Lord of Darkness (2012) User Reviews

Birth of Sawney or Scotland Sawney Massacre

[kosmasp · 6/10 · 30 September 2012]

I had no idea Frightfest was showing the world premiere of this movie, but I did not regret watching this. The movie is not for the faint hearted and has some weaknesses of course, but our main character is so OTT that you would be forgiven for laughing with him from time to time and almost rooting for him too.

Of course you don't, because he's bad and the filmmakers made that obvious. But the whole story could be called "mental", in a good sense. Effects are good, acting from the main cast is pretty solid too. The story is kind of predictable, but that won't ruin the "fun" you're having with it. A neat little horror B-movie, that does copy from other better known movies, but if that doesn't bother you, go ahead and give it a try.

Ample blood&gore, exactly as advertised, but the story desperately needed a consistent plot and some background about local folklore

[JvH48 · 5/10 · 22 April 2013]

I saw this film at the Imagine film festival 2013 in Amsterdam. As could be expected from the synopsis on the festival website, a lot of blood&gore was prominently showcased. Somewhat less expected is that we got it together with several quotes from the Bible, a combination that was not really explained.

It was a good idea to use the journalist as binding element to tie the story together. There was also a parallel story about a police inspector, who for a long time failed to solve the mystery of the disappearing people. Of course, his superiors were not happy about it. (*** warning *** spoiler ahead ***) In hindsight, we know why he failed. His connection with the underground (literally) operations were left unclear, however. Could he be a distant relative of the "insane family of inbred killers" (quote from official film website). Maybe such an explanation is not really necessary, but I certainly missed it to wrap up the plot.

All in all, I gave a so-so (3 out of 5) score for the audience award when leaving the theater: it was certainly well written and well executed, but lacked a consistent story and a plot, not even some sort of reason why it all happened as it happened. Of course, for those who are willing to read between the lines, it can be that the initial visit of a doctor to assist in the birth of a baby, being the last living survivor of a species that lived on human remains (as per the voice over), may serve as a vehicle to explain what happened after the prologue. That this cannibal family is "legendary" does not suffice for us, who know nothing about local folklore and related legends. This could have been explained better to prepare us for the desperately needed context. The 90 minutes running time is not that long that it cannot bear an extension with another 5 minutes to allow us connecting the dots. What remained is a lot of bloodthirsty killing without any purpose. This film ended nearly last (45st place out of 48) for the audience award with average score 5.39.

Inbred Parkour Minions Anyone?

[foreversmom · 4/10 · 6 October 2013]

Okay, so I just finished watching this movie and I cannot believe that I only fast-forwarded once or twice. Lord of Darkness is a movie about Sawney Bean's clan. This is suppose to be based on a true event. In an attempt to verify this story, I looked it up. This is actually based on a (potential) myth. There are no verifying accounts based on missing victims and supposedly the clan killed about 1000 people before being caught.

Lord of darkness is centered on the "fact" that one person escaped and has made it to the 21st century. The movie itself has an interesting story line, but could have done without the inbred parkour "minions". Those scenes are funny to me. There are several scenes that are interesting and are acted well. Overall, this is not a horrible movie, but it doesn't come close to any nominations either.

There is a lot of gore, so if that's the genre you are looking for, then you found it! However, if you are looking for a horror story, then skip this movie, There is nothing scary about it. The creepiness factor is high throughout this movie, but there is nothing special to comment on. I give this film a 4/10.

Leaves A Nasty Taste In The Mouth

[Theo Robertson · 3/10 · 21 February 2014]

Most serious historians consider the myth of Sawney Bean to be exactly that - a myth , someone who never existed and a dark fairytale . It's interesting that people who consider Bean to be based in reality can't agree on where he lived . Some say he lived in Ayrshire whilst others say he lived in Galloway . If you can't even agree on where someone is supposedly to have lived that might tell you something . No one said films had to be realistic especially horror films and this movie uses a premise of " What if a descendant of Sawney was living amongst us in present day Scotland " and from the opening titles reality goes right out of the window

