Dark Nature Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		3.5
Audio		2.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		2.5

Dark Nature Blu-ray Movie Review

Another weak entry in the slasher genre...

Reviewed by Dustin Somner June 22, 2010

I can’t say I have much familiarity with Scottish cinematic productions, so I was intrigued by the idea of a foreign take on the stale slasher genre. Directed by Marc de Launay (whose prior work consists of two short films) and written by Eddie Harrison (first-time feature length screenwriter), the film was shot entirely in Scotland at an isolated coastal mansion. Following an almost non-existent theatrical release in 2009, Dark Nature was picked up by Troma Team Video for a release on Blu-ray and DVD, affording viewers an opportunity to witness a film that may have been eternally relegated to obscurity.

I've never seen three people so fascinated with a dead bird.

Heading out for a family reunion at her mother’s secluded coastal mansion, Jane (Vanya Eadie) drags her teenage daughter Chloe (Imogen Toner), her son Sean (Callum Warren-Brooker), and her new boyfriend Alex (Len McCaffer) along for an uncomfortable road trip laced with tension. This sense of unease among the makeshift family only worsens when they arrive at the estate to find Jane’s mother and stepfather mysteriously absent. The two children make their way down the beach, while the parental couple head off in search of the missing residents of the mansion. What follows is a weekend of murderous mayhem at the hands of a brutal, emotionless serial killer.

Reviewing low-budget horror films can be a difficult matter, considering the varying viewpoints on preferences within the genre. Some folks enjoy buckets of blood and gore, while others look for a worthwhile twist ending to leave a lasting impression. That said, I wouldn’t consider myself pigeonholed into any one group among horror enthusiasts, though I find an intriguing plotline a vital component in the thriller subcategory. In that regard, we can begin our analysis of Dark Nature, a film that clearly attempts to break from the conventional pack, yet emerges as a muddled, confusing affair. As you can tell from the brief synopsis above, the film begins with a generic premise involving a family with strained relationships placed in a highly stressful situation. What I didn’t mention in the set-up is the manner in which the mother and stepfather meet their untimely end (prior to the arrival of the daughter and grandchildren), and the complete lack of explanation behind those deaths. The bewildering plot-holes continue as we’re introduced to a biologist who spends the majority of his time walking through the forest in search of butterflies while videotaping his rants about human encroachment on the wild. His wife is a blind tarot card reader, who acts as a mere placeholder in the film, simply waiting for her turn to be picked off by the “unknown” serial killer. These paper thin characters are introduced into the story with zero necessity, and quickly discarded without rhyme or reason. Furthermore, I felt extremely frustrated by the inclusion of a nightmare sequence in the early stages of the film, which establishes what I’d hoped would be a connection between the circumstances that follow. Instead, we’re given a killer with no explainable motive, a completely unnecessary final twist, and a series of events that absolutely defy logic.

In case the plot of the film wasn’t bad enough, I was equally disappointed in the majority of the acting from the primary cast (though a portion of the blame should fall on the abundantly weak script). Dialog is used as little more than filler between moments of tension, and casts further doubt on the ability of scriptwriter Eddie Harrison to create a natural interplay between characters. Listening to the audio commentary, I found it interesting to hear Harrison reflect on aspects of the screenplay he found “clever”, since it doesn’t appear he paid much attention to the basics.

Thankfully, there are two items that partially rectify the shortcomings in the screenplay. First, I was impressed with framing of the cinematography by Andrew Begg, who demonstrates a knack for visual artistry. The second saving grace is a wonderfully suspenseful musical score, consisting of slow piano-heavy arrangements that gradually build to a dramatic crescendo. The end result enhances the underlying feeling of dread, and elevates the dreary nature of the storytelling.

Dark Nature Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in 1080p utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 31Mbps), Dark Nature looks about as good as one could expect given the unusual nature of the source material. Fine object detail varies from scene to scene, but clearly surpasses the limited nature of a standard definition offering. There are several occasions where it seems as if artificial sharpening was used (generating an overly digital feel), but edge halos remained non-existent despite the effect. From a color standpoint, the film demonstrates a push toward yellows and greens, casting the sun-drenched environment of the shoreline in an unnatural spectrum, while simultaneously adding to the dreary mood of the overall production. This seems to fit within the framework of the cinematography, so I can't fault the transfer for the lack of color vibrancy, but those interested in the film should be aware this is a fairly drab presentation. Moving along to black levels and contrast, Dark Nature demonstrates adequate proficiency, though there's a tendency for several darker scenes to incorporate subtle background noise, and obscure shadow detail in the process. Lastly, I noticed several instances of mild aliasing in shots of the rocky coastline or the grating on a furnace vent, though they never presented much distraction.

Dark Nature Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Underwhelming is the name of the game on the audio portion of the disc. Troma is a small-scale studio focused on the release of independently produced films (often of the outlandish variety), so their first few discs on the Blu-ray format have been notably lacking in the audio category. This trend continues on Dark Nature, which includes a lossy 2.0 track as the sole audio option on the disc. When you have a film as atmospheric as this one, you'd hope every creak of the floorboards or turn of a rusty door handle would send chills down your spine. Sadly, when you're presented with a front-heavy experience such as this, it diminishes a necessary element in the overall presentation. Furthering the problems apparent in the lossy mix, there were several moments when the dialog approached less than ideal levels, forcing the occasional volume adjustment to dissect certain lines. Fortunately, not all is lost with the lossy English track, which provides adequate clarity, decent balance between environmental effects and the creepy musical score, and minor spatial separation between the two front channels. In the end, this is hardly a value-added audio experience, but it still serves the intended purpose.

Dark Nature Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Behind the Scenes of Dark Nature (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 27:28 min): Beginning with an introduction by director Marc de Launay, this featurette incorporates footage of the cast and crew working on various sets throughout the film, followed by interview segments with the cast and production stills chronicling the filmmaking process.

Interview with Vanya Eadie (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 12:55 min): As one of the primary actors in the film, Eadie answers a series of questions regarding her involvement in the film, and the role she played within the story.

The Last Noel (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 8:18 min): This short film by director Marc de Launay pits Santa Claus against a disbelieving young boy with a shotgun.

Rounding out the extras, we have a standard definition trailer for Dark Nature, four trailers for other Troma films, and a feature length audio commentary with director Marc de Launay and writer/producer Eddie Harrison (who's replaced in the last 20 minutes by producer Ted Mitchell). The commentary track is primarily interesting as an explanation of the abstract storyline in the film, but it's sad we're forced to rely on a commentary track to shed light on the background of the story.

Dark Nature Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Dark Nature is a perfect example of misdirected filmmaking. Every good thriller should start with a decent storyline and build from there, but that's simply not the case here. Coupling an incoherent plotline with weak dialog, there's simply no foundation on which to build a necessary level of tension, robbing the film of any lasting value. I'll be curious to follow director Marc de Launay in his future endeavors with cinematographer Andrew Begg, but I hope they're a bit more selective in choosing the storyline of their next project.