Back to horror school for you, Señor Balagueró.
Comment
04/01/06
Darkness (2003)
4
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
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 CriticEven 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.
06/24/06
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
Una cinta de oscuridad, una narración en la que la oscuridad es el personaje y la casa es sólo el medio.
10/08/02
A good case of style over substance.
06/10/05
This insanely ludicrous and trite plot can't connect two scenes together, much less drum up any real scares.
01/07/05
Top Critic“Darkness” is a fascinating story, only delivered sluggishly and without the requisite tension.**
01/06/05
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
Click to read the article
01/15/05
Should have been left to molder in Miramax's vast vault of horror-movie stiffs.
12/30/04
It presents... a world where not only is virtue not rewarded, but free will is meaningless. If one is doomed regardless... why bother to go through the motions at all?
12/26/04
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
Moments hint at a metaphoric statement on child abuse, but the film proves mainly to be a commentary on poor electrical wiring.
12/28/04
...ultimately comes off as nothing less than a total disaster.
06/22/07
So dimly lit and its plot so threadbare that the viewing experience is not much more gratifying than sitting in a pitch-black room for 95 minutes.
12/26/04
One can only imagine how much scarier some of Balagueró’s images would be without the abrasive soundtrack.
05/09/04
Simply put: Darkness fails. It's about as chilling as an unplugged refrigerator.
01/01/05
It's a lamentable film, a true waste of talented actresses Lena Olin and Anna Paquin, and a goofy retread of stock horror-flick devices.
01/05/05
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
Although director Balaguero displays a talent for spooky visuals and creating an atmosphere of quietly simmering tension, his screenplay (co-written by Fernando de Felipe) is a compendium of barely connected scenes that ultimately lapse into incoherence.
12/28/04
Top CriticLatest 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...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
RT on YouTube 
Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.
RT on Twitter
Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.
IGN RSS Feeds