It's not so much the lazy exposition of using captions and voice over that's the problem but feels the need to end it on a long mega laugh out loud that wouldn't feel out of place in a pantomime but if you're expecting high camp you're going to be disappointed if not alienated down to the lack of humour and excess of graphic gore . The action then cuts to a Doctor being driven through the snow clad mountains of the Scottish Highlands of 1990 . Right so the Sawney descendants of Ayrshire / Galloway have relocated to the Highlands ? You can guarantee that no matter what it'll never be revealed why Sawney's descendants have left their ancestral home . The Doctor is supposedly about to deliver a baby to a woman hooded and tied to a giant wooden cross but doesn't get to do this because the man who drove him there pulls out a shotgun and shoots him . So someone went to all the trouble of getting a Doctor to deliver a baby and then shooting him without delivering a baby . It doesn't make the slightest bit of sense but since we're now two minutes in to the running time things can only improve . Except they don't because we're treated to abysmal acting and a plot full of holes and contrivance such as busy city centre streets not having any CCTV cameras

Where the film does deserve some credit is for its cinematography and for a film that obviously didn't cost a fortune it does give the proceedings a haunted bleak feel , so much so it makes VALHALLA RISING seem like a musical comedy . However this is often negated by performances that give the impression the cast are reading out their shopping list . The only exception to this is David Hayman who thinks he's appearing as a villain in a pantomime . Sawney is also portrayed as a religious Scottish maniac but for some reason no one thinks of asking him if he's a Catholic cannibal or a Protestant cannibal . Now that takes some swallowing

Torture porn with a Scottish slant

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 30 July 2015]

SAWNEY: FLESH OF MAN is another stab at low budget torture porn, made with maximum relish. The director seems to be trying to make this film as grisly and unpleasant as is humanly (and inhumanly) possible, and he certainly succeeds in that. But while in horror terms he summons up an appropriately oppressive atmosphere, in terms of scripting and narrative this is a complete dud.

The legend of Sawney Bean is a classic slice of Scottish folklore that's interested me for a long while. I've even visited the locales where he and his clan were supposed to live, so when I heard about this film I was eager to see it. What a shame, then, that Bean is reduced to such a typical cannibal killer with nothing to distinguish him from the bad guys of a dozen low rent American slasher flicks.

The film deserves kudos for casting the creepy and imposing David Hayman as the titular killer, but then proceeds to waste him for the entire running time, filling his mouth with B-movie lines. The plot involves one character ending up in his clutches, then someone goes looking for the first and becomes the next victim, and so on. Realising how thin that plot is, the writer throws in the most predictable 'twist villain' ever, alongside a random monster, but none of these elements makes this film anything more than completely forgettable. No story, no merit...

Ridiculous Rubbish

[mcjensen-05924 · 2/10 · 25 March 2023]

I have no problem with gore or the subject matter. But the way this film was executed and pieced together was atrocious. Every scene that was geared to either repulse or stir deep emotion only brought eye rolls and laughter. It was an hous and a half marathon that felt like an eternity. There's some very attractive woman in this mess, and the countryside is equally stunning. And that's where the positive notes end. We got an absolute idiot of a newspaperman doing the things one does in every low grade poorly written/directed movie. Berating the cops for not doing their job and overstepping the bounds of decorum. Tedious, predictable nonsense. David Hayman is about as menacing as a poodle with a very annoying laugh. All subplots add nothing and go nowhere. Dialogue is trite and the plot doesn't have many threads of coherency. The cinematography and editing isn't awful at least, and doesn't distract from the inane drivel unfolding onscreen. In more adept hands this movie may have been something but sadly this movie works neither as horror or thriller. Passable background while you clean the house or shop Amazon but that's about it.

Not too bad but could've been better

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 7/10 · 10 September 2014]

Trying to uncover the truth behind a rash of disappearances, a Scottish journalist traces a murderous clan of cannibals in the area and must stop them from serving up his friends for their insatiable thirst for human flesh.

