Love
Kill, Baby...Kill!
Hate
Darkness
Like
Gothika
To me, there was something very menacing in the mood of Darkness. I thought about putting a caveat on it to note that it's sub par to the other two but then Gothika is sub par to Kill, Baby...Kill! so it seemed pointless.
Anyways, yes, Darkness is subject to the pitfalls of the genre (modern day). There are some cheap thrills, some quirky camera angles and shakes that are obviously rip offs, a not so deep (but rather involved) story line, BUT it also does some things right in comparison to other modern day examples. There is plenty of tension, there is Lena Olin, there is mental illness, ghosts, creepy atmosphere that is extremely well done, a haunted house, backstabbing characters, Lena Olin
, satanic sacrifice, and a pace that keeps up appropriately with all of that stuff crammed into a few hours of film.
If anyone is going to watch it, I'd recommend the uncut version (which is what I have). Most of the griping out there about this film is due to the fact that it was heavily cut up in order to achieve a PG-13 rating. I understand the result was disastrous but I never saw the theatrical version, only the uncut, which is what I'm basing my opinion on.
Also:
WARNING: "Darkness" spoilers below
The survival rate is very low which is a plus in this kind of film.
The survival rate is very low which is a plus in this kind of film.