Dark Corners (2006) Reviews

• Don't believe the bad rep about this movie.

  proteusphi2007-07-03

  At least until you've seen it for yourself. A relatively small number of people have voted on it, so its rating is up in the air. Anyway, I found this movie to be very interesting. Here's what I have to say about it. My summary is at the top and the longer explanation is at the bottom. SHORT: Genuinely frightening and dark, as well as psychologically complex and chilling. If you can look past the non-linear plot and confusing pace of the film, then you will enjoy this addition to the horror movie genre. 6 out of 10. LONG: This movie can be somewhat confusing and its direction takes a very schizophrenic approach to showing events in the movie. That can understandably be a turn off for some people, but the fact of the matter is that the direction is one of the elements that helps make Dark Corners a scary flick. From the get-go you have no idea if what the heroine is experiencing is real or imagined. The story follows the life of a woman who's trying to get pregnant; at night she has nightmares and cycles between her life and that of the woman in her dreams. In the dark surrealistic world of her dreams, she sees people being violently murdered and is killed herself several times. The multiple cuts from fantasy to reality, as well as the camera angles help to unsettle the viewer and put them on edge, leaving them vulnerable to the movie's numerous scare scenes. And as much as they would cut from one scene to another, I never felt cheated or that it was over-done, because Karen's story with her pregnancy would always advance at an adequate pace. As for story, it cryptic all the way to the end, yet we are given small clues along the way. The ending itself is a little flat, yet creepy and appropriate. The acting was awesome. I loved Karen's actress and that of her husband; they had great chemistry that made you want to watch their banter scenes. Supporting characters were okay. I felt their character parts were more of a draw than what the actual actors brought to the table. Scares. This movie is genuinely scary! At times it is disgusting and disturbing, but does not have over-the-top gore. It doesn't rely on cheap jump-out scares too much, but instead relies on atmosphere and horrific situations. The two scenes in the mortuary were really what got me. You have to see them for yourself--classic, grade-A American horror. I was impressed. So for its great scares, atmosphere, and good characters and acting, I give Dark Corners a 6 out of 10. Though the direction and pace of the film may be confusing and off-putting, the plot and story are there. This film is also more entertaining then a lot of other direct-to-DVD horror flicks that have more linear plots, yet look like they were made for the Sci-fi channel. *cough* Bottom Feeder *cough*

• A low-budget "what's the twist" movie that's worth a watch

  yukichigai2008-02-17

  I caught this movie several months ago, and it was only after happening to come across it in my collection recently that I realized it was really worth commenting on here. So here goes. Firstly, my brief take on the plot: Karen Clarke lives in a city where dark and horrifying things exist just beyond the edge of her vision. Susan Hamilton is a happily married woman suffering from recurring nightmares. Each considers the other to be the person they become in their dreams. So who is real? Now, this is not one of those "are you sure this is low-budget?" productions. There are numerous qualities about this film which make it very clear to the viewer that we are, in fact, in the land of independent financing, ranging from certain scenes shot like they're using 1950s camera equipment to the typical "small roles filled by people with all the emotions of a cardboard box" syndrome. This even extends to one of the more significant minor roles, an older blond woman whose acting ability alternates between competent and "Plan 9 From Outer Space" depending on the scene. With that said, there's still something to this film. It takes a bit to get going, with the first 30-40 minutes leaving the viewer with a lot of puzzle pieces and very few ways to connect them, but the pieces themselves are reasonably interesting. Once we hit the halfway mark, however, things begin to connect a bit more. Most of it is executed well, leaving the viewer feeling neither confused nor as though they've been led by the nose. A few times, however, clues are all but identified with bright neon signs, particularly a seemingly pointless conversation which suddenly draws attention to itself with a rather unorthodox camera pan. The presentation otherwise is excellent, with many of the scenes set in the "dark" city just about oozing a sense of corruption and decay. Much of the content is surprisingly robust as well, with a lot of allegory and outright symbolism present throughout. (Though the significance of it all isn't truly clear until the end of the film) While the smaller roles are filled with the typical low-budget riff-raff, the principals all do an excellent job in this film. Thora Birch is entertaining to watch and, as always, you can sympathize with her character(s) almost instantly. Toby Stephens gives a short, interesting, and dark performance which is perfect for the film, and in a pleasant surprise Alan Perrin makes a highly intriguing detective in both "sides" of the narrative. However, the real winning part of this film is the final reveal, the "twist" if you will. While it isn't what I would call exactly genius, it's still pretty clever; even the most observant of viewers will at best be able to determine part of the twist, but not all. More importantly, the reveal is both creepy and satisfying, albeit in a Schadenfreude-y kind of way. It's a worthy payoff for 90 minutes of invested time. BOTTOM LINE: It's not really award worthy and it's certainly not perfect, but it's entertaining and has a wonderfully satisfying-yet-creepy ending. If you're a fan of "twist" movies like Memento and Sixth Sense but prefer a "darker" feel this may be right up your alley.

