Darkness (2002)

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.

Director:

Jaume Balagueró

Writers:

Jaume Balagueró, Fernando de Felipe

Stars:

Anna Paquin, Lena Olin, Iain Glen

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 Pagès	...	Driver Traffic Jam
Craig Stevenson	...	Electrician
Paula Fernández	...	Girl 1
Gemma Lozano	...	Girl 2
Xavier Allepuz	...	Boy 1
Joseph Roberts	...	Boy 2
Marc Ferrando	...	Boy 3
Josh Gaeta	...	Boy 4

Storyline

There's something in this house... Something ancient and dark that remains still, hidden and silent. It can only wait, having been concealed in the shadows for years. In fact, its milieu is darkness. Only in it can it show itself and move. It even takes its name: DARKNESS. It's lived here since someone tried to call it, more than forty years ago. Because this house hides a secret, a terrible past, an inconceivably evil act... Seven children, faceless people, a circle that must be completed. And blood, lots of blood...

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Plot Keywords:

9 year old | gramophone | supernatural horror | dead child | missing child | 

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Taglines:

Some secrets should never come to light

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Genres:

Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for disturbing images, intense terror sequences, thematic elements and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the three films that received an "F" CinemaScore from audiences upon their release in 2002, along with Feardotcom (2002) and Solaris (2002).

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Goofs

When Paul lines up his colored pencils a crew members hand can be seen with an air nozzle ready to make the pencil roll under the bed.

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Quotes

Regina: Since when are you afraid of the dark?
Paul: Everything is different here.

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Alternate Versions

PG-13 version runs 88 minutes, while the Unrated version includes more violence, blood and language, and runs 102 minutes.

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Connections

References The Shining (1980)

User Reviews

Despite what you may hear

I had heard bad things from the few people I know who had seen this film. I was still curious though, I think Anna Paquin is a somewhat underestimated actress who is rarely given what you could call a leading roll. Other than that, I knew nothing that the back of the DVD case couldn't tell me. Anyways.

I really enjoyed this film. It was well made, it was tastefully done and yes I found it to be scarier than just about anything else I've seen lately. Plus it features a pretty good turn by Fele Martínez who also starred in 'Abre los ojos', the film Cameron Crowe dubbed in English and called Vanilla Sky.

Details

Official Sites:

Miramax [United States] Official Facebook

Country:

USA Spain

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 December 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Dark

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$10,600,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,400,000, 26 December 2004

Gross USA:

$22,163,442

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$33,988,736

Company Credits

Production Co:

Castelao Producciones, Dimension Films, Fantastic Factory (Filmax)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min 103 min (Unrated Version)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1