Deep in the Darkness (2014)

RELEASED IN 2014 and directed by Colin Theys, "Deep in the Darkness" chronicles events when a doctor (Sean Patrick Thomas), his wife (Kristen Bush) and daughter move to a quaint New England town where they learn very strange things are happening. Dean Stockwell plays an eccentric neighbor and Anthony Del Negro his grandson. Blanche Baker appears as the matriarch of the town while Cara Loften plays a troubled blonde. The first half is effective as a haunting mystery/horror flick with Thomas compelling as the protagonist. Naturally, I thought I was in for a good movie. At the mid-point, however, the secret of the town is revealed and it's serviceable, but not wholly successful, although the creatures (or whatever you want to call them) look great. From there, the movie goes off the rails and loses the viewer's attention. The captivating power of the first half disappears as the remaining scenes are strung together without any dramatic or aesthetic merit. Worse, the film's too ambiguous with way too many questions left unanswered or, if you try to connect the dots, the answers don't add up (speaking as someone who enjoys 'figuring out' challenging movies).The curious differences in quality of the two halves can perhaps be explained by the fact that the first half follows the book quite closely whereas the second half deviates and the director/writer/editors simply didn't know how to complete what they effectively set-up in the first half. They tried to do their own thing and failed miserably. THE FILM RUNS 1 hours & 40 minutes and was shot in Moodus, Connecticut. WRITERS: Michael Laimo (novel) and John Doolan (screenplay). GRADE: C-

In case you read some of my user comments in the past, you might know that I'm an incurable sucker for two things when it comes to horror movies, namely juicy titles and imaginatively sinister movie posters! If I stumble upon a film that has one or preferably both of those aspects in place, I completely disregard all possible ratings and reviews – hardly even look at them, in fact – and make it a top- priority to watch it! Needless to say that this peculiar and rather superficial habit already resulted in me watching a copious amount of downright dreadful movies that I could have avoided by a simple and quick glance at the IMDb rating, but I keep on making the same mistake… Even though not nearly as hopeless as, say, "Invasion of the Blood Farmers", "Deep in the Darkness" sort of falls into the same category. I was immediately hooked on its title (containing two horror key words) and intrigued by the poster image of the house with all the branching of roots into the soil, but it quickly became obvious that "Deep in the Darkness" is a routine, inconspicuous and mediocre-at-best genre effort. The plot contains a handful of good and ambitious ideas, and it's fairly clear that director Colin Theys is an enthusiast young director that knows his classics, but the film eventually reverts to familiar clichés and features too many dull & redundant moments. It's another variation on the classic "small town with a dark secret" horror premise, in which a family of new arrivals are either warned to leave their new home as quick as possible or gradually pushed to participate in bizarre rituals. Doctor Michael Cayle initially laughs away the advice to bring an animal sacrifice to the so-called "Isolates" living in caves and tunnels underneath the forests nearby Ashborough, New Hampshire, but naturally comes to regret that he didn't. "Deep in the Darkness" benefices mostly from realistic character drawings and a few moments of admirable tension-building. The make-up effects, particularly on the Isolate creatures, are also quite professional. Being a horror movie like there are thirteen in a dozen, however, there definitely should have been more carnage and on-screen violence.

Some people gave this movie bad reviews but i don't understand why. This movie is one for horror lovers. To me it didn't seem like a TV movie and I am the queen of B-movies to the folks around me. The sets are well done, the makeup excellent, the monster makeup well done and the blood and gore pretty decent. Nothing was obviously, ridiculously fake like most TV movies. This movie is creepy as heck. It starts out creepy from the first two minutes and the hits just keep coming. Some people said the monsters have too much exposure but the monsters are an integral part of everything that happens in the movie. There is plenty of mystery left to the monsters, including their origin and other things I can't say because, spoilers! The acting is great. I felt for the characters because they really seemed to be in distress, anger, pain, etc. There were some nice twists and, overall, the movie was fun to watch! It was nice and dark, creepy and scary. I'm from a small town in the woods, so I really enjoy creepy small town movies. You'd like this movie if you enjoy movies with dark atmosphere, creepy small towns, creepy neighbors, creepy people in general, monsters, or if you have a fear of the dark or the woods. I recommend you try it with an open mind. Don't let the bad reviews make you miss this one.

Moving can be tough, meeting new people in new environment and wondering whether they are mentally sound or downright brainwashed drones. Deep in the Darkness plays with the sense of seclusion and lack of familiarity to its advantage, up until halfway point. There lies a few good thrills in store, however the plot falls apart as the so called creature looks lees authentic as the movie progresses and some of the decisions the characters make are so ridiculously bad it feels like a parody.Dr. Michael Cayle (Sean Patrick Thomas) moves with his family to the small town of Ashborough. He works as the town's doctor and it seems like the people are nice enough, but strange occurrences begin to haunt him and his family. Sean Patrick Thomas performs his best, his character may be the most logically sound as he displays seemingly genius reactions. The confusion and anger he feels are just, they are almost expected from a man who is now confined against his will.Most of the actors also do their part well, the setting of the quiet and secretive town is eerie in moderation. Unfortunately, as the secrets are revealed, the plot stumbles significantly. The movie provides a few suspenseful scenes at early act, yet it ventures to the realm of comically bad decisions. Characters would do the least beneficial things for their survival.Not to mention there are plenty of scenes which are near supernatural just because the plot deems it. This creates a repetitive theme and considerably slows down the pace. The more the movie displays the threat, the less effective they become. At latter half it loses momentum as silly plot devices and character interactions erase any mirage of the thrill.Deep in the Darkness slowly weaves questions and threats, they play out decently with contrasting quaint back drop of the small town. Sadly, neither the revelation nor the conclusion has any touch of appropriate horror to be taken seriously.