Broken Darkness (2017) User Reviews

It was ok-Spoiler alert!

[thomahal · 5/10 · 1 August 2018]

This is the middle of the scale when it comes to post-apocalypse movies.

Much I ask questions about tho. They have lived underground for over 8 years, where they plant and grow food. How is this possible without sunlight?

Apparently, you can not stay outside because of these zombies resembling creatures. Since they have people and weapons, why not create a secured area that they can protect, and eventually expand?

But, all in all, a good movie worth seeing, and get annoyed by the little things.

By the way. I really miss the forum. IMDB isn't the same without it!

It had its highlights, but too many flaws in the writing.

[Top_Dawg_Critic · 4/10 · 6 August 2018]

Novice South African Director, writer, producer, editor, visuals and sound editor Christopher-Lee dos Santos did a fairly decent job with his directing and visuals, but was flawed in every other department, especially the writing. Maybe he wore too many hats in this film.

The highlights in this film was the outstanding underground set/locations (set in Johannesburg, South Africa) and the great cinematography. The directing and acting was also fairly decent for a B-grade low budget film

The film actually started off very good for the first 30 mins or so. The story held my interest, the score intensified the suspense, and I couldn't wait for what was going to happen next. Then after that, the score took a turn for the worse, the sound had serious issues (e.g. faint gunshots), and the scenes dragged on forever, that the overly long 2 hour length felt like 3 hours. It needed to be edited down to 70-90 max mins.

Then there were the serious plot issues that plagued this entire film. E.g. what was the point of his son? How and why does the film shift to a pointless journey above-ground? I'm thinking a 5th grader could have written this better.

Had it not been for the great cinematography, sets/location, decent directing and acting, I would have rated this a 1/10.

Too Many to count

[nogodnomasters · 6/10 · 28 August 2018]

The Earth passes through the tail debris of a comet (which is something we do several times a year) except this one has a bunch of meteors which causes people to live underground. We catch up with Sam (Sean Cameron Michael ) an engineer who lost his son, eight years later. He is teamed with with Troy (Brandon Auret ) and Rose (Suraya Santos ) doing repairs in their underground world, They live in Kentucky Station, and must travel to Winnipeg Station to do some repairs.

And like every time the Earth passes through the tail of a comet, it produces a fungus that attacks the brain stem and causes people to become "Frenzied." There are also bandits as our group are forced to the surface.

The film moved rather slow building up Sam's ornery character. Nobody looking for an island to live on. Less graphic than most zombie film.

Guide: F-word. Attempted rape. Ugly butt crack nudity.

Potential

[adamsdabratt · 4/10 · 3 March 2021]

This movie had potential. Started out with an interesting way of continuing society underground and then finished off with the apocalyptic cliche samples. Ending with no direction. Too bad!

I also almost lost my mind on the female character lead... the most ridiculously annoying person of the whole movie.

Next!

complete garbage

[garyarmstrong-78424 · 1/10 · 10 August 2018]

T-U-R-D OF A MOVIE HAD POTENTIAL BUT WENT NOWHERE DONT WASTE YOUR TIME ON THIS GARBAGE

A BAD RIP OFF THE LAST OF US

[khalifabounoua · 2/10 · 26 December 2021]

DONT WAST YOUR TIME ON THIS GARBAGE ITS A BAD RIP OFF THE LAST OF US. GO PLAY THE LAST OF US.;;..................................... OKEY.

SO I WANT TO FORGET THIS BAD ACTING OMG THE ACTING WTF.

Started off a little sketchy but balanced out beautifully by the end.

[tkaine3 · 7/10 · 28 July 2018]

This post apocalyptic indie film has a few good moments intertwined through a pretty good storyline. The beginning had a scene or two that didn't quite sit right as far as the main character's reaction to a tragedy not the acting more so the writing but after a few quick hiccups this story heads in the right direction. The acting by all the main character's were brilliant, a few side show bob's would appear from time to time but the pace of the movie was never disrupted. Although this film is set in a post apocalyptic era the landscapes provided a peaceful charm. Special effects and the cannibal mutants were decent and the videography using certain angles at the right time provided optimal suspense. The ending sufficed and you definitely get the feeling when it's over that your leaving with more then what you came with. All in all I give this film a good movie rating at 7. Do take the time to check this out if the opportunity arises.

