Alone in the Dark (2005)

Edward Carnby, detective of the paranormal, investigates a mystery with clues leading to "Shadow Island" that brings him face to face with bizarre horrors that prove both psychologically disturbing and lethal, as he discovers that evil demons worshiped by an ancient culture called the Abskani. Alone in the Dark is another horrible looking and also packed with horrible perfomances Uwe Boll flick that has some big names in it who although some of them quite talented couldn't even handle the word 'I am' without screwing it. Definitely an awful flick. (0/10)

I'm a real movie afficionado, as many of you are. I like quality movies, regardless of plot. I'm no snob. But you can't fool me, because I know you've done the same mistakes I have as an adult: Watch complete crap til the bitter end! What's my defence, you ask? Just got Netflix. It just appeared there. I had time to spare.This starts as a standard horror movie, and no spoiler, this is the lines written before the movie starts; about ancient forgotten native Americans nobody remembers but they screwed up and opened a portal they FORGOT to close, to a dimension with horrible being wanting to take over earth. Good job there! But it's got Slater and Dorff in it, it could not be...that bad, right? AND - it's got lots of artefacts! Artefacts are cool, right? (20 Of them!!)About 15-25 minutes in you realise this is just not a sub-par horror flick, it's a punishment, it's actual abuse of adult viewers. I mean, I'm putting my rep on the line here telling you I've seen this. Can I write a best seller about this at least...and get some money? "I saw Alone in the dark - How I got back to life".But...maybe...maybe it will get better? Then the monsters enter the stage, and if you like man-sized dinosaurs, this is your gig! But then they start playing Marilyn Manson and a SWAT team comes into the picture and it's in slow motion and pale weirdos appear too. I didn't want this!! I want to be happily scared a bit.People - we got to fight this kind of abuse of horror film lovers around the globe. Unite!PS. Do not watch this. It may cause serious trauma.

January 28, 2005I think this film is going to get crushed because Uwe Boll directed it. He's the guy who adapts videos games into movies. He directed "House of the Dead" back in 2003 and now he has adapted "Alone in the Dark," a video game series set around the spooky and supernatural. "House of the Dead" was not that good and this picture is not that good either but it's not terrible. In short, I didn't mind it and I was entertained but I was left wondering a lot and I should not have been left in that state. I will decide whether to recommend the picture at the end.It's about, Edward Carnby (Christian Slater) who is a detective that specializes in the occult & strange occurrences. Carnby used to work for Bureau 713, a secret government organization that protects the world from paranormal activity and danger. When Edward discovers one of his friends he grew up with in an orphanage has disappeared, he discovers, Professor Lionel Hudgens (Matthew Walker) is planning something big and Carnby must stop him. Together with his ex-girlfriend, Aline Cedrac (Tara Ried) and Commander of Bureau 713, Richard Burke (Stephen Dorff), Carnby must race against time to stop the professor from re-opening a portal and releasing demonic creatures before it's too late.It opens with a cool narrative telling us about a group of mine workers who discovered the remnants of a long lost Native American civilization called, Abkani, in 1967. Shortly after, Abkani vanished from Earth without a trace. As a result, Bureau 713 was established to research and uncover the dark secrets of the Abkani. The director of the bureau, Archaeologist Lionel Hudgens began conducting gruesome experiments on orphaned children and the government shut him down. When the film begins, a team of people is looking for a runaway child. You guessed it, It's Edward Carnby. This opening serves as the core of the story as we learn revelations from it later on.I'm going to get this out of the way right off the bat. Tara Ried can't act. Her character Vicki in "American Pie" was a dumb ditz. She played the same character in "Urban Legend" and she plays the same character in this picture. I'm not being mean, I'm speaking from seeing her experience on screen. Now, I have played the game that this is based on and the character of Aline is smart and can take care of herself. Tara Ried's character cannot. She is always hanging in the background and she is cardboard with the role. Always in trouble and yelling for help. I'm sure Tara and her character will be another big target for this film but this is not about her. Now, what makes this picture interesting is the story. For a supernatural picture, it works and it's entertaining to see it unfold. Uwe Boll didn't do a terrible job with "House of the Dead" and it certainly showed he tried to make a good film. It seems to be the actors he uses are some causes of the problems and I don;t think I'm wrong about that.What's interesting is that Carnby has an interesting backstory to him. I think most of the films story is lifted from the latest game "Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare." There are a few similarities to the source material: The creatures thrive in darkness and can be harmed by the light or electricity. The creatures in the films are called Xenos. I believe there are some others sources from the earlier games but I'm not sure because I have not played them. So, the character of Carnby is most interesting. He was raised in an orphanage where he lost his memory when he was ten years old. Experiments were conducted on him and the children and because of this he has the ability to sense paranormal activity. He was electrocuted when he was a kid and that serves as a plot twist later on in the film. He finds himself investigating his own past which seems to have connections to Abkani, an ancient Mayan-like Civilization from another dimension who worshiped the demonic creatures that Carnby seeks to destroy.Aline works in the city's museum of history as assistant to Hudgens. She has a vast knowledge of the Abkani. The plot really becomes interesting when a friend Carnby grew up disappears in the middle of the night and Carnby finds that it's all connected. Now, the story might be fine but the action sequences are implausible, to say the least, and a sped up heavy metal soundtrack doesn't help much during an action sequence. The special effects are terrible. The acting is wooden and there are numerous mistakes in the editing. There's a sequence where a female soldier is killed but when the camera moves away, she lifts her head. Again, the actors he hires.The character of Lionel really works with the story. We don't know a whole lot about him. Maybe that's a good thing? He's really sick and twisted in his evil ways and he serves as a major part of the story. What doesn't work is the ending. Yes, there are numerous plot holes throughout and we are left wondering but what really drags the film is the ending. I was left wondering what happened myself. Stephen Dorff is wasted in the film. He reminds me of his police officer appearance in "Feardotcom" and you might as well believe it's the same character; dumb and stupid. We're led to believe there will be a sequel to this but I don't think so. For what's it's worth, it's not a terrible film but it's not good either. On that note, I don't recommend the film because of the numerous faults and the price you have to pay to see it but when it hits DVD, it's worth it to take a look it.

