While in Wales visiting her husband James (Sean Bean), Adele (Maria Bello) tries to fix her relationship with her teenager daughter Sarah (Sophie Stuckey). They see a weird memorial without the plate and with the name "Annwyn" marked, and the local Dafydd (Maurice Roëves) explains that this would be the place where people go after dying in accordance with the Welsh mythology. Later, Sarah vanishes on the beach and the daughter of the local fanatic shepherd, Ebrill (Abigail Stone), who died fifty years ago, appears in her place. Adele makes a research trying to find how to rescue her daughter from Annway.
"The Dark" begins as a promising suspenseful horror movie, but first of all, the mystery is disclosed too early. In accordance with the free encyclopedia Wikipedia:
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Annwn or Annwfn, ("under-world" or "un-world", sometimes inaccurately written Annwyn, Annwyfn or Annwfyn) was the Otherworld, the land of souls that had departed this world in Welsh mythology. Ruled by Arawn, or much later by Gwynn ap Nudd, it was essentially a world of delights and eternal youth where disease is absent and food is ever-abundant. Annwn was said to lie so far to the west that not even Manawydan ap Llyr had found it, for you could only reach Annwn by dying yourself. It was also said, though, that Annwn could be entered by those still living if they could find the door.
unquote
Although being based on a Welsh mythology that I am not familiarized, that is not the problem of this movie, but the confused screenplay after the plot point. It is never clear who came back in the end (Sarah, Ebrill or an evil entity?). Nevertheless the good performances of the cast, the very reasonable special effects, the beautiful landscapes, the conclusion spoils this promising good movie. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Escuridão" ("Darkness")
"The Dark" begins as a promising suspenseful horror movie, but first of all, the mystery is disclosed too early. In accordance with the free encyclopedia Wikipedia:
quote
Annwn or Annwfn, ("under-world" or "un-world", sometimes inaccurately written Annwyn, Annwyfn or Annwfyn) was the Otherworld, the land of souls that had departed this world in Welsh mythology. Ruled by Arawn, or much later by Gwynn ap Nudd, it was essentially a world of delights and eternal youth where disease is absent and food is ever-abundant. Annwn was said to lie so far to the west that not even Manawydan ap Llyr had found it, for you could only reach Annwn by dying yourself. It was also said, though, that Annwn could be entered by those still living if they could find the door.
unquote
Although being based on a Welsh mythology that I am not familiarized, that is not the problem of this movie, but the confused screenplay after the plot point. It is never clear who came back in the end (Sarah, Ebrill or an evil entity?). Nevertheless the good performances of the cast, the very reasonable special effects, the beautiful landscapes, the conclusion spoils this promising good movie. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Escuridão" ("Darkness")