Out of the Dark (2014) User Reviews

Run Of The Mill Supernatural Type Movie

[HorrorOverEverything · 4/10 · 14 January 2015]

Not a whole lot to say about this film. It probably could have been decent given that that they seemed to have a good budget and some good actors, but they chose to go a very mediocre clichéd route with it instead.

The story was very predictable, which really hurt the film since this is pretty much all story. Aside from a few jump scares, the entire thing was pretty dull and boring.

It wasn't horrible, I watched the whole thing with out any temptation to shut it off, but it just felt like something I have already seen over and over again.

4/10

Into the light

[kosmasp · 4/10 · 2 November 2014]

Actually you are not so much in the dark during the movie (metaphorically speaking, literally there is quite some darkness here). But the clichés and the direction the movie takes is so obvious, that some might feel insulted by the movie. Still the acting is decent enough and the story flows in the right direction.

Kids in danger/peril is always something that will get peoples attention, especially under the circumstances it happens here. The decisions people make are not always great, but we have seen characters behave worse in other horror movies. Plus the little girl is really sweet and it will be tough not to like her for people. A thing needed, otherwise the movie wouldn't work at all ...

"She was dragged away by kids."

[utgard14 · 4/10 · 24 May 2015]

Not scary (often boring) ghost movie about an American family in Colombia terrorized by local spooks mad at grandpa. Gramps is a businessman so, like every movie businessman ever, he's got blood on his hands. It's all pretty clichéd stuff and not the least bit unnerving or frightening. The jump scares didn't even make me twitch. My butt was asleep by the end of it. Speaking of the end, there's at least one bit that's unbelievably corny. If you have the guts to sit through this, you'll see what I'm referring to.

Julia Stiles and Scott Speedman have both done better. They have no chemistry and their work here is forgettable. Pixie Davies plays the young daughter in constant danger. While she is certainly a cutie patootie, she's not a very good little actress. She has a heavy British accent while both of her parents are Americans. Even Stephen Rea, playing her grandpa, is using an American accent. I missed it when I watched but apparently there was a throwaway line of dialogue in the beginning that said the family had been living in London. Pretty flimsy but there you go. This was the first English-language film from this production company so perhaps it went unnoticed by everybody that Pixie couldn't change her accent until it was too late to recast. Or maybe they just didn't give a flip. It's not like it would have saved the movie or anything. It's a dud regardless.

Belongs in the dark

[imatosser182 · 3/10 · 16 January 2015]

Think of what you want most in the world.

The good news is that it's probably going to be replaced by something more realistic when you get to around the 20 minute mark of this film. The bad news is it will feel just as unlikely to happen.

"Out of the Dark" is a mercilessly slow, plodding and derivative drama, not a horror/thriller as advertised. There is little to no action to speak of until the last few minutes and nothing to break up the laborious crawl towards the finale. The half decent twist towards the end will be wasted on the comatose audience.

A pointless regurgitation of scenes and clichés filmed a million times before, in the form of a 20 minute story dragged out for three and a half hours.

2 marks for the film itself plus a bonus mark for the fact that it defied the odds and did actually end.

Wtf just happened to me?

[michelelavell · 1/10 · 22 July 2018]

If you can get past the Americans with a British child.... okay.

If you can make it past the complete lack of chemistry between the co-star couple.... good luck.

If you even make it past the boner of a story..... I'm impressed.

I know I'll never get that time back but it was on Hulu so at least it was free.

I agree with most others here. A mildly spooky 'Haunted Children' Horror film that is a bit light on substance. Blu-ray: Very Good A:9 V:9

[lathe-of-heaven · 5/10 · 30 May 2015]

My review probably isn't going to add a whole lot because quite honestly this is a RARE case where I actually agree with just about EVERYONE else in what they have said in their Summaries about this film...