Story: I am going to first look at this only as a story, no opinions on the CGI or casting choices. If you were to look at the story as a solo idea you get a solid action horror. Now I hear people going 'no its just crap' so let's look at the details. First off we have an idea of scientific experiment on children to create sleepers, but something goes wrong so we don't see why it happened until more discoveries in the future. Then we have a search for hidden treasures of a lost ancient people. Add in a paranormal investigator, a secret government paranormal investigating team and the search for a truth. Now looking at those factors we should have a good story not special but enjoyable. Now with terrible casting decisions, awful CGI and a script that could have been written but a child everything goes south fast. As an idea for a story this is good, but as an execution of a story it's bad. (5/10)Actor ReviewChristian Slater: Edward Carnby a paranormal investigator who has been trying to uncover the truth about his childhood, this puts him in danger as this time he has got closer than ever before. He must team up with his old organisation to final uncover the truth that has lost him the memories of his childhood. Slater strolls for this role without showing any of the skills that made him a star in the early 90s. (5/10)Tara Reid: Aline Cedrac assistant curator at the museum who also happens to be Edward's girlfriend, she gets caught up in the middle of the battle after she uncover the location of the door. Going to take a deep breath before going for this one, just no how did this happen? Try your luck in romantic comedies. (2/10)Stephen Dorff: Commander Burke leader of a military team trying to keep the monsters away from the public, old partner of Edward but after seeing the truth he teams up with them to uncover the truth. Stephen can act and has proved it many times, just need to give him something to work with. (4/10)Frank C Turner: Sam an old connection within the organisation that still communicates with Edward, he fills in the science gaps and you can guess what happens to him by the end. Basic supporting performance. (4/10)Matthew Walker: Professor Hudgens scientist trying to open the door to the truth about the ancient people, he will do anything to get his answers including sacrificing anybody who gets in his way. As villains go this is generic one that doesn't need too much to make them special. (4/10)Director Review: Uwe Boll – He not only managed to mess up a relatively easy story with awful CGI and lack of directing ideas. (2/10)Action: Plenty of guns being fired, not sure if they ever hit anything as everything is in the pitch black. (3/10)Horror: Doesn't give you any scares, frights, well made with the acting. (1/10)Settings: The settings used for the gun fights are used well, because they would make real settings for such a discover if someone wanted to keep it quiet. (6/10) Special Effects: Terrible special effects that I only saw one good one and that was a soldier's head split in two. (1/10)Suggestion: I think if you are bored one night and this is on it would be acceptable to watch it as it slips close to the line of so bad you have to see. (Late Night TV)Best Part: The ideaWorst Part: The CGI, Acting and Execution of the idea.Believability: No (0/10)Chances of Tears: No (0/10)Chances of Sequel: Actually has one sequelPost Credits Scene: NoOscar Chances: NoBox Office: $10 MillionBudget: $20 MillionRuntime: 1 Hour 39 MinutesTagline: Can mankind defeat the army of darkness unleashed by an ancient evil cult?Overall: Not only did this film destroy the source material, it ruined any chance the video game had of returning.Check out more reviews on http://moviesreview101.com/