Airport novels have their place, to be sure, and good movies have been made out of them too. In particular, I can think of THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO and Gillian Flynn's own GONE GIRL. Absent a visual stylist like Fincher, and a script by the novel's author, DARK PLACES flounders with its self-serious tone, which is at complete odds with the inherent ridiculousness of the material. Matters aren't really helped by a narrative structure that sucks most of the mystery and tension out of the proceedings. For all of the luridness that the filmmakers pass off as ingenuity and "edginess," the film is actually kind of dull. The trailer hints at a plot which takes a trip into a world filled with serial murder aficionados and devil worship, but it merely flirts with those ideas, using them as window-dressing for something a little more ordinary. Charlize Theron gives a decent enough performance, perhaps the best out of the cast of wasted character actors, but even she wasn't enough to elevate the material. Its biggest sin is perhaps playing things so straight, to the point where each reveal feels obligatory and unsurprising. Still, the film is put together nicely on a technical level. The visuals are appropriately grimy and "dark," and there are some fleeting moments of documentary-style camera-work which fit the true crime element of the story. I also thought the score was pretty good. When it comes down to it, there was a severe lack of artistry in the storytelling and no sense of humor, making this a rental at best. But to be honest, you're better off sticking with GONE GIRL.
