Dark Fields (2009) The Rain (original title)

Director:

Douglas Schulze

Writers:

Kurt Eli Mayry (screenplay)
Douglas Schulze (screenplay)
(more)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

The people of Perseverance are dying for a little rain

Plot:

Follows three generations of a curse farming community that turn to human sacrifice to appease an evil that haunts the rain.

Cast

David Carradine	...	Clive Jonis
Richard Lynch	...	Karl Lumis
Dee Wallace	...	Jean Applebe
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jeff Beorger	...	The Reverend - 1950
Christopher Bondy	...	The Reverend
Derek Brandon	...	Daniel Jonis
David G.B. Brown	...	Boyfriend
James Howard Carr	...	Ben Wheeler
J.J. Chidiac	...	Simon Wheeler
Paula Ciccone	...	Eleanor Lumis
Peter Coady	...	Sheriff
Adam Cooper	...	Dell's Boy
Daniel Cooper	...	Dell's Boy
Guy Copland	...	Dell / Motel Manager
Colin Crenshaw	...	Jack Lumis
Didrik Davis	...	Townsman
Jimmy Doom	...	Horace
Maddie Dorsey	...	Mandy Applebee
William C. Fox	...	Cursed Farmer
William Giordano	...	Kyle Lumis
Sasha Higgins	...	Cari
Jillian Hoffman	...	Jenny Applebee
Kristen Jarzembowski	...	Maggie Jonis
Tiren Jhames	...	Clarence Applebe / Mr. Saul
Patrick Kelly	...	The Shaman
Natalie Light	...	Girlfriend
Natalie Light	...	Girlfriend
Mary Malaney	...	Brenda Applebee
Max	...	The Dog (Present)
Caden Miller-Baker	...	Max Lumis (as Caden Miller Baker)
Andre Neebnagezhick	...	The Indian Boy
Ellen Sandweiss	...	Mandy
Hope Crenshaw	...	Church goer (uncredited)
Molly Howe	...	Dolly (uncredited)
Carol Ilku	...	Farmer's Wife (uncredited)
Tevis R. Marcum	...	Henchman (uncredited)

Directed by
Douglas Schulze

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Kurt Eli Mayry		screenplay
Douglas Schulze		screenplay
Mark C. Schwarz		story elements

Produced by
Kurt Eli Mayry	....	producer
Douglas Schulze	....	producer
Julie Schulze	....	co-producer
Thomas Zambeck	....	line producer

Original Music by
David Bateman

Cinematography by
Lon Stratton

Costume Design by
Cheryl Marie Freeman

Makeup Department
Cat Bernier	....	special makeup effects artist
Danielle Dettore	....	makeup artist
Meshelle Melone	....	key makeup artist
Bree Shea	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert Joseph Butler	....	second assistant director
Jeremy Gerken	....	second second assistant director
Jessica Heemskerk	....	second second assistant director
Tara Plizga	....	first assistant director
Joshua Wagner	....	first assistant director (as Josh Wagner)

Art Department
Daniel Fumero	....	poster artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Terence Lee Cover	....	boom operator
Aaron Eschenburg	....	production sound mixer
Mark Haygen	....	additional sound mixer
Brian Kaurich	....	production sound mixer
David Rumble	....	production sound mixer

Special Effects by
Cat Bernier	....	key special effects
Kevin Carter	....	special effects contact lenses

Visual Effects by
Alan Contino	....	visual effects supervisor
Brian K. Johnson	....	lead compositor
Brian K. Johnson	....	visual effects supervisor

Camera and Electrical Department
Sebastian Boada	....	second assistant camera
Chris Bondy	....	grip
Rick Cramblett	....	grip
Mark C. Davis Jr.	....	second assistant camera
William Eichler	....	steadicam operator
Patrick Elliott	....	first assistant camera (as Patrick Elliot)
Geoff Ernst	....	gaffer
Ian Henderson	....	assistant camera
Chris Hoyle	....	second assistant camera
Chris McLeod	....	additional electrician
Robert Skates	....	camera operator
Doug Susalla	....	gaffer

Other crew
Roze Berisaj	....	personal assistant to actor
Bill Dann	....	production assistant
Amber Fritz	....	script supervisor
Anthony Horger	....	production assistant
Alicia Jurva	....	production assistant
Chris Myers	....	production assistant
Jeff Nurmi	....	gun handler
Chris Ordon	....	production assistant
Rebecca Rogers	....	production coordinator
Steven Seery	....	production assistant
Andy Yeomans	....	production assistant
Sam Sage	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Distributors

• Barnholtz Entertainment (2010) (USA) (video)
• Entertainment One (2010-) (USA) (video)

Other Companies

• Stratton Camera  camera equipment provided by

Also Known As:

"The Rain" - USA (original title)
"The Rain Chronicles" - , USA (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for bloody horror violence, some nudity and language

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #46313)

Overcomplicated mess inspired by The Lottery

The plot: A cursed town holds a lottery to sacrifice three children from every generation, to ensure rain.

I was kind of excited to see a movie starring some B movie legends (Richard Lynch, David Carradine, and Dee Wallace Stone), but none of them really has all that much screen time. In fact, the movie splits its time almost randomly between half a dozen characters, each of whom wander in and out of the main plot, while telling their own story. A talented writer/director could have pulled this off, but it just ends up being annoying and confusing here.

The story is a bizarre mix of Dark Romanticism tropes that never really settles down into a coherent story. There's a cursed bloodline, a small town with a hideous secret, Faustian bargains with malevolent spirits, some kind of demon guy who comes out of nowhere, exploited Native Americans, Machiavellian adults, and innocent children. Throw all these things together, with a few modern horror clichés (such as a deus ex machina in the form of a friendly dog), and you get... well... to be honest, I'm not sure what you get. The movie was so erratic, random, and disorganized that I was constantly wondering exactly what I was supposed to be taking from each scene.

If the writer/director had just settled on telling one story, without spreading the exposition through three stories that barely even interconnect, I think he could have had something that would be remembered fondly by B movie fans. Instead, he tries to pull off something like Pulp Fiction and fails miserably.

There are some scenes that worked well, but, overall, the movie was clumsy and amateurish. As far as Shirley Jackson ripoffs go, this wasn't the worst that I've seen. It was able to channel much of her pessimism about human nature, while preserving her faith in children. It also hit all the right notes that a story inspired by The Lottery should hit, though it hit them in a haphazard, lazy way, burying them under a mountain of subplots and extraneous characters.

If you're into independent horror, then you're probably pretty forgiving of even the most egregious flaws. For you, this will probably seem like an enjoyable waste of time. If you're more into mainstream, big budget horror movies, I have to warn you away from this low budget mess.