The Darkness (2021) Review

The Darkness (2021) Review

Spanning one hundred years, and filled with mythology and folklore we start in the present day where writer Lisa (Amelia Eve – THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR) and entrepreneur David (Cyril Blake – THE WAITING GAME, Z-LIST) are desperate for a brief escape from their hectic London lives. They take up residence in an old remote home in Ballyvadlea, Ireland, where Lisa has plans to start writing her new book and David has a business plan to work on…but the house has other ideas.

When strange things start to occur Lisa uses her investigative skills and discovers a memoir of a woman called Niav (Katherine Hartshorne) and delves deep into the past. But unlocking long closed doors has awoken a dormant evil spirit…and now the nightmare begins. As the couple find themselves embroiled in a century long mystery of possessions, changelings and witchcraft, their only hope of help comes in the form of a strange priest named George. Can they escape the demonic entity and the dark past deep in the walls of this terror filled domain?

Writer & director Tharun Mohan has concocted an old-fashioned spookfest that is fun, frothy and difficult not to like. Amiable, if somewhat daft, Mohan’s movie is littered with inconsistencies – such as having characters repeatedly say there’s poor network coverage only for them to then excuse themselves to take a call on their mobile. I also found it rather endearing that we hear thunder but never is there any rain or lightning to accompany it, yep it’s that sort of movie.

Lisa’s partner David says ‘babe’ more times than you’d probably hear said in the classic talking-pig flick of the same name. It could have proved aggravating however we can forgive him for saying it so often because he’s just soooo cute! However David’s not the brightest of people though, after coughing up blood and maggots as he prepares for bedtime David rather too casually dismisses the shock as just seconds later he’s toddling off to give Lisa some sexy-time.

The last third of THE DARKNESS becomes a tad flabby as characters do their best to bring the viewer up to speed on what’s happening and why. It fast becomes repetitive however the cast are so earnest and the film itself so endearingly old-fashioned at heart that you can overlook its numerous shortcomings and simply revel in what is one of the most unexpectedly enjoyable low-budget British flicks of the past few months.