Dark August

A modern yarn about a curse. Less a horror movie than a modern folk tale, I suspect those expecting horror are the ones most disappointed in this.

I was impressed overall with the cinematic competence of this semi-obscure film. Well-cast, well-acted, and well directed, there is also a soundtrack by William S. Fischer which adds a lot - in particular a beautiful piano piece while the local witch assembles a remedy for a child.

Great Vermont scenery, and J.J. Barry is well-cast here as a modern everyman thrown into this bizarre and tragic situation.

The magical ritual herein will be interesting for students of the occult: drawing variously from Christianity (the Lord's Prayer), Qabbalah, bits from Crowley (IAO) and Wicca, along with a fairly extended tarot card sequence are well done.

This is not a great film but it is a good one, if you aren't expecting something to keep you on the edge of your seat. This is just not that kind of story.

"Dark August" follows a New Yorker living in rural Vermont who becomes a small-town pariah after killing a young girl in a car accident. Even worse, the girl's grandfather seems to have set a curse against him, unraveling his life and sending an ominous hooded demon to stalk the woods outside his house.

Released to apparently little fanfare and unearthed by Arrow Video last year in their volume 2 "American Horror Project" Blu-ray box set, "Dark August" is an odd duck. While watching the film, I consistently had the sense that I was watching something that should have been mildly revered amongst genre fans had it received an adequate release. The film, despite its low budget, is slickly made and looks like a professional studio endeavor, at least so far as low-budget horror is concerned.

To some degree, "Dark August" embodies the neo-genre of "folk horror," a signifier that has grown more common in recent years. For a film about witchcraft and the occult, it has a very down-to-earth sensibility, but this also makes the scares feel almost too close to home for comfort. It's a moody and atmospheric affair that has a lot in common (both tonally and stylistically) with its New England-set peer "Let's Scare Jessica to Death," albeit with less narrative nuance. In "Dark August", the audience knows indubitably that supernatural goings-on are at work, and the source is clear from the outset.

The demonic presence that taunts the protagonist appears as a cloaked, faceless figure that meanders through the woods, and the presentation of it is bone-chilling. Director Martin Goldman sets these scenes in pure silence, and uses clever cutting techniques to give the audience the sense that this figure is lurking behind every tree. For extra measure, there are abundant shots of the leafy Vermont hills illuminated at dusk, and the inherent unease of the landscape only magnifies the sense of dread. It's truly the stuff of nightmares.

Acting-wise, the film is also fairly solid, with J. J. Barry and Carolyne Barry (a real-life couple who co-wrote the screenplay) as the leads. Their performances feel grounded, ostensibly helped by their deep involvement in the project. The film's real "star" is Kim Hunter, who appears as a clairvoyant white witch figure who attempts to help the protagonist rid himself of the demonic energy that has been thrust on him; her acting is very naturalistic here, and Hunter never lets the character devolve into archetype, which could easily happen in a film like this.

The only real pitfall for me in "Dark August" was the conclusion, which felt a bit hamfisted and abrupt, but I ultimately think that everything else outweighs this minor shortcoming. For fans of regional, downbeat supernatural horror (bordering more on psychological), I cannot recommend "Dark August" enough. It is a thoughtfully-made effort that manages to evoke a sense of true disquiet--the kind of horror that feels like a bad dream. 8/10.

Obscure horror flick about a Mikhail Saakashvili lookalike stalked by the grandfather of girl whom he accidentally killed. There's certainly nothing significant about "Dark August", unless we interpret it as a '70s time capsule.* What I mean by a similarity to Robert Altman's movies is that one scene has two groups of people simultaneously carrying on conversations. Of course, I might be the only person who interpreted that. Otherwise, I would never think to equate this movie with Altman's films.

Anyway, this flick is just a way to pass time. Starring J.J. Barry, Carole Shelyne and Kim Hunter.

*In the past month, four 1970s icons have left this life: David Carradine, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson.

I'm no stranger to a slow burn horror film. In fact, I adore them, but there's a difference between a slow burn and a movie where almost nothing happens. For almost its entire runtime, Dark August appears to be building up to something really great an fails to deliver with one of the worst climaxes in film history.

As a concept, Dark August seems to have everything going for it. After accidentally killing a little girl, a middle aged man believes that the little girl's grandfather has put a curse on him and he has to find some way to get the curse reversed.

Every now and then, there will be a slightly unnerving shot of black cloak-clad stalkers peeping at the protagonist from behind a tree or another character will accidentally saw into his own leg because the protagonist is having some kind of a curse-induced dizzy spell, but these moments are few and far between and at about 85 minutes, Dark August feels as if it overstays its welcome.

Despite its narrative issues, Dark August is still pretty well shot with some beautiful images of the countryside and the actors are good, but it's in service of a story that might have needed to spend a little more time in the oven.

I remember reading wonderful review of "Dark August" written by Stephen Thrower in "Nightmare USA" and I wanted to see the film so badly.It finally happened.A young girl is accidentally killed by a car driven by a careless city artist.The girl's grandfather curses the young man.His life is turned into nightmare as he sees a mysterious figure in black."Dark August" is well-made and captivating black magic terror tale set in a small American town.It has its share of gruesome surprises and is surprisingly well-acted.The climax is memorable and horrifying.It's a crying shame that "Dark August" is so criminally obscure.But I live and breathe such obscure horror.8 out of 10.