In the Dark Half

Very slow story. It was beautifully made and the acting was great! Shame the actors weren't part of better storyline.

The acting is terrific - Marie (Jessica Barden) reminds me of a young Christina Ricci - has that haunted look and Filthy (Tony Curran) is great as the bereaved father. This film mixes emotions of loss, grief, with the (seemingly) supernatural as the actors (and actresses) work through their grief at the loss of a little boy - for no apparent reason.

In the mix is a strained relationship with the mother (read Prozac Nation review), some weird bunnies (you'll swear they are the reincarnated dead boy) with various sightings of the dead and communications with the spirit world. All in all a very interesting movie - beautifully shot in a brooding atmosphere - which held my interest the entire way. This film goes to show that you do not have to spend millions of dollars/pounds on famous actors and actresses to produce an excellent movie. But it does take good writing, an interesting plot, good cinematography, and good acting. This movie has all those elements. I liked the very touching ending with the bereaved father.

Certainly worth your while (unless you are a Bruce Willis fan - then skip it.) DonB

This is a really impressive piece of filmmaking until the end, when it just sort of splinters into a lot of random bits (including what look like stray cuttings from PRINCESS KA'UILANI?) It's too bad, because otherwise this might have been an eerie masterpiece standing alongside, instead of shadowing, SIXTH SENSE.

Jessica Barden is AMAZING as Marie; a weird 15-year-old living in a depressed suburban tract that backs onto "the hill," a large tract of undeveloped land that includes an abandoned bunker where she conducts burials for kills she steals from her poacher neighbor Filthy (Tony Curran.) Filthy entertains both Marie and his young son Sean with myths and folktales, but when Sean dies while Marie is babysitting, Filthy loses control while Marie becomes convinced that she is in communication with the dead. Increasingly estranged from her only friend Michelle (Georgia Henshaw) and erratic mother (Lyndsey Marshal,) Marie becomes convinced that Sean wants her to draw his father into the bunker.

Directed by Alastair Siddons, In The Dark Half is wonderfully weird, with terrific performances by everyone, atmospheric music, and effective cinematography. The script is a little all over the place from the beginning but this works at first, keeping the audience guessing as to the film's intentions; I thought this really worked for a while as it allowed the supernatural elements to creep in. Unfortunately it all began to fall apart once they are plainly in place, simultaneously telegraphing "the twist" without really setting up the rest of the finale to make sense. That doesn't necessarily make it a terrible film; it just left me feeling kind of disappointed.

Not all is as it seems in this low budget chiller. Fifteen year old Marie lives with her mother and occasionally babysits for her neighbour 'Filthy'. He is a poacher who tells Marie and his son, Sean, tales of fairies who live in a nearby hill. One night as she is babysitting Sean dies. Filthy wants somebody to blame and Marie blames herself but doctors assure them that nobody is to blame. As they try to deal with their grief Marie starts to believe that Sean is still there, living on the hill.

This film won't be for everybody but I rather enjoyed it. It is hard to pin down to a genre; it hints at the supernatural but it could be that this is just what characters believe. The pace isn't fast but that adds to the atmosphere. There is a good sense of mystery concerning what is really going on and some genuine twists. The cast is impressive; most obviously Jessica Barden, who is great as Marie; Tony Curren, who impresses as the grief-stricken Filthy and Lyndsey Marshal as Marie's mother Kathy. The locations used are effective; especially the old pillbox where Marie believes Sean is now. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to film fans looking for something a little different.

Yes, I also wasn't sure where the movie was heading, but I didn't mind it at all. From the first moment on it had a firm grip on me because of the eerie atmosphere, intriguing takeoff and beautiful cinematography (a joy for the senses and the stomach to NOT have to endure the documetary style restless camera. A pitty the wonderful engaging steady cam is mostly found in horror/thriller. Longing to see more of it in other genres too.)

There was a moment I felt a little annoyed by the girl because she didn't seem able to change her expression. Or say anything sensible at all. Was ready to dislike the actress (Barden) but all became clear in the end and her character was really, REALLY very troubled so the apathy turned out to be good acting. Thank goodness. What really surprised me was that it started rather unearthy, morphed into quite chilling, but ended up as a deeply sad and strangely comforting movie. Very nice.