Dark Places

I rated the movie by how long I could stand it. Very bad acting and poor quality. Nice storyline though...

I had no expectations going into this. Having just finished viewing Dark Places as I type, I can say this is one of best acted micro budget films of the year. Nessa Hawkins gives a tour de force performance, as a coked out prostitute, battling her demons. She is definitely someone to look out for in the near future. She's not alone as David C. Hayes and the lovely Syn Devil, are very creepy, as the sadistic owners' of the house of torment and depravity, that Keri finds herself trapped in. The film has a trippy haze look to it, that actually fit the story quite well. Don't expect a bloodbath, although there are a few nasty bits that caught me off guard. I really felt for Keri as she tried to make a place in the world for herself, which is a testament to how great Nessa's performance was. She really broke my heart at times, which I wasn't expecting in a small indie horror movie. Dark Places is a good example of what a talented crew can do, on a minuscule budget. This is a mind trip film, in the vein of Ken Russel or David Lynch, so I recommend watching at full attention.

I have to give this film 8 stars because of it honest attempt to be something more than it's lack luster storyline. The story revolves around a drug addicted prostitute (Nessa Hawkins) who murders her last Jon as he tries to rape her. She is rejected by every element of sleaze that she comes in contact with and is all but given up to the street, until she is given the name of a safe house that turns out to be anything but. I wondered why our she remained in this house, as the things she was witness to was far worse than the crime she committed. But I began to see the subtle hints (and I mean VERY subtle) that the film makers were giving you. I understand that it is the way of most films to "dumb it numb" for the new generation of horror fans, but this film remained true to it's imaginary and attempt to answer our questions with visions rather than words. I respect the attempt, even if they didn't exactly pull it off. I was reminded of the films of Nicolas Roeg (The Man Who Fell to Earth)or Lindsay Anderson (oh Lucky Man) who used surreal images and editing to move their story forward. Much to my surprise was the studio who released this film; Brain Damage Films, whose normal video fair caters to amateur filmmakers with handycams shooting young women getting killed with copious amounts of blood and guts. Did they know they had a gem in the rough here, or are they attempting to raise their level of fare? I did notice a Brain Damage stable; Syn Devil who was thankfully given a minor role, and obviously asked to keep her camera mugging to a minimum. It is too bad that her role as the Angel of Death was pivotal to the story and she delivered it as badly as one would except from the stripper. The kudos for this film has to go to Nessa Hawkins, who endures degradation's so vile that if this were a mainstream film she would have been nominated for an academy award. My heart went out to this character and I have to believe it is in part the acting talents of Ms. Hawkins. The films does wrap up a little clumsy and I was waiting for the end title to have a question mark, but I became very intrigued with the end title music. A song with a haunting vocal and interesting bass line. This film is worth a look, maybe even a second since it's a sensory overload!

This movie is terrible. Don't waste your time. May have worked as a short movie. However it's tacky and confusing despite the cheap budget. I like horror/thriller but this is a waste of time. Don't bother. I have to leave ten lines about this movie. It is is just drugged up stupor. I would have turned it off but needed, or hoped it got better. But it didn't. The ending was OK. But still left wondering " what on earth just happened?" How anyone could like this is beyond me. It's just a bad production and bad photography and confusing most of the time because of the drug induced coma it is in. I hired it because of the cover art which is great, even the sleeve was written very well. Leaving ten lines about this mess is very hard indeed.

Usually a fan of low budget independent movies, I wasn't expecting anything too polished but the basic lack of any technical skills made for a very frustrating experience.

Things like the abysmal acting can be overlooked, but it is inexcusable that the audio quality was so poor, in some scenes the dialog cannot be made out.

Also the makers of this movie seem to think that people who are unpleasant to look at are creepy and/or scary. They're not.

Is the the worst movie ever made? No.. but I have watched a lot of dreck.