This frankly turned out to be quite average overall when it really could've been something. What ends up working so well for this one is the fact that this one is really just so good at hiding the true criminals so well here that it really doesn't seem likely that it's a whole family. The deranged sons are all the focus here with their puzzling display of martial arts moves that come out of nowhere here but still contain a rather creepy edge to them so that their scenes work quite well. Put on display in the final half, with all sorts of action-packed confrontations including the tunnel ambush, the capture at the river and the cooking station shootout which makes effective use of their darkened lair and disorienting walkways for great effect with this giving off an extremely tight, dense feel for launching attacks and ambushes out of anywhere, causing this to get some chilling suspense moments here and there. Of course, none of this is really all that good compared to the effective treatment of the main killer who is utterly slimy and repulsive in great fashion. From the near-orgasmic blood-drinking on his victims, the delight of chopping and chomping bodies and the severely nasty and gruesome effects work here to make the kills look quite nasty, there's a lot to like here and this is quite effective in these scenes here. However, it still doesn't make up for several rater big flaws. The biggest issue is the fact that this one is really more of a crime drama investigating the family's actions around the town during the middle scenes which is quite dull and boring overall. Since this is played as an investigation angle, it hardly has anything happen as all we do is simply read newspaper articles, hear the investigator recite information already learned and basically do nothing while the brief intervals to acquire new meat is hardly enough to counteract this boredom. On top of that, the fact that this throws in the final twist the way it does here is quite a lame and overall stupid idea that's not even done with any real intent to do anything other than to totally screw over the audience by wasting all this time during the mid-segments that would've ended the film much earlier and causing these to just be as flawed as possible.

Rated R: Graphic Language, Extreme Graphic Violence, Brief Nudity, a Rape scene and drug use.

Better than expected

[rherring-16040 · 5/10 · 11 September 2020]

I really didn't expect much, but I was pleasantly surprised.Not that it's a masterpiece by any means, but it's definitely worth checking out. I would call it a Scottish version of Wrong Turn.The acting was fine, and I found the special effects(in other words gore)to be quite well done.Overall, not too bad.....

Och aye the grue.

[BA_Harrison · 6/10 · 2 October 2014]

According to British folklore, Sawney Bean was the head of a 48-strong Scottish clan executed for murder and cannibalism in the 15th or 16th century. This movie posits that one member somehow escaped justice and that descendants of the Bean clan still live in the highlands, living in a network of caves, feeding on human flesh. Investigating a spate of recent grisly murders, reporter Hamish MacDonald (Samuel Feeney) unravels the horrifying truth...

Although the film suffers from a few pacing issues, with proceedings getting bogged down somewhat by Hamish's tedious investigative process, Sawney: Flesh of Man features just enough OTT gore and sporadic bouts of craziness to ensure that the film is an entertaining ride regardless. Sawney is played with relish by David Hayman and he is a delightfully slimy character, slurping blood off his still writhing victims, sexually gratifying himself with a victim's severed hand (before finishing the job by raping a female prisoner), and gleefully hacking up corpses, while the other demented characters in the clan include a cannibalistic dwarf, a pair of deformed brothers adept at parkour, and their monstrous mother who is fed spare body parts drenched in blood.

Twisted highlights include an exciting chase scene through the rugged Scottish landscape that culminates with a girl choosing suicide over capture, an unfortunate traffic warden being buggered by one of the Bean brothers, a brief cocaine-fuelled martial arts scene (I kid ye not), and a ridiculous finalé in which one member of the flesh-eating family produces a machine gun and begins blasting away at poor Hamish (who is still reeling from seeing his girlfriend's severed head in a fridge). Also worthy of note is the excellent cinematography, which captures the untamed Scottish wilderness in all it's rugged glory and looks like it comes from a much more prestigious production.

Doesn't Quite Live Up To Wolf Creek...But It's Entertaining Enough.

[meddlecore · 5/10 · 29 October 2017]

A journalist covering the case of a gruesome murder in Scotland, is lured deeper into the story...and a trap. As he happens upon the last remnants of an ancient clan of cannibals.

They were almost wiped out...but one member survived and the clan lived on. It now consists of the elder Sawney, two deformed parkour kids, a midget zombie, a guy named Bill who works as a police detective, and their mother...who will eat literally anyone.

And he must fight for his life, if he wants to survive.

While, entertaining enough...it has some major flaws. Mainly, the timeline surrounding the abduction of his girlfriend, and him happening upon the cannibals...that just did not make sense at all. The cinematography is really amateur too, but the scenery is absolutely gorgeous.

There is lots of gore in this. You could tell they were really going for something like Wolf Creek, but they just didn't quite pull it off. Sawney comes off as mostly humorous...though twisted and ruthless. And, while it does have a creep factor to it...it's not particularly scary.

The scenery really makes this film. The outdoor shots are absolutely stunning. And they make pretty good use of it, having the cannibals living out in the boonies, with an escape/chase scene, and all.