Basically, I suppose I just wanted to add my general agreement with most people here that the film is not terrible at all. The mood and look of the film is nice, the acting and direction are decent, and there are a FEW scary moments, but ultimately, I just don't think that it has enough depth and substance to make it a very effective Horror film. I guess I AM a bit of a sucker for Haunted Children stories, but there are two other films similar to this one that I personally like a ***LOT*** better and I wanted to come here and mention them because they have a very similar theme, but I feel are far better movies.

'THE ORPHANAGE' (2007) An exquisitely moody Spanish film by one of Guillermo Del Toro's protégés.

'THE AWAKENING' (2011) A very effective British Period Horror film about a Haunted Hospital starring Rebecca Hall. I think that I rated them both 9/10

So, FWIW, I thought that if the premise of this film caught your interest, I really wanted to be sure to tell you about these two other films which I feel are amongst the best of this Genre. I highly recommend them!

About this movie... Basically, the technical aspects are just fine. The acting and direction are good. I feel that the director did moderately well in creating a fairly decent mood. But, I think that maybe the story itself and perhaps the way it was developed could have used a bit more complexity and depth. Otherwise, it is a pretty much just a passably mild, 'Haunted Children' Horror film. And Stephen Rea is all but wasted in his role, really.

I actually gave this a '5' which is a little higher than it's current 4.x, for what it's worth...

P.S: BTW, I haven't seen it yet (although I've bloody HAD the film for like 3 years) but the Spanish made, English speaking movie 'FRAGILE' (2005) starring Calista Flockhart, also about a Haunted children's Hospital, looks pretty damn good...

Generic Ghost Story

[view_and_review · 5/10 · 27 January 2016]

I think that some movie creators really believe that if they put the word "dark" in the title it'll automatically be scary.

This was one very generic ghost story.

Let's look at the typical ghost story formula (the rest MAY be considered a spoiler so avert thy eyes now if you don't want this movie to potentially be ruined).

1.) someone killed in an unjust manner.

2.) unjustly killed has a ghost that terrorizes.

3.) character being terrorized finds out the history/true story behind the unjust death.

4.) ghost is placated or subdued due to the discovery.

The jump scares, spooky music and ominous setting is all there for setting the mood. If this is your first ghost movie go-round then maybe you were impressed; as for me, SMH.

Julia, you deserve a better Horror film!

[nitzanhavoc · 4/10 · 1 March 2015]

As a Horror fan, the ghost-story and haunting sub-genre has always been my favourite. As a general cinema fan, Julia Stiles has been one of my favourite actresses since 10 Things I hate About You. And then we have the privilege of a child actress taking her first steps in what might become a long and successful career! What could possibly go wrong? The answer is everything else.

Yes, the acting is decent, though I would really like to see Stiles starring as a main character in a Horror film. When your favourite actors aren't usually taking part in films from your favourite genre, it's frustrating at times. Yes, little Pixie Davies is everything a passive child victim is cut out to be in such films - innocent, adorable and helpless. Here ends anything really positive I have to say.

While I can't think of an example for this story being used before, it doesn't feel original or innovative, and doesn't really keep you on edge guessing till the end. The ghosts are simply not scary. The "jump scares" are predictable and ineffective, and that's really saying something, since as we all know well thought off and finely designed jump=scares work even when you're expecting them (how could a film mess up the cheapest horror trick of the 21st century?). I actually found myself bored towards the second half of the film. Me? Bored in a horror film? Never happens. Honestly. Never.

I can't stress how much I wanted to be able to give a good review. Getting Julia Stiles in a ghost-story was a dream come true. But the dream turned into a nightmare, and not in a good horror kind of way. I'm painfully disappointed. Then again, my disappointment is probably due to my high expectations. If you watch this with no expectations whatsoever - you will probably enjoy it. It's good for a few scares, especially for people who aren't usual horror viewers. But personally and subjectively - ugh, what a let down...

