Deep in the Darkness

[Rictras Shard]

Welcome to the movies. I am Rictras Shard, and I'll be your host. This week's installment is a creature feature by the name of Deep in the Darkness.



Michael, ine and Jessica Cayle are a young family looking for a change. They move to a countryside community called Ashborough, where they discover the change is a little drastic.

The next door neighbours are Phil (Dean Stockwell, ladies and gents!), his wife Rosa and their grandson Tyler. The Cayle's immediately get an invite to their house, which gives them the first clue that things are a little different in their new locale.



Within the next couple of days they discover a few little Ashboroughian quirks. There is an eight o'clock curfew. Attendance at the church is fairly much mandatory. The unofficial town leader is the local midwife/mystic. And oh yeah, it is heavily suggested that Michael takes a living animal to a big rock and sacrifice it.

I don't know about you, but if someone in my new neighbourhood told me I had to sacrifice something, I'd smile cheerfully and nod before saying "Capital idea, chum! In fact, I was already planning on doing just that! Let me just run on home and get the animal I already have prepared for such occasions. I'll be riiight back!" I'd then run on home and tell the family they have one minute to get in the vehicle Before Ashborough becomes KissMyAshGoodbyeOrough. After that minute I'm gone, whether the family is in the car or not. They had a good run.



Michael is a family doctor, and part of the reason he moved was to take over the local practice. There is a short scene soon after the move that had me wondering why a family doctor has a sample of the Ebola virus. Regardless, business is brisk at first, but soon dies off. The young fellow should take heart though, because soon he is going to get all kinds of patients. However, they are a rather unusual lot, and I highly doubt they have medical coverage.

How does it turn out? Well, you shouldn't piss off a doctor. Also, in dangerous situations, it might be best not to keep valuable information to yourself.



The movie has some good things going for it. The acting is fairly decent. The make-up and effects are good, although often in the dark. The characters are reasonably likeable, and the scenery is attractive. However, the story is old and tired. We've seen it many times before. This pretty much nullifies any scares the films deliver. It isn't even creepy. Oh, there are scenes it tries to get you with. Things scurry around in the background, barely seen. Terrible things happen to some people, with hints of even more terrible things. However, the frights are so worn out that you just don't care.

All in all, I give this movie a solid meh.