DarkGame

This was a confusing watch..... why they have tried to make it an American film, when the streets (with the newly introduced 20mph road markings and Bristol landmarks) and actors are clearly british, but they are putting on god awful accents, the captains uniform is something you would pick up from a fancy dress shop and even police department looks like a sadly made up job centre office.... And the plot, ummmm..... not great! Don't even get me started on the lighting, was it in the room with us? Hardly anything likeable about this movie that I was tricked into watching with it being in the top 10 on Netflix, how?

This isn't a bad film, the script is dreadful, the locations dreadful, cast dreadful, effects dreadful, but every now and then you can see the bones of something better.

The story and the twist ending seem very heavily influenced by Saw, but the movie itself is like the Saw you'd get if you ordered it on Temu or Wish.

Apart from some good lines here and there the dialogue is terrible and there is a whole sub-plot about an imprisoned tech genius serial killer that just doesn't go anywhere or serve any real purpose.

The single biggest thing holding this film back for me though is the villain, nothing about him works, he's not scary, not intelligent, there is no threat or menace when he's on screen, he's not Jigsaw, he's more 'Kiddies Safety Scissors'.

Actually more than one game! So no pun intended! Yes if that sounds familiar ... you may have ... Saw in mind! You saw it coming anyway (the pun that is). You may be tired of all the movies trying to copy Saw - and I don't think this is able to reach the heights of it ... maybe not even some of its sequels power.

That said, the movie is more than fine .... especially the main bad guy. He is having so much fun with his role ... and it shows! Even if he covers his face - I assume there may be another movie in the works - or at least planned ... maybe prequel, maybe something or rather someone else than him taking over ... maybe him - depends on the end of the movie, doesn't it? That was rhetorical obviously.

Interesting horror with some horrifying effects ... not for the faint hearted for sure ... be wary if you are sensitive ... just saying.

Read reviews about 10 mins in ..agreed with most it looks amateurish but the actual game show was well done and the actor who played the host was watchable ..all the American accents were passable apart from the police officer with the grey beard it was all over the place ..it holds its own against saw and hostel and they had bigger budgets so hats off to all involved ..in what could easily have been a complete mess the direction was quite tight and and the acting was ok .....................I've seen far far worse films that have had rave reviews..I'll name one bloody Black phone lol ..like I said not ground reading but very watchable.

For the love of all that is holy... LEARN TO LIGHT A FREAKING SCENE! Every. Single. Scene. Is backlit with daylight coming through the windows and ZERO fill lighting. In a police station, apparently they cannot afford to pay the power bill. Not a single light is on. At night, there is the equivalent of 4 watt night light bulbs "lighting" the scene, again from behind, so that the main figures are silhouetted. There is one scene in the killer's basement where there is literally a dual fixture flood light - FLOOD light, mind you - that apparently puts out as much area light as MAYBE a single 40 watt bulb. And that is being generous. I don't know who started this ignorant, film-school-dropout trend of poor lighting, but they should be forced to participate in one of these "Russian Roulette" games.

OK... enough about the lack of lighting. The movie itself... meh. It's been done before, and in much better fashion. There is no reason for the killer or his games. There is no rhyme nor reason to the "contestants" choosing. There is no reason for the convict that is called in to help, and then once he does, he's completely forgotten. As a matter of fact, once the feds come in and take over (like they always do), towards the end, the just aren't there. No reason. No mention.

Oh, but just for checklist's sake, there is one of each... just because. No matter who you are, you WILL see yourself in this movie. As a matter of fact, I have never seen so many foreign language speakers in America in my life. I will give it that the usual suspects are not all knowing and all powerful. The casting is the only thing "current." But It is still noteworthy just for the sake of transparency.

Nah... don't even bother with this one.