My Review Of "Out Of The Dark"

[ASouthernHorrorFan · 7/10 · 16 October 2015]

The story is one that has been seen before in similar films to "Out Of The Dark" with a family moving to a new place but unfortunately pick one cursed by a tragic past, and lingering paranormal influence. Quilez's story is a good one though, framing this construct in a beautiful, subtropical location, disturbing historical area steeped in superstition and legend. Plus he gives us a clear message of cruelties brought about by foreign companies exploitation of almost "third world" regions for profit, all wrapped nicely in a chilling supernatural thriller with some vengeful spirits.

"Out Of The Dark" does have some pretty cool make-up artistry and special effects. It is a mix of semi-gory practical design and expected CGI ghost-y stuff. Although instead of feeling redundant, the CGI in "Out Of The Dark" is creative and at times beautiful in its cinematography. The atmosphere is a blend of warming with the family taking in the beauty of their new home, and the darker, chilling aspects of past tragedy, a cursed people, and a family hunted by angry spirits. The soundtrack is equally intense and eerie. Plus there are moments when the quick shock gimmicks actually scared me a bit.

Overall "Out Of The Dark" is a nicely produced, creative thriller with a lot of suspense and drama. The cast give acceptable performances and the characters are developed nicely, the native Colombians more so than the family. The ghost children are haunting and creepy. On the down side though it becomes too clear too early in the story as to the true nature of "Out Of The Dark" so some of the thrill and suspense does get lost during the final 3rd of the film. The ending feels a bit drawn out and unnecessary at the very end, not in the actually story aspects but more the visual- conceptual stuff used at the end. It could have used less theatrics and been more effective. Anyway "Out Of The Dark" is a cool, entertaining story with a more mature narrative that shows some real heart.

Flawed and underdeveloped

[texasreaderstacy · 2/10 · 13 July 2019]

The premise was good, but poor execution. No subtitles for foreign dialogue, a "British" speaking child to American parents. Overall it was just chaotic.

Supernatural with Taste.

[sgdptech · 10/10 · 5 June 2015]

This is a very good Supernatural/Horror movie, and thankfully, it wasn't the typical Slasher type flick that most of the Naysayers posting here were probably expecting. It's truly disappointing that no one else seems to be able to appreciate a Supernatural type movie without all the blood, gore and spilled intestines of other less desirable Supernatural movies.

Definitely worth watching if you enjoy a more realistic storyline without the usual senseless slashing/killing of other Horror movies. The location setting on the Western Caribbean coast of Northern Colombia and the use of the town's indigenous population's past tragedy involving some of their children, is very useful in creating the dark and ghostly atmosphere that surrounds the movie itself.

Not a horror movie, but worth seeing once

[851222 · 7/10 · 18 June 2015]

Greetings from Lithuania.

"Out of the Dark" (2014) is more of a mystery thriller with some horror elements rather then a horror movie. It's not scary, yet it has some jump scare moments, which are kinda generic and predictable. If you will start watching this movie in hope to see a great horror movie, you will end up disappointed.

That said, "Out of the Dark" is more of a mystery movie. Plot is simple, yet not that bad. The best parts of this movie in my opinion was solid cinematography, gorgeous locations (shoot at location in Columbia), nice acting by J.Stiles (unfortunately Scott Speedman was miscast here) and some very nice pacing of this movie. Director did kinda nice job, but script in here should have been improved.

Overall, "Out of the Dark" is not a bad movie, it's just not a horror as it's advertisement says. It's nice to see some scenery change once in a while, and this movie has one. Good pacing, nice acting by lead actress, solid cinematography and some mystery story with horror elements makes this movie a worth seeing once.

Don't bother!

[pixiekatten · 3/10 · 20 December 2016]

The opening of the film sets the pace (or lack of rather) for what's coming! If you find the stair scene somewhat exciting then by all means, keep watching, but be aware - this is as 'spooky' as it gets. It is all dragged out and without suspense, no jump scenes - though they do try their hardest, a bit too hard.. it just falls flat. This movie is completely non-convincing (both acting and script). The twist is OK but they could've done so much more with it. Stiles make a bad movie worse by just walking around yelling in the end, for what feels like forever. When you are forced to turn down the volume on a scary movie then there is something very wrong! Do yourself a favour and watch something else. My (generous) rating: 3/10. This is simply a weekend filler and make sure to save it for days when there is absolutely nothing else, and I mean NOTHING else, left to watch.

