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Tell Others About This Page By Using This Button "DARKNESS" (2004) (Anna Paquin, Lena Olin) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Minor Mild Extreme *Heavy Minor Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild Moderate Extreme None Heavy Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Minor Minor Heavy Moderate Mild NOTE ABOUT THIS RELEASE: This review is for the original theatrical release which was rated PG-13. As a general rule, we don't re-review altered versions of releases (meaning ones with different ratings, director's cuts, special or expanded versions, etc.) since we'd have to re-review the entire film (the studios don't provide information on what was changed, added or deleted from such releases) and there simply isn't enough time or manpower to do so. Please consider the following as a bare minimum. QUICK TAKE: Horror: A family must deal with supernatural events occurring in the home into which they've just moved. PLOT: Forty years after an unfinished occult ritual resulted in the disappearance of six kids, an American family has moved into a never before inhabited house in Spain. The mother, Maria (LENA OLIN), wants to get the place in order, while the dad, Mark (IAIN GLEN), goes to work, and their kids, teenager Regina (ANNA PAQUIN) and her younger brother Paul (STEPHAN ENQUIST), try to settle into their daily routines. It helps that Mark's doctor father, Albert Rua (GIANCARLO GIANNINI), is nearby, especially when Mark begins to suffer from some mental breakdown attacks that periodically reoccur. Regina is not only worried about him, but also Paul who's now scared of the dark for the first time. The young boy has reason for that, however, as there seems to be some sort of supernatural force beneath his bed. We also occasionally see supernatural figures of what appear to be kids standing in the shadows and darkness, watching the family. As Paul becomes more scared and their father increasingly unstable, Regina eventually figures out it must have something to do with their home where the power is lost everyday. With the help of her new friend, Carlos (FELE MARTINEZ), the two eventually meet the man, Villalobos (FERMIN REIXACH), who designed the house, and learn that it was built for supernatural reasons to coincide with an eclipse that only occurs every forty years. With the next one quickly approaching, and now armed with the knowledge that the earlier occult ritual needs one more death to be completed, Regina races to make sure that Paul isn't the final victim. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're into horror films and/or are fans of anyone in the cast, they just might (although this seems most attractive to teenagers at best). WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For disturbing images, intense terror sequences, thematic elements and language. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: To avoid giving away any late in the film surprises/revelations, only the initial major characteristics are noted below. ANNA PAQUIN plays a teenager who becomes increasingly concerned about her family and convinced that their problems have something to do with the house into which they've just recently moved. STEPHAN ENQUIST plays her younger brother who suddenly develops a fear of the dark thanks to sightings of ghostly figures in his room and some sort of supernatural force beneath his bed. He briefly uses some profanity (said in accompaniment with his dad). IAIN GLEN plays their father who progressively spirals downward into mental instability due to the house and a childhood incident that's left him scarred. He briefly uses some profanity. LENA OLIN plays his wife who's concerned about him, but not always as much so for her kids. She smokes a few times. GIANCARLO GIANNINI plays Mark's father, a physician who treats his son's mental illness. He briefly uses strong profanity. FELE MARTINEZ plays a local man who befriends Regina and assists in her quest to find out all she can about the house. FERMIN REIXACH plays an architect who was hired decades ago to design the occult house. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this horror film that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 1 "f" word, while a handful of other expletives and colorful phrases are uttered. Various scenes regarding supernatural and occult material and instances (including the sight of ghostly children, other supernatural beings and standard haunted house style offerings including fleeting glimpses of scary images, ghostly encounters, jump scenes and more) may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. Others may have less of a reaction, or none at all. There are also some brief, somewhat bloody images, but nothing too bad, especially for this genre. Tense family and thematic material includes some of the above as well as a father progressively becoming mentally unstable. A woman states that her husband has just died (in front of her and their teenage daughter), but that's not made perfectly clear. Bad attitudes are present, as is some brief smoking and drinking. A deranged man accidentally cuts his hand, a person stabs another with a syringe filled with an unknown substance), and murders of children in the past are implied. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, some of the flashed images and scenes that occur in the film eventually take on a near strobe-like intensity. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there are various scenes featuring rather jumpy/jittery camerawork. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Some miscellaneous people appear to have drinks at a party where Maria brings Albert a glass of wine. Mark has what looks like a beer. BLOOD/GORE We see a small, non-bloody scratch on Paul's neck. Appearing ever more deranged, Mark starts rapidly dicing some vegetables that he's preparing. He apparently then cuts his hand (we don't see the impact) as he's then holding a bloody towel over his wound. We see a brief flashback shot (from a distance) of a young boy running through the woods with some blood on his head (this is seen again later). We see a boy with a slightly bloody lip. Paul appears to have a bloody nose and a black eye after an encounter with something or someone. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Mark is mad at an electrician who's unable to find anything wrong with the wiring in their house and tells the man he won't pay him anything for the house call. The character responsible for the occult behavior and wishing to have another person sacrificed for occult reasons obviously has a bad attitude. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and/or "Jump Scenes" along with the following may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. Others may have less of a reaction, or none at all. We see various flash images of figures, etc. that may be unsettling or scary to some viewers (mainly younger kids and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