• Twisted Psychological Horror Film That Fails To Leave An Impression.

  drownnnsoda2007-06-24

  "Dark Corners" is a bizarre and twisted psychological horror/thriller that centers around a young woman, Susan Hamilton (Thora Birch), who is happily married to her husband, David (Christien Anholt), and is desperately trying to conceive a child through a special fertilization process, since she is unable to naturally have kids. Things seem to be going alright, except for the strange nightmares that Susan suffers from, in which she is another woman, Karen. But as time goes by, Susan begins to question the lines of what is and isn't real as she finds herself terrorized and stalked by a man who has been committing murders in her community. In the tradition of films like "Jacob's Ladder" and others, the premise that this film is grounded in has been done a few times, and it seems like it's a difficult thing to accomplish, because most films with this type of theme tend to be rather poor. I will say that "Dark Corners" does have some good things going for it though. While it didn't necessarily get any real fear out of me, there were some well-written scenes and a couple of clever camera tricks to be found. The sets were appropriately eerie as well, and the contrasts between the Susan and Karen worlds were intense - Susan's being very white and pure, while Karen's was dark and filthy. But the script here was a little bit muddled. I know, I know, these types of psychological horror thrillers are typically known for being somewhat hard to follow, and this one was no exception. It lost me a couple of times, only for me to catch up eventually, and I was paying attention. Things don't really "mesh" (for lack of a better term) together well, and it felt to me that the script was kind of half baked. The premise of the nightmare world versus reality is intriguing (even though it has been done before), but it just didn't feel fully developed here. As for the acting, Thora Birch leads our cast as the mentally disturbed main character, and is good as usual. The supporting cast is mostly unknowns, and some of the acting was a little choppy. As for the film's conclusion, well, it was interesting, although it still doesn't resolve much. But maybe that was the point of the film, to pose questions and let you make up your own answer? Problem is I had a lot of trouble piecing things together to come up with my own conclusion. Overall, "Dark Places" is a bit of a half baked psychological horror film that failed to impress me. If you've seen a film with the same basic premise (blurring lines of reality and imagination), this film isn't much different. It has a few nice moments here and there, and Birch was entertaining to watch - but overall I felt this was a rather weak and underdeveloped film. Could have been better, I suppose. You may want to give it a try, but if the odds are against you, you might as well pass on this one. 4/10.

• Better than I expected

  bjt552008-08-12

  Once again people who dislike horror movies seemed to have rated this movie low... This is a horror movie so if you like horror movies then you will like it! It had a genuinely creepy feeling which was great for this movie. In fact it was made pretty artistically because it goes from her normal life where everything is super bright to the point where it almost hurts your eyes, then her dreamself which is really dark and morbid. There is a lot of symbolism in this film and a killer ending. I love movies with twisted endings that aren't predictable. If you pay close attention to details you can begin to figure out a few things, but its hard to guess. This was an original idea, and pulled off really well. This would have gotten a higher rating if they created more suspense, I mean there was a few good parts but for how great the story was they could have done a better job!

• Highly original, psychological thriller

  gkane3332006-11-23

  I too saw this film at the recent AFI festival in L.A. and thought it was absolutely amazing - an extremely original and enigmatic mind bender, it reminded me of a cross between Rosenary's Baby and Lost Highway. Having said that, I can see that this film is definitely a love it or hate it kind of deal. I actually went back for the second screening and felt that both audiences were generally extremely receptive (the people sitting either side of me gave it top marks) and were particular enthusiastic on the second day during the Q&A with director and Thora Birch. Personally, I would consider this an absolute must see.