA:88 min (PG-13 version)

Country:

USA | Spain

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Australia:MA (original rating) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Ireland:15A (cut) | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:12 | Philippines:R-13 | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:Unrated (unrated DVD version) | USA:R (original rating) | USA:PG-13 (edited for re-rating)

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

Company:

Castelao Producciones

Trivia:

Miramax/Dimension had paid $4 million for the rights to distribute the movie in North America and some other territories, but then shelved it for more than two years. The company gave the film a US theatrical release at Christmas 2004 after heavy editing to secure a PG-13 rating.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: Twenty-three minutes into the movie, Regina comes down the stairs and sees that her dad has found a secret room under the stairs. Her father comes out holding a picture apparently very interested. Regina asks her father, "What's that?" looking at the space under the stairs. We then see a still frame where just barely, you can see Regina's father still in the space looking at the picture even though he had just stepped out of that area.

Quotes:

Paul: I don't like the dark here, it keeps eating my pencils.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Benchwarmers (2006)

Do not go gently into that dark night

My friend Clio and I saw "Darkness" for the first time on DVD, and we both agreed that it's one of the more interesting entries in the horror/suspense genre in recent years. The lead actors - especially Anna Paquin, Lena Olin, and Giancarlo Gianinni - do stellar work, and the young boy who plays Paul could give Haley Joel Osment acting lessons.

I found the movie suspenseful right from the beginning, never knew what was going to happen next, and thought throughout, "I don't know who to trust!" with my suspicions flying back & forth between the dad - someone presented to us a a father with a history of mental illness, the 'obvious'villain; his wife, played by Lena Olin, who has a built-in mistrust factor thanks to her chilling ice-in-her-veins portrayal of Sidney's mom on "Alias"; the grandfather, played smoothly and charmingly by Giancarlo Gianinni; and even the boy friend.

This film was written and directed by an independent film-maker,and the combination of the suspenseful, tight script; the keen-edged performances by the actors; the director's use of editing within the camera, and using lighting, to achieve special effects;and his variable pacing, all contribute to make "Darkness" a worthy entry in the horror/suspense genre, and NOT AT ALL like the usual, big-budget American schlock.

I highly recommend this film, available on DVD.