Two weeks ago, the Darkness trailer appeared, showcasing Anna Pacquin: I had no idea that Lena Olin and Giancarlo Giannini were in this film! What junior-junior marketing staffer got the assignment to promote Darkeness??? Oh, it must be an X-Men fan. While foreign audiences have enjoyed Darkenss for two years, the U. S. studios and distributors continued to give us Freddie, Michael Myers, Jason and Zombies. Superior U. S. horror films of late have been remakes of foreign horror movies. Well, better late than never. The staging, photography and editing are top-tier. Hm - was that a shadow or a person or a creature or just my imagination? Wonderful - let my imagination fill in the blanks. The actors deliver fully fleshed characters. The audience is left juggling loyalties - which of the adults is a "good guy or gal"? Blink and the answer changes. The script does have disjointed plot devices and the music is ill-chosen (the composer should resubmit the soundtrack for a lighter film). Odd duck that I am, my favorite moment occurred as the credits rolled: the sold-out audience erupted in a collective "What the hell?" Give yourself a belated Holiday treat: Darkness awaits you.
