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Cast: Kevin Durand, Lukas Haas
Maiden Woods is a remote and quiet town of decent hard-working people, but something stirs in the dark woods surrounding this isolated community. After a logging company decimates an area of the forest, a rash of increasingly violent and unexplainable events transpires. Sheriff Paul Shields (Kevin Durand) and his deputy (Lukas Haas) struggle to confront their own personal demons while facing down a new breed of raw terror that is possibly older than humanity itself… And much, much hungrier.
"Dark Was the Night" centers on Sheriff Paul Shields and his deputy who do their best to take care of the citizens of the little town of Maiden Woods. Both men are dealing with guilt from previous tragedies that happened in their lives but to make things worse there seems to be some sort of animal loose in town and it is killing the animals and breaking into local farm houses and barns. The people of the quiet little town are on edge as the Sheriff struggles to keep them all safe until he can figure out exactly what this animal is.
The film is a mix of good and not so good, thankfully the good definitely out does the latter so lets get down to business.
First the good, the film has one hell of an opening scene that gets the blood flowing. Then the film settles down and we are introduced to the main characters and let into their lives. The film remains at a slow pace until the very end but there is plenty of human drama going on and you do get to see little pieces of the creature from time to time. The human drama and the acting are the film's biggest strengths. You become a part of the two men's lives and you really have feelings for them almost right away. If it wasn't for those things, the film could have easily been a complete disaster.
And that brings me to the not so good which was the creature itself. I love these creature features but the film makers must not have had any money to use for the special effects because when we do get to see the creature it is all CGI and not the good kind, luckily he doesn't stay on screen very long. This movie would have really rocked if the budget had allowed for better effects but as it stays it is a very enjoyable horror/drama with a good bit of suspense and mystery, thanks in big part to the writing and the acting.
Kevin Durand as the Sheriff and Lukas Haas as the Deputy are both great in the film. If it weren't for them, I am not sure how the film would have been but this was excellent casting work. So, in the end the film was probably better than it should have been but credit must go to the cast and Director, Jack Heller for that. I recommend checking it out just don't expect anything special here and you too should enjoy the film.
Available on DVD with Special Features that include:
Behind The Scenes
Q & A with the Cast
You can order the DVD HERE.
One more note, the film has a surprise ending which sets it up for a possible sequel which I am not against.
Released by Image Entertainment
*** 1/4 Out Of *****