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Of Darkness Directed by: Gary E. Irwin Starring: Frank Nardi, Dallas Scott, Brandon Boyes, Eric Austin, Adam Montgomery, Dominic Fera Reviewed by: Scott West |
| Final Score: Movie:  DVD Extras: N/A Overall Score: |
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The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown. ~ H.P. Lovecraft I'm a divided man when it comes to scares. Growing up in the gore-happy '80s, I love a good gruesome fright fest. On the other hand, being a huge fan of the fiction of H.P. Lovecraft and his ilk, I am also well aware that it is that which we don't see that scares us the most. It's in this second vein that the short film Of Darkness excels. The story follows two brothers and a group of friends that are visiting for a sleepover. In an attempt to scare Charlie, the youngest of the bunch, the brothers unveil a horrid looking book that they recently discovered in the belongings of their deceased grandfather. These kids obviously haven't seen Evil Dead or they'd know already that messing around with a book bound in human skin is a horrible idea! Naturally, when the book is opened, an ancient horror is released and things turn really dark (bad pun fully intended). This is the fifth film from director/editor Gary Irwin under the banner of Eventide Productions and, after seeing this one, I'm going to look into his previous work. It's obvious that he has an eye for great lighting and camera angles and, in a film based around darkness, that's a definate plus! The actors in the film pull off the scares with a believable air and I wouldn't be surprised to see them in bigger film fare somewhere in the future. But the real star of the show here is the sound crew. I don't want to give too much away, but when certain people are pulled away into the darkness, the sounds (squishy crunches, screams and unspeakable noises) that come from your speakers will give your imagination a lot to work with. Some may be turned off by the lack of onscreen special FX, but it's that lack of seeing what's happening that is key to this film. Of Darkness is not only one of the better horror short films I've seen in a while, but one of the better horror films period. I'd love to see the story expanded on. It could easily be turned into a feature length movie and, if it does, I'll be first in line. |
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