Into the Dark

Compared to the expectations from the trailer, this film is more than just “watchable”, in fact, I liked it. The first half needs to be shorter, but after the 40th minute the atmosphere thickens considerably, the story becomes a cheaper variation of Insidious, and the ending is quite atypical. From me, an unexpected thumbs up. A nice and pleasant snack, though with quite a few objective issues (weak performances, characters that don’t react appropriately to the situation, etc.) (12.09.2013)

Ironically, the opening 30 minutes of the film, when nothing happened, were the most bearable, with much promise of interesting developments. Especially Misha Barton's voice, even if she were just reading the next stop announcements on the subway I’d easily travel a few stations further than planned, but any time it reaches a situation where the plot is about to go someplace, the director ultimately finds an opportunity to show that directing films with actors in them is not really his thing, and given that the film is based on only two things – the main couple's relationship and, in the second half, the fear of the unknown – and given that neither works, the 107 minutes are more or less a punishment. The protagonists' chemistry doesn't work simply because the film tries to embroider the unlikelihood of their romance with off-topic shots of Instagram relationship clichés that the viewer is supposed to identify with, so the element of fear is lost in the second half because you pretty much loathe the characters, and on top of that they behave in a way that makes it hard to believe they've lived to such an old age. The whole shebang is crowned by a disgustingly selfish and resigned ending that just confirms that no one in this film rightfully deserved my sympathy. On the plus side, the lighting work is quite successful and there are some technically impressive scenes. By "a couple" I mean two. (09.05.2014)