The Dark (2005)

In mourning over the tragic drowning of their daughter Sarah, James and Adèle are visited by Ebrill, a young girl who claims she died 60 years ago ... and bares a startling resemblance to Sarah.

Director:

John Fawcett

Writers:

Simon Maginn (novel), Stephen Massicotte (screenplay)

Stars:

Maria Bello, Sean Bean, Sophie Stuckey

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
Maria Bello	...	Adèlle
Sean Bean	...	James
Maurice Roëves	...	Dafydd
Sophie Stuckey	...	Sarah
Abigail Stone	...	Ebril
Richard Elfyn	...	Rowan
Casper Harvey	...	Young Dafydd
Eluned Jones	...	Doctor
Gwenyth Petty	...	Librarian
Robin Griffith	...	Police Inspector
Mike Keggen	...	Rib Skipper
Tonya Smith	...	Main Stumblehead Martyr

Storyline

While in Wales visiting her husband James, Adèlle tries to fix her relationship with her teenager daughter Sarah. They see a weird memorial without the plate and with the name "Annwyn" marked, and the local Dafydd explains that this would be the place where people go after dying in accordance with the Welsh mythology. Later, Sarah vanishes on the beach and the daughter of the local fanatic shepherd, Ebrill, who died fifty years ago, appears in her place. Adele makes a research trying to find how to rescue her daughter from Annway.

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Plot Keywords:

beach | girl | drowning | rescue | research | 

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Taglines:

One of the living for one of the dead.

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violent/disturbing images and language

Details

Official Sites:

CMC [Taiwan] Constantine Films [Germany]

Country:

Isle Of Man UK Germany

Language:

English Welsh

Release Date:

26 January 2006 (Germany)

Also Known As:

A múlt titka

Filming Locations:

Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£3,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$74,297 (Mexico) (21 July 2006)

Gross:

$74,297 (Mexico) (21 July 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Constantin Film, Impact Pictures, Isle of Man Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 92 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The concept of "Annwn" (Annwyn) is not made up especially for the film or the book on which it was based. "Annwn" is an underworld or other world found in Welsh legend, a land of the dead. It is said to lay far in the west and could be accessed by the living through a door located at the mouth of the Severn once a year. Surviving from pre-Christian Celtic mythology, it's neither Heaven nor Hell in the Christian sense, humans can enter spiritually or corporeally. This is the first film about Annwn.

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Connections

Featured in Nightmares in Red, White and Blue: The Evolution of the American Horror Film (2009)

User Reviews

I enjoyed it

As a huge fan of horror movies, I give pretty much everything in this category a chance. I had never heard of this movie before, just stumbled upon it at the video store. I know a lot of people think it was a stereotypical horror movie but I jumped A LOT. And to be honest, I didn't always see the frights coming. I do see similarity between The Ring and The Dark but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I am still a little unsure about the ending but I guess that happens sometimes in this category. The camera work made it a little difficult at times to see but I guess it is called The Dark for a reason. The little girl was creepy which seems to be a requirement for child roles in horror movies. All and all I would say it's worth a peek.