Ripped Off Home Videos of a Real Fire

[sprinkelfamily · 1/10 · 15 December 2023]

In the first few minutes of the film there are some short clips of people driving through a forest fire. At least one of the clips is from the Valley Fire in Lake County, California in 2015. If you look closely you can see a sign over the road that says "Anderson Springs". If you go look at Google maps and put in 19500 Hwy 175, Middletown, California, you can see the sign and how much of the area has not grown back yet. There is the possibility that those videos have become a part of the public domain, so there is nothing illegal about them using them, but I still don't like it. There is also the possibility that they used those videos illegally.

Not bad at all

[sorgdrager · 7/10 · 29 July 2018]

Clearly based/or ripping off the Metro books by Russian author Dmitry Glukhovsky, this low budget sci-fi has a lot of charm. For those who like post-apocalyptic action, this is a good option for a night in. Acting is very solid. Storytelling is also good quality. Lack of CGI can be a blessing in disguise for cheaper films.

Moody Apocalypse Flick Director Should Try Again

[electrosnow · 4/10 · 10 January 2024]

The obligatory bad copy elements from The Last Of Us video game is unnerving. And the purpose of the Rose character was lost when Santos didn't follow up with some deeper connection with the Sam character. Sam's story arc needs dynamic conflict with Rose which was almost nowhere to be seen as Rose became an ornament, as if she was a background character. Technically, the weapons display was too much hip shooting with little aiming down sites. Something which is going to annoy some viewers.

Santos has some direction style which leads to a moody apocalypse film. There is a visual style with the soundtrack. If he got a writing team and didn't cast what seems like his girlfriend or sister he might air on the side of a better piece. Most of the other actors were pulling their weight. But Brendan Sean Murray was on screen for just 60 seconds before I noticed he exuded a high caliber of acting.

I dare Santos to try again. But to take notes from a scriptwriters guild pool of mentors and film makers to put Quality Assurance to the script and storyboards before expensing the budget forward. And to find out what the difference is between a bad copy and an actual film homage is like with his own spin on a directorial signature.

Suprisingly good

[elielilemasabachtani · 8/10 · 27 July 2018]

I never expect much from movies I never ever heard of yet I decided to watch this after watching the trailer and I was delighted.

The acting is good, the story is cool the environment is nice. They manage to make a disaster movie like this with suprises, twists and a nice story.

Of course they could haver made things better, but thats not about the movie its about quality. I guess they didnt have the right budget but still manage to make a movie better than most hollywood blockbusters, cause this is good.

They used a bad camera for filming in the dark so much, the audio was bad too probably because they used a bad microphone and not Pro PRO stuff. Yet its nice to watch. The characters are acting really well, sometimes the dialogue can be somewhat slow in responses but still feels real and the emotions are really good.

I recommend this movie, well worth it. Hope they continue making solid sci fi flicks like this, kind of miss it and im glad I found this one, cause when you ahve a small budget you tend to make the best out of it with less CGI and more real stuff.

could be much shorter

[mrmgarnham · 6/10 · 4 September 2022]

A very slow post apocalyptic film with a good premise but full of plot holes and bad direction. Acting and cinematography are good even though the main character is annoying as hell, and the film fails to go anywhere.

Seems like imdb has suddenly decided they want longer reviews. Well tough luck. I have nothing else to say. No one needs a full on point by point review of a film usually full of spoilers. Lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala.

Lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala Lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala.

Lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala Lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala.

Lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala Lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala.

Lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala Lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala.

It does not seem to know which direction it wants to go

[jordondave-28085 · 4/10 · 15 March 2023]

(2017) Broken Darkness SCIENCE-FICTION HORROR/ ACTION DRAMA

Credited to four or more different job labels from co-producer, executive producer, editor, writer and directed by Christopher-Lee dos Santos that opens with a group of survivors of a meteor shower that wiped out much of the planet earth. At the same token, created a barrage of ghouls/ zombies whatever one wants to call them, a group of them escaping to live underground. At this point I was not sure who were the main stars were until it became apparent that the ghouls were running amok underground as well, forcing survivors who were initially planned to make a future there to escaping toward the surface. As we see Sam (Sean Cameron Michael) and Rose (Suraya Rose Santos) building a rapport.