I tried to like it

[threetwoindiamafia · 3/10 · 5 July 2022]

Here's the thing, it has a good cast. It has a somewhat decent story. The problem is that this movie made me hate a kid and that's not good. The little girl was clearly directed to be a dumb little kid, and the lines made it worse. I hate to say that because it sounds so cruel but the little actress ruined it. If she reads this, bc there aren't many reviews, it's not your fault lol, it's the directors.

Good Story, Bad Execution...

[geminiredblue · 5/10 · 8 September 2015]

Having recently gone through a slew of paranormal movies (including THE RING, SINISTER, UNFRIENDED, ALWAYS WATCHING, and THE CONJURING) I heard about this film. So I shrugged and gave it a shot. Story-wise, it's pretty good. Not entirely original, but still eerie. The problem with OUT OF THE DARK is... just read on. THE STORY: An American couple, Sarah & Paul, (played by the wonderful Julia Stiles and a bland Scott Speedman) along with Hannah (Pixie Davies) their British-accented daughter(?) travel to Colombia. Once there, Sarah takes a job at her father's paper mill. As strangers in a foreign land, they soon learn of the odd customs that their neighbors have. And along the way, they learn about the shocking history surrounding the disappearance and death of several children. Before you know it, the family starts to see weird shadowy figures in bandages and have all sorts of paranormal events. Things get even worse when their own daughter gets kidnapped by these ghostly apparitions. And it's about then that everything starts to fall apart. Instead of doing the smart thing, like call the cops or even attempting to speak in Spanish, Sarah and Paul frantically barge and stomp around town, blabbering in English (which the locals obviously don't understand), until finally learning the truth behind the ghosts. Like I said already, it's a good story. But, the film needs to be ratcheted up in some way. Either there have to be more scares, or there's gotta be more of a sense of dread and doom. Honestly, if the film were more tightly edited, (maybe if the parents were written to be a little more effective) it would be a better movie. But as it is, you can take it or leave it.

ugh Seriously?

[jb0579 · 2/10 · 12 January 2016]

Maybe the lamest horror movie I've watched in 10 years. Fell flat on its face. I never include a plot synopsis as you can find that elsewhere, rather I simply rate the movie and talk about it as a good movie or bad; but there isn't much to talk about here. A promising start and decent premise gave way to clichè spooks and the same scare over and over send over and over and...... A face would appear out of nowhere in a flash of light and the same Julia Roberts-type scare scream repeated til you get tired of it. Worth your time? Only for the eternally bored, diehards of the genre, movie critics, or if there's nothing else to watch. If you don't meet those criteria, watch something else.....

Average

[deloudelouvain · 5/10 · 15 March 2017]

Out Of The Dark is just an average movie, nothing special about it. It's one of those movies you watch once without much interest and than you completely forget about it. The acting isn't bad though, it's just the story that is not very captivating. They could have done better with that story. And by that I mean it's supposed to be a horror movie but there is just not enough horror for my taste. Sometimes you get a bit of masked children, almost always running away, and that's about it. The filming is okay without being special. There are just not enough special effects to make it interesting. All in all it's a missed opportunity to make a better movie with this story.

Too familiar to truly scare

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 31 January 2016]

OUT OF THE DARK is an entirely predictable US-financed ghost story that unfortunately gains little from being shot in Colombia with a Colombian crew and Spanish director. The story feels like the usual 'Americans abroad' type tale and indeed when the ghostly back story kicks in, although it's mildly inventive, it bears too much similarity to previous ghost films like THEY WAIT, a Canadian film in which almost exactly the same stuff happens to a family who move to China with their kid and are haunted by sweat-shop ghosts.

