Dark Circles

"Dark Circles" was somewhat of a less than mediocre experience. And I mean that in the best possible way.

What made it less than mediocre was the slow storyline and the fact that nothing overly interesting happened at all through out the entire 87 minutes that the movie ran for.

That being said, then it should be noted that the actors were actually doing good enough jobs with their performances, they were just struggling against an uphill battle against a horrible script and a very anti-climatic storyline.

The story is about a family moving into a newly acquired house with their baby. But soon thereafter they realize that there is no rest, peace and quiet here, as the neighbors are constructing a house. And something inside their newly acquired house is not welcoming them with open arms.

The movie is nicely enough edited and filmed, just a shame that the storyline failed to be impressive.

As for a horror movie, then "Dark Circles" was awfully devoid of scary moments and anything even remotely disturbing. And this also contributed to the slow, dull pace that the movie trotted on in.

If you are interested in seeing horror films that take a particular aspect of child-rearing, one that is fear-inducing for any parent or to anyone who has any experience in raising children, you may well enjoy this underplayed film. While watching it I became quickly convinced that it was a partner film to 'Grace' (2009). Although very contrasting aspects of child-rearing are turned inside-out as permitted within the possibilities offered by the horror genre, both are relatively underplayed and with small casts; the photography is subtle and although there are sudden jolts designed to shock, they really do resemble those moments when you're so tired you literally fall asleep while you're on your feet. Or at least that is what the victimised parents keep trying to convince themselves as they become more unhinged as every hour passes without rest. Grace, in its ambiguity and horrific content, is certainly a more interesting horror film. But the actresses who play the mothers in both films resemble one another not only in looks but in their obsession with taking care of their child. After checking the background info of both films, I was initially convinced they had the same director; but on closer observation I discovered that the names differ by one letter! Paul Soter directed Grace, whereas this film was directed by Paul Soler. Watching both parents gradually descend into madness as they become deprived of sleep is done hauntingly; you quickly realise where the title comes from; not crop circles or dark spirits but the lines that form under your eyes thanks to long-term weariness. The film makes use of three sets of possibilities, and thankfully doesn't reveal too quickly which one of them is true: are they hallucinating the spectre who seems to be appearing in their house, on cameras and in reflections, is their house haunted or is there a real person threatening them? Although I haven't raised a child or been kept awake by one, I certainly know how scary it can be when you lose track of time through lack of sleep and you're no longer sure which day it is, and this film milks that given for everything it's worth. It turns out that the director of Grace and Dark Circles are entirely unrelated, just as the tidy resolution presented in this film contrasts to the horrific and unexplained horrors of Grace. Still, this film was haunting, original, well-acted and is sufficiently under-played to be worthy of more than a single glance. It doesn't have a great deal to offer, but what it does present it presents in a sufficiently haunting package to give you food for thought, which as far as I'm concerned is the primary function of any truly good horror film.

Dark Circles (2013) I really enjoyed this movie, it started of with bang and some bizarre scene in this movie in good way and they making feel very unsettling.

Couple just had new born baby, as they didn't want to raise the Baby in new york, so they to place when its less noise.

They moved to house and with their new born baby but baby dose sleep at night all, they seem to feel a sleepy a lot tiny.

What liked about this movie both of them see things as one time or another but they put down to not having enough sleep.

There were really good chilling moment in this movie and that made feel a little tense, they some really good scarce scenes in this movie what work, may make you jump.

I also liked how Paul Soter still keep the creepy thought out the whole movies, even nothing is hap ping in those scenes.

This was Paul Soter first horror movie but it not great but it was above average for me..

The acting was outstanding from everyone in this movie and Baby is cute! 7 out of 10

Starring an unknown cast, 'Dark Circles' treads familiar grounds, with a family moving away to the rural side of the USA in order to escape the hectic life in the city. From it's chilling 5 minute opening up to its eventual climax, 'Dark Circles' presents itself as a good start to this years run of 'After Dark Originals'. With the aforementioned opening 5 minutes effectively setting the tone for what's to come, I got the feeling that this could very well be a good horror movie.

With a movie like this, and a plot that has been used countless upon countless times it's quite hard to be original and I think the director (first time feature director Paul Soter) decided to sidestep that by just trying to give us as many creepy moments as possible. For the largest part he succeeds by giving us a rundown of the common and not so common tactics to scare us. Loud sounds, a point of view camera, shapes in the distance drawing near, and a very ominous soundtrack consisting of the same 4 tone piano medley all work together to give us the unsettling vibe that is so highly sought after in these types of movies.

What makes a movie great though, is its story.dark-circles-3 And while it sets out promising, with the main leads openly discussing the disturbing things they are witnessing, ultimately it degrades itself by falling back into the old habits of horror. They start to distrust one another (which only serves as a cheap setup to give us some more scary scenes) and the plot moves from one angle to the complete opposite without any clear given reason as to why.

It didn't manage to make me dislike the movie all together, but it took away from the experience I was having up until 50 minutes into its 86 minute total. The final resolve made me think of 'High Tension' a French horror movie which had an ending that totally ruined all that came before it.

While 'Dark Circles' doesn't tread the same grounds as that one, nor did it have as much impact as 'High Tension' had, its ending makes you wonder about the logic that's being used here.

Can a ghost be killed by a knife? Will it come back? What about the people who die over the course of the movie? and what about the marriage that was under huge pressure up until 2 minutes before the end of the movie? Ultimately, 'Dark Circles' is one of those movies that entertains, but doesn't manage to rear its head amongst the better horror movies. Being a virgin in this genre could benefit your experience as a viewer, but as a seasoned vet it's a case of been there, done that.

To summarize: some genuinely creepy scenes, an effective soundtrack, decent acting and a very well shot movie make this one of the better entries into the 'After Dark Originals' library. But that doesn't mean it's great.

I read some reviews here after watching the movie. I have watched a lot of horror movies since I am a big fan of the genre. To me, this movie was not scary except last minutes but it might be very interesting for someone else and the reason is that the acceptance of a horror movie is concerned with audiences in different way. Some people enjoy horror movies based on ghosts and haunting houses, some others may prefer slasher ones and some ones like all sub-genres of horror movies. This movie is about a newly purchased house by a couple with their new born baby who move there and have insomnia. Very soon some strange things happen and a chilling lady is seen by them. In my opinion, the film was directed not bad but the written story was not enough good. Paul Soter wrote the story and directed the film as well. I previously saw his other written and directed movie,"Watching the Detective (2007)" and I think that one was a better work as a comedy-romantic movie but this movie lacks very effective shocking elements. First of all that ghost- form lady was not terrible and creepy. Second, killing of the ghost- form lady was funny if you think she was just a homeless woman looking for a baby or revenge not a ghost! Third, 3 persons (Nancy, Micheal, and the creepy lady) were killed in that house at the end and the couple (Alex and Penny) were sitting in an ambulance after the arrival of rescue forces but who the hell didn't suspect to them as murderer(s)?! Apart of these problems, the movie had relatively good filming and acting. My rating to this film was 5 out of 10. Watching this movie is up to you I don't recommend you to see or not to see it but of course not worth for second time!