Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Dark Was the Night Blu-ray Movie Review

. . . and Darker Were the Woods

Reviewed by Michael Reuben August 31, 2015

With every new creature feature, one usually hears the same complaint: "The monster is no good!" Viewers have become so finicky that one has to wonder whether any of the classics of yesteryear, from Frankenstein to Alien, would pass muster today. (My guess is no.) It's a particularly difficult challenge for independent filmmakers, who don't have summer tentpole budgets for expensive animatronics and cutting-edge CGI. The smart ones—like writer Tyler Hisel and director Jack Heller, who made Dark Was the Night—know enough to focus on the basics of story and character. They probably remember that some of the most memorable creatures were those that were seen the least, like the shark in Jaws or the title character in Alien. In both those classics, it was the terror of the human characters that made the creature real, because they were characters you believed in, felt for and cared about. Dark Was the Night is one of the best independently made creature features in recent years, because it gets those essential elements right. Whatever one thinks of the creature when it finally appears (and it's pretty good, especially if you pay attention to the hints about its origin), by that point the film is more about the people than the thing they're fighting.

Hisel's script first attracted attention when it made the 2009 Hollywood Blacklist of the top 100 unproduced screenplays under the working title "The Trees". A consortium of production companies joined to fund the project, which began filming in 2012 under Heller's direction. The film premiered at L.A.'s annual Screamfest in October 2014, where it won awards for special effects and visual effects. After a limited theatrical release in July 2015, Image Entertainment is issuing the film on Blu-ray, initially as a Best Buy exclusive with general release to follow in November.

At a logging camp somewhere in the Northeast, the supervisor (Steve Agee) goes looking for several crew members and is surprised by what he finds. These events will shortly become a concern for the country town of Maiden Woods, which lies some 90 miles to the south.

So remote that it loses cell service during a storm, Maiden Woods is home to hunters, farmers and horse breeders. Its sheriff, Paul Shields (Kevin Durand, The Strain), needs only a single deputy, Donny Saunders (Lukas Haas, Witness). Shields is a native of the town and one of its most respected citizens, but Saunders is a recent arrival from New York City who relocated to Maiden Woods seeking a change. The two men have something crucial in common besides being lawmen. Both are carrying weighty personal baggage that makes every day an effort to get through. The whole town knows Shields's story, which has caused his wife, Susan (Bianca Kajlich, Rules of Engagement), to move out of their house with their son, Adam (Ethan Khusidman). Saunders is a mystery, but there's an unmistakable air of sadness about him that only lifts when he sees Clair (Sabina Gadecki), who manages the grocery store.

As a series of baffling events descends on the town—missing animals, forests devoid of wildlife, unidentifiable tracks, strange sounds in the dark, unfamiliar claw marks, and worse to come—Shields and Saunders investigate, do their best to calm the alarmed citizenry (and each other) and consider all rational possibilities. Eventually, though, as the evidence mounts up and they eliminate the impossible, they are forced to accept that, however improbable it may seem, they are dealing with a previously unknown creature that is fast, intelligent and deadly. The local bar owner, Earl (Nick Damici, Late Phases), who claims Native American ancestry (fraudulently, according to Sheriff Shields), tells tales allegedly passed down from his ancestors of a demon spirit in the woods, but Deputy Saunders offers a more scientific theory by recalling news reports of an ocean expedition that discovered a form of deep sea life that was believed to have been extinct but had, in fact, survived. Maybe something similar survived in the forest.

Hisel's efficient script and Heller's taut direction expertly blend the investigation of the creature's incursions with an exploration of the town and its inhabitants, especially Shields and Saunders and the painful crossroads at which each man stands in his life. The committed and expert performances by Durand and Haas are ably supported by the entire cast, including Billy Patterson as a rancher who loses a horse to the creature (and is also Clair's father); Heath Freeman as Jim, a troublemaker who is one of the few people in Maiden Woods to challenge the sheriff but who comes around quickly when his life is in danger; and Terry Fiore as the local pastor. Early in the film, Fiore's pastor wants only to ease the suffering of Sheriff Shields and his family. As a late-winter storm descends on Maiden Woods and the creature attacks, the pastor's efforts expand to the entire town, as his church becomes a haven and a fortress.

Dark Was the Night Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Dark Was the Night was shot on Red by cinematographer Ryan Samul (Cold in July). Post-production was completed on a digital intermediate, from which Image Entertainment's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray was presumably sourced by a direct digital path. The Blu-ray image is sharp, detailed and often very dark by design, with deep blacks into which people peer for a glimpse of whatever is causing a disturbance and see either nothing or something that moves too quickly to make out. The film's palette has the grayish, desaturated pallor of late winter in a northern climate, which suits the emotional state of the two main characters. Indoor scenes are lit with a yellowish glow, but the color never becomes truly warm.

Noise, distortion or interference were not present. Image has mastered Dark Was the Night with an average bitrate of 19.98 Mbps, which is adequate for Red-captured footage, assuming the compression has been carefully done, which certainly appears to be the case here.

Dark Was the Night Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Dark Was the Night arrives with an atmospheric 5.1 soundtrack, encoded in lossless DTS-HD MA, in which sound effects and the expressive score by Darren Morze (The Blackout) blend to create a near-constant state of unease. Dynamic range is wide, bass extension is deep, and the entire mix is sufficiently loud that you may want to turn down the volume a few db from your standard setting. While the surround channels are not used for noticeable rear channel effects, the mix is thoroughly enveloping, while voices remain anchored in front. The sound design is yet one more example of how Dark Was the Night makes the most out of its limited budget to accomplish its goals.

Dark Was the Night Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Behind the Scenes: A Trip to Maiden Woods (1080p; 1.78:1; 7:34): Heller, Hisel, Durand, Haas and other cast members discuss making the film on location in Suffolk County, New York.



• Q&A with the Cast of Dark Was the Night (1080i; 1.85:1; 8:38): This is an edited version of the Q&A following a screening at Screamfest.



• Bonus Trailer: The film's trailer is not included but at startup the disc plays a trailer for The Houses October Built, which can be skipped with the chapter forward button and is otherwise not available once the disc loads.

Dark Was the Night Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I have kept the feature discussion short and general, because Dark Was the Night deserves to be seen on its own terms. From the moment Kevin Durand appears on screen, he commands attention, first with his sadness, and then, with his determination to protect his family and his town. Whatever one's opinion of the film's monster when it finally appears in full, it is Durand's portrayal of the sheriff's struggle with his inner demons that makes Dark Was the Night a memorable experience. Durand observed during the Screamfest Q&A that he rarely gets an opportunity to play the hero, but on the strength of this performance, that should change. Highly recommended.