Tromafreak
The only thing darker than darkness, is Leif Jonker's Darkness. If you haven't seen this and are frustrated by the fact that all the good low-budget horror movies were made before the 90's, then you are in for quite a treat. Darkness is raw, untampered with horror, in it's purest form, relying on only the necessary elements of horror, well, that and a few dozen gallons of blood. The result is nothing short of apocalyptic. If there's a better "shot on video" movie than this, anywhere, I'd love to see it.When this nightmarish masterpiece begins, we don't know where this takes place, or when, all we know is that there is something to run from and all we can see, other than some guy running, is Darkness. The rant we hear from this guy, when he arrives at the gas station, makes you think the world could be ending, nope, it's only a vampire. Liven soon invades the gas station, and he takes all their blood for himself, except the guys friend, Toby, who gets away. Getting away, only to stop some of the carnage by killing the ones, in his town that Liven has killed and converted, before it's too late. Toby meets up with some teenagers who have lost their families to all the pitch black madness. Together, they go out into the darkness to stop some of this, and maybe track down Liven and put an end to this, once and for all.If any of that sounds appealing at all, you'll be thrilled to know that Darkness is probably the third or fourth goriest film in history. Another thing Darkness has going for it is a chilling score that will literally make you shiver. This movie gives you a dismal, hopeless feeling, as if all is truly lost, that these people are fighting the vampires for nothing. The gun shots even sound like thunder. I assume very little lighting was used on purpose, because it adds so much to the horror quality, and never mind the movie is called Darkness. Darkness is a masterpiece of horror, B-horror, or just film-making all together.Now, on to the The Vampire Version. In my view, you can't fix what is not broke, swaying from the original vision is no way to treat a masterpiece. Although the Original Version is a masterpiece, the Vampire Version is still, at the very least, a damn fine horror movie. What truly makes the original so much better is the score, it's a much better fit, it adds that extra hopelessness, the new music belongs in something totally different. Are you serious? I don't want to know that it's 37 minutes till sunrise, this version lacks the aura of mystery that the original possessed. Also, the Vampire Version is too cleaned up, pristine, and colorful, whats good for Hollywood trash isn't necessarily good for indy horror, considering all that, I still give The Vampire Version 10/10. Now, back to The original Version. I love this movie, Leif Jonker's Darkness is my all-time favorite horror film, it's what so many others were always going for, but only one guy got it right. Hopefully, Jonker will get the sequels right, although, somehow I doubt it, a black diamond like this only comes around once in a lifetime, although Im sure Vampire Ferox & Vampire Apocalypse will be awesome. Frankly, I'm getting awfully impatient. I first heard abut the sequels 2 years ago, and still, nothing. I suppose I can see how someone could mistake some of the genius of Darkness as slow, or boring, there's certain parts that you just don't know what's going on, but, that's just part of the mystery. If your'e sick of the same old "normal", big-budget horror, then you might not hate Darkness. I give the darkest film in existence, The Original Version 10/10.
lovecraft231
A small town is attacked by a horde of bloodthirsty vampires. The only hope is a lone avenger and a group of ragtag survivors.Released in 1993, "Darkness" garnered something of a cult following upon release. It's easy to see why-it's loaded (and I mean freaking loaded) with gore, and it's energy and enthusiasm, like that found in other no-budget cult horror flicks like "The Dead Next Door" and "The Children of Ravensback", is actually rather infectious.While that may be true, that's sadly not enough to save it. The film was shot on a Super 8, so the image is grainy and dark, making things very difficult to see (it would have been great if it had obscured the protagonists dreadful mullet.) Also grating is the soundtrack, made up of annoying Casio Keyboard and even more annoying Death Metal (seriously, what is it with these no budget horror flicks and bad Death Metal?) While one isn't expecting Oscar worthy performances, the acting is still strictly amateur hour, as the actors sometimes seem almost confused instead of frightened or threatened.In the end, I'm sure fans of no-budget gorefests will love this. Everyone else though, will wish there was a little more meat on the ribs.
Backlash007
~Spoiler~ I first came upon Darkness many years ago at a local video store after hearing much about it. They were selling it for a paltry five dollars and I had left my wallet at home. A friend I was with refused to lend me the five knowing that I had it. A few days later I return with cash in hand and there is no Darkness to be found. Needless to say, the friend who wouldn't loan me the fiver is no longer with us. Just kidding. Years later the DVD is finally released, and it is a good thing that I waited (the clean-up comparison is pretty amazing). While watching the film I felt that same awareness that I got the first time I saw Deadbeat at Dawn and The Dead Next Door; the same feeling that I was seeing something tremendous shot for no money at all. I don't think it's quite as good as those two films, but it has the same spirit and ingenuity. Much like Jim Van Bebber, director Leif Jonker produced, created special effects, helped score, edited, wrote, and directed the film. That's a lot of hats for one man to wear, but when no one else is around you do it yourself. The film follows Tobe, who is a witness to a gas station massacre by the vampire Liven. When Tobe returns home he finds that his family has also been slaughtered by the vampire and sets out to find the bloodsucker and put him in the ground permanently. There are some nice set pieces to the film that will remain with you. The opening at the gas station for one, and a fantastic and tense run to the car wash for another. And lets not forget the ending; it's a very Evil Dead inspired bit of grue. Fans of gore-soaked cinema will not be disappointed. You've got to love those crude and oh-so-awesome effects done by Jonker and the film's star, Gary Miller. So Jonker wasn't the only one wearing many hats. I'd venture to guess that everyone did a little bit of everything on this film. I can't believe Jonker never did anything else! Someone give this guy some money. I'm up for a Darkness 2.
