Even as the darkness closes in, there is never any real sense of dread. The slow-burning terror soon fizzles out, as does the damp squib of an ending.
Comment
06/24/06
Darkness (2003)
4
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:52
Fresh:2
Rotten:50
Average Rating:2.7/10
Consensus: Yet another predictable variation on the hoary old haunted-house movie, Darkness is an illogical, portentous mess.
Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Synopsis: Talented Spanish filmmaker Jaume Balaguero's film DARKNESS is a movie in which an ordinary American family moves to a large, creaky Victorian home in the Spanish countryside that, unbeknownst to... [More]
Starring: Anna Paquin, Lena Olin, Iain Glen, Stephen Enquist
Director: Jaume Balaguero
Reviews for Darkness
Top CriticBack to horror school for you, Señor Balagueró.
04/01/06
Top CriticHowever, the fact that the creepy suspenseful atmosphere builds up to a risible climax where nothing remotely scary happens undermines all the good work that has gone before.
04/02/05
There's the draw from the audience of potential scares and the good cast, but there's nothing ever delivered to us.
04/29/09
This baffling, unintentionally sidesplitting horror show has opened just in time to qualify as the worst film of the year.
08/07/08
...ultimately comes off as nothing less than a total disaster.
06/22/07
All of this, of course, would be forgivable if it added up to a scary movie or made even a lick of sense (chunks appear to have been cut out of a longer cut of the film), but Balaguero manages to disappoint on every possible front.
01/08/07
As in most bad horror flicks, intimations of unspeakable evil are supposed to distract us from the yawning gaps in story logic and character motivation.
01/08/07
A plodding, portentous horror thriller in which a spooky child figures prominently and people speak in hushed tones about sinister doings.
09/26/05
There’s still a lot of European feel to Darkness, which can sometimes be off-putting to American audiences.
09/02/05
Too many plot and character lapses for comfort, even in the traditionally logic-flouting horror genre.
07/07/05
It's unfortunate that the film is called Darkness because this means it will soon be relegated to the Wal Mart bargain bin next to 2003's stinker Darkness Falls.
06/15/05
A good case of style over substance.
06/10/05
The film is dark, and a bit slowly paced in parts, but it’s worth watching.
06/01/05
There’s nothing very frightening about this shallow, stupid spookfest.
05/30/05
The movie finally degenerates into a hopeless mass of mumbo-jumbo, silliness, and incoherence.
04/22/05
Darkness is a ridiculous film choked with genre clichés and stolen scares, yet there’s something genuinely dark and nasty wrapped inside all that ridiculousness...
03/23/05
incomprehensibly opaque and moronically over-projected
02/22/05
Tries to survive on an aura of unknown creepiness, but that's really just a nice way of saying that very little happens of any interest during the film.
01/16/05
Click to read the article
01/15/05
Latest News for Darkness
November 01, 2005:
New Distributor Makes a "Fragile" Purchase
You might not be familiar with the name "Bauer Martinez" just yet, but if you're a frequent moviegoer, you'll know it soon enough. Bauer Martinez Distribution is a... More...
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