Review: Darkness Rising

(imdb.com)

Not every horror movie has to be the greatest. Sometimes, shooting for an A, but being perfectly fine with a B isn't such a bad thing. After all, nine times out of 10, most people would rather rewatch Blair Witch than Rings. But, for lacking in originality or a subpar plot, horror films need to provide some point of interest to keep audience attention - something IFC Midnight's latest release, Darkness Rising, does not.

Darkness Rising follows a young woman, her boyfriend and her cousin as they venture back into the childhood home where her mother went insane. Darkness Rising stars Tara Holt (Ballers) as Madison, Bryce Johnson (Willow Creek) as boyfriend, Jake, and Katrina Law (Apparition) as cousin, Izzy. In each of their respective roles, the trio makes the most of a clearly flailing script, although the only true standout is Johnson. He maintains a sense of control over his character, where the women seem to lose their acting ability midway through.


Following closely to many of the haunted house tropes in the beginning, the film starts offer pretty straightforward; offering enough scary atmosphere and mediocre acting to maintain viewership. But like many horror films, it quickly unravels into an unsalvageable mess of confusion and blatant disruption. Firstly, the offensive-to-the-ears overuse of shouting back and forth make for such a wincing time that many may just turn the movie to mute, effectively ending the film. This leads to a discussion to what is perhaps the films largest problem: timing. Sound editing, awful character reactions and misplaced scares all toss up moments that should terrify and leaving only a scattershot of jumps and terror.


Despite its typical haunted house conventions, Darkness Rising is also unnecessarily confusing. There are some spookier moments worked into this thinly made film, but ultimately the addition of some sci-fi aspects weaken what could have been a slightly better taut project. These scary parts are where Darkness Rising is at its strongest. Had it stuck specifically to these jump scare and atmospheric ploys, maybe the resulting product would be far superior. At the very least, it'd be more watchable.


Darkness Rising isn't particularly bad, but it's definitely nothing to see twice. It's a simple, ineffective horror film that does less to offend than it does to impress, making for a truly forgettable journey. Sure, its attempts to complicate its plot are worth noting but in the end, no one will be interested enough to keep focus. 4 out of 10.