That's not to say that this film is particularly poor, because it's certainly adequate by genre standards and it refreshingly focuses on attempted chills rather than gore effects, but it's still a disappointment. Julia Stiles and Scott Speedman can do little with their predictable characters and the acting of the kid is little to write home about either. Stephen Rea stars in another 'pick up the pay cheque' type supporting role and as a whole the scary moments seem derived from the likes of SILENT HILL rather than being truly original. It's just about passable, but only if you're almost entirely unfamiliar with this entire genre of film.

"Yankees stay home!!" yells OUT OF THE DARK . . .

[oscaralbert · 6/10 · 2 March 2015]

. . . a message that should go without saying, let alone requiring an entire feature-length film to get the point across. Any American with their head screwed on straight realizes that Antarctica, New Zealand, Iceland, plus parts of Australia, Western Europe, and Canada are the ONLY places to visit without risking the high expenditure of U.S. taxpayer dollars and possible peril to our brave Special Forces personnel for the so-called "thrill" of selfishly traipsing around world trouble spots slumming. However, "Sarah" (Julia Stiles) and "Paul" (Scott Speedman) set fit to drag their young daughter to a haunted portion (what isn't?) of Columbia, South America. (Since Ms. Stiles has been paired on screen at least once with every minority actor in her age group, she has NO chemistry with the white-bread Mr. Speedman, proving the adage which rhymes "Black" with "back.) This atmospheric horror tale has plenty of rain, thunder, lightning, mist, fog, and gloom. Mostly what it lacks is a compelling story line and characters who are not total idiots.

Starts Off With Potential But Ultimately Falls Flat

[dfa120374 · 4/10 · 5 May 2015]

Lame. I think that is about the best word to use to describe Out of the Dark, and I think I'm being generous by not calling it anything worse. The reason I've not given it a lower rating than what I have is mainly due to it being decently acted, being quite dark, and it having some nice effects scattered throughout the film. A lot of people will probably think "Why did I bother to continue?" if they reach the end, though.

The film starts out promising enough, giving it some potential for it to be a decent wee film, but it just doesn't really pick up enough for this to happen, and apart from the odd moment here & there it stays pretty flat. It even lacks in the jump/scare department as well, and for a haunted horror film to not have any decent moments of the most common way to scare it's audience, doesn't bode well.

The story's rather predictable with no real twists or surprises, and is actually quite slow going for the most part, which can be OK as long as the story keeps your interest. This struggles to keep your interest, however, and it actually ends up feeling like a bit of a chore to make it through to the end.

As a wee side issue, the fact that this is an R rating is a bit of a joke, and is misleading if you're expecting a scary/violent film, because apart from the odd rare moment, nothing really warrants the R rating. In fact I've seen more violent/creepy PG-13 rated films.

Overall, Out of the Dark is just another below average run-of-the-mill haunted horror films that fails to deliver for about 90% of the time. It's not a horrendous movie, but it's definitely far from being one of the best.

Unusual spooky horror in Columbia

[robertemerald · 8/10 · 22 March 2019]

The timing here, coupled with the sound, ensures there are plenty of jump-out-of your-seat scares. Good cameras are used, and even if you are not into horror, the clear image gives wonderful backdrops of a green and colourful Columbia. The story is a clever sleight of hand, which (on the dvd) leads to an interesting, and important, raison d'être right after the closing scene. Very sparse but clever use of special effects, poignant toward the end. Watch for them, they are hard to spot, but they are an important part of the puzzle. The actors are top shelf and fully committed, and the daughter is irresistible cute. One cares what happens to her straight away. There's a sense of professionalism to the technical aspects, particularly the editing and shot framing, and it is spooky. I docked it a couple of points because at a certain point toward the end all plot surprise is lost, and I thought what was needed was something more threatening, or wild, perhaps combined with special effects, some sort of horror frenzy to carry us over the finish line. I thought the 'ghosts' could have had a bit more bight even early on and certainly leading up to the finish, maybe a nasty sudden split-second slash or two. My opinion only. The film wasn't over-long and more could have been done with the cool final location. The success of this movie depended pretty much on the parents. The parents are authentic, sensible, conservative and not over-reactive, and thus there is a sense to Out Of The Dark that it is horror played like a quiet melody on a piano, rather than an overture by an orchestra, and I found that intelligent, refreshing and effective, and thus really enjoyed it.