It's not the best movie or anything, but it's entertaining to sit through...though it's no Wolf's Creek.

5 out of 10.

Midnight Meat Train meets Scottish Chainsaw Massacre

[craigslistuserlvnv · 8/10 · 29 July 2013]

YES, YES, YES.....If you're looking for the perfect Scottish pub to take your lassie to then have I got the place for you. The name of the pub is called...."McDONGLE'S". This highland horror house is the creation of hip hop chopmaster Sawney. This place has everything...a head on a stick, a Waterboardman licking contest and COCO BUSTING...That's that thing where you poke a Scottish cop from behind. Also inside you'll find a pair of hooded Parkour ninja brothers DJ'ing with a real life CHINSMIDGET. That's that thing where you have a chainsawing Scottish midget. So hurry on up to the Highlands for a Killer time...STEFAN.

Seriously, much better than anticipated. The cinematography and location sets were almost as breath taking as Sawney and the family. The writing, camera work and the dialogue were better than average for this genre. This is a good horror flick worthy of watching.

ANOTHER underrated horror classic

[scrappy-87331 · 7/10 · 22 August 2021]

High-quality, well-made Scottish (British?) made horror film with plenty of practical special effects. Aftr seeing the 4.6(!) rating I took a chance anyway and was stunned at what a good flick it is. U wimps that hate horror need to STOP reviewing it already.

Not so bad B-movie

[peterp-450-298716 · 6/10 · 6 May 2014]

Without much expectations I started watching this movie and I must say in the end I was somewhat surprised. Indeed it's an acceptable horror-slaughter movie but it's not necessary for me to see it again.

There were no thrills and there's no sign of any excitement. It was as bloody as what you see lying in the window of the local butcher. Also frights are hard to find. The chicken made ​​an effort, but that was just a long shot. The torture scenes are only limited to some cutting and biting. And I suppose there was a rape. I had read a couple of times on IMDb that this movie wasn't for "the faint hearted". Honestly, if this movie is a bit to much for you, then I suppose you'll faint when seeing a nosebleed, because this was really so meager. There was some cannibalism, but this was limited to the squeezing of a type of drip filled with blood into a wine glass, after which it was consumed, and biting into either a still living specimen either in a severed piece of meaningless quivering flesh.

"Sawney" was a faint duplicate of Leatherface from "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", without a fleshly mask, assisted by two by inbreeding deformed Ninja Turtles who tumble around all the time and do some jobs here and there. And then there is a sort of "Mother" locked up who must be fed constantly with meaty chunks and limbs covered with a nice bloody sauce.

It may sound rather disappointing and droopy, but I still enjoyed watching this movie. It looked pretty real sometimes and it wasn't that abominably bad. Feeney gave a convincing performance as the hard liquor boozing journalist and Hayman was a convincing Catholic butcher. The religious bias I found amusing ("body and blood of Christ" philosophy).

I really wished that the plot twist wouldn't be the one I had in mind, but eventually it was anyway. Bit sad because it was a little bland.

More reviews at http://opinion-as-a-moviefreak.blogspot.be/

Don't watch if you don't like gore and blood

[arrmeen · 7/10 · 31 August 2020]

It's simple , this is not a family drama or a kids comedy movie. Agreed it's not an original either, but what do the audience expect when they come across a title like this , blood, gore, a passable story , decent direction and acting. So what's not to watch? For all the jokers and self made critics out here on IMDb who wrote bad reviews for this movie, better not watch horror, thrillers in the future and waste precious review space. My word , decent passable fun ,thrill ride.

excellent b grade movie i admit. its a great movie, but not for the faint hearted

[yo-520-863674 · 8/10 · 30 July 2013]

I Did not know what I was expecting when I began to watch this, so I looked at the trailer, and it really stood out for such a B grade movie. When the first girl goes missing, she really shows you the fear that a person would feel like if they were in that situation. the cast were great, and the camera effects were up to pa. and it did stand out from the many horror movies that I have seen. This was a fantastic movie, even though it is not for everyone. It is really a great idea for a horror movie, and the actors I admit were in their own unique way. Things do happen that you don't expect, but I guess, that what makes a good twist on a movie. Overall fantastic movie and it worth a watch. Gyes you could get all the action from your girls watching this, because there are a lot of scenes that she may want to close her eyes and hold someone. Loll. its quite gruesome really I give it an 8 out of 10