Darkness Movie Review

Runtime: 102 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: December 25, 2004
Director: Jaume Belaguero

A dark and abandoned house in Spain gets a new chance at life when a family from America moves there. Forty years before they moved there, a cult did an ancient ritual that led to six children disappearing. Regina (Anna Paquin, Trick ‘r Treat) is a typical teenage girl who doesn’t want to move and seems more concerned with her little brother Paul (Stephan Enquist) than helping around the house.

While her dad starts working, her mom Maria (Lena Olin, Queen of the Damned) tries to get the family on track in a new city. Her father-in-law Albert (Giancarlo Giannini, Hannibal) pops up frequently to help the family and try to help them when the father has problems. Mark (Iain Glen, Resident Evil: Apocalypse) begins suffering from breakdowns that occur in the middle of the day, sometimes when his children are in the car with them. To top it off, the house suffers from electrical problems that plunge the entire family into total darkness. Regina begins wondering if something darker is happening to her family.

I have probably seen Darkness six times by now and I seldom remember any of it. I tested a friend of mine because he claims that he loves this movie. He borrowed my copy about a month ago, and when I asked him about it, he had to admit that he barely remembered the movie. I have also seen the PG-13 version and the unrated version, and I couldn’t tell you the differences between the two cuts. It’s just another of those movies that I watch once and then forget about.