RABBITS, SILVER, RIVER

[nogodnomasters · 7/10 · 29 November 2018]

The film opens in 1992 Santa Clara, Colombia. (Don't drink the water.) A doctor is burning files and leaving his home on a dark and stormy night. He has an accident and dies and it appears the ghosts of children are involved. We flash to the present. Paul (Scott Speedman) and Sarah (Julia Stiles) along with their daughter Hannah (Pixie Davies) become the new occupants. Sarah is going to become the general manager at her father's (Stephen Rea) local paper mill. The daughter becomes ill and then disappears as ghosts appear.

Nothing like a ghost story involving a little girl and Native Americans. However, in this tale there is no Zelda Rubinstein. The parents and grandfather are out looking for Hannah while uncovering dirty little secrets for which the script writer was kind enough to give us ample clues. This is a fairly decent ghost story that runs with the pact. It is good while you watch it, but one you will soon forget.

Will make a good rental.

Guide: No f-bombs, sex, or nudity.

Just an average horror movie

[funnycommentor · 5/10 · 22 December 2022]

The plot of the movie was interesting, but kinda basic (because, there are too many horror movies similar to this one). The storyline was just okay, nothing innovative. The filming location of the movie was basic (just a big house in the middle of nowhere), but it was nice. The characters were kinda interesting and likeable, but not very well-developed. It wasn't a really scary movie nor creepy and most jumpscares were definitely predictable. Of course, it was an intense movie (especially, the opening scene). The plot twist was kinda unexpected, but the ending scene was predictable. Overall, it was an average horror movie that I don't know if I would ever watch again.

Pretty bad

[bgar-80932 · 4/10 · 5 October 2019]

I watched this movie after I had been drinking so take my review with a grain of salt. This is a horror movie but it wasn't scary. A family moved into a house with some ghosts basically. Eventually they discover why the ghost are haunting them then the ghost stop haunting them. The end basically unless I missed some stuff with my being a little drunk.

The title is too obscure.

[el7 · 4/10 · 22 February 2020]

The title is clearly referencing the inciting action of the ghost story at the heart of this movie, as well as trying to be a pun about how the ghosts operate, but the reference does not make a strong enough connection to the content to be effective. Mostly it's just puzzling. Out of the Dark is about a woman (Julia Stiles) taking over a plant in Colombia and bringing her writer husband (Scott Speedman) and their young daughter with her. I'll be honest, I was kind of expecting a cheesefest like the scary doll factory movies with a similar premise, but that's not what I got. This movie tries very hard to be earnest, and the pace plods for that effort. The acting is above average for horror, though. Speedman acquits himself adroitly, and Stiles actually impresses, especially in a scene near the end where she is convincingly devastated when she thinks her daughter has died. Those kind of acting chops were not necessary for a horror movie, but I do thank her for them. Stephen Rea was also suitably creepy as her father who is clearly hiding something. The score is also very good for horror, and the supporting cast were all sympathetic. The story is fine for this kind of movie, because while it has been done before, it still works. The movie leads you to believe for most of its runtime that a 500 year old legend is responsible for the hauntings, only to find out that the haunting is a lot more recent and Sarah's family is directly involved. The special effects were okay, but what got old real fast was the jump scare tactic of having a face appear out of the dark accompanied by a child's high pitched scream. That doesn't stay scary beyond the first time, but this director used it time and time and time again. Still, the movie didn't stick the landing and I've got to give a horror movie its props when it manages to end on a satisfying note, because a lot of recent flicks don't.