It's easy to see why she turns outside the nuclear family, as when Reggie does ask mom for help, Maria shuts her down, warning, "Don't go getting paranoid." Olin's signature combination of seething passion and cool detachment makes Maria's frustrated distractedness at least halfway convincing: no one in her right mind would be investing emotionally in this family, though it's not clear why she's moved to Spain with Mark, where she works a night shift and avoids hubby when he starts playing with knives, axes, and drills.
He sensibly resists their insinuations ("I just draw the plans!"), but the kids make him feel guilty too, reminding him that the folks who gave him the measurements for these plans were sinister. He comes by to help her unpack boxes and paint her bedroom she frets, "You can't imagine what it's like to be afraid of your own father." Carlos provides support when Reggie decides to visit the architect, Villalobos (Fermi Reixach), who designed the house. Reggie seeks solace with a new boyfriend she meets at school, Carlos (Fele Martínez). Soon the house is not only dark at all hours, but also stealing Paul's colored pencils (by way of the resident evil spirit, apparently quite dexterous), making creaky sounds, and sending forth sludge from its faucets, the sort of sludge that such movies pass off as ominous portent when really, the point is your basic gross-out. Her first clue that something is desperately wrong is that the electricity in the house tends to go out, whether or not a thunderstorm is raging (and "Darkness" features more than its share of storms, loud and wet). And it's her assignment in this hodgepodgy horror flick to poke around for the truth, as incoherent and derivative as it may be. Reggie knows better, or at least knows this much is wrong. Before you can say "Jack Torrance," he's telling his kids, "This is gonna be the best house in the whole world!"
Mark's distress - un-worked-out as a child, maybe repressed, maybe lost to a spell - now comes roaring back with a vengeance, as he begins to suffer nasty symptoms, ranging from sweats to sleeplessness to aggression against his own family. As Reggie learns, he was one of the seven children, the only one returned to his family, meaning, his father, Albert (Giancarlo Giannini, whose marked "Italianness" in this Spanish milieu only exacerbates the family's unaddressed multi-nationalism, what with the Swedish Olin, Scottish Glen, Singapore-born Enquist, and Canadian Paquin: chalk it up to the "global economy"). Long ago, seven children went missing, apparently victims of some dark, witchy-or-culty plot, and their tragedy has dampened the town's mood for the 40 years since. This house, it appears, has a history, hinted at as Juame Balagueró's "Darkness" begins. And most of all, she's angry that the family has recently moved to the Spanish countryside to live in a haunted house. She's mad that neither parent seems particularly concerned with looking after her pasty little brother, Paul (Stephan Enquist).
Still in high school, she's unhappy that her father, Mark (Iain Glen), is suffering from apparent seizures and that her mother, Maria (Lena Olin), is the queen of denial. Sneak Peeks for "Sin City," "Cursed" and Dimension Home Video.ĬOMMENTS: Regina (Anna Paquin) is a surly girl.
Darkness Illuminated: Behind the Scenes of Darkness - 3+ minute look at the film and its production, including clips, behind the scenes footage and various interviews.As is any horror film, there's the related score, ambient sounds (rain, thunder) and various horror effects that make good use of the surround channels. The more dimly lit scenes obviously aren't as vibrant, but they still look good. PLOT & PARENTAL REVIEW (For the original, PG-13 rated theatrical release)ĪUDIO/VIDEO ELEMENTS: Although one might think the picture would solely befit the title (and it does at times), there are brightly lit outdoor scenes that look fabulous (with sharp imagery and vibrant colors). (2004) (Anna Paquin, Lena Olin) (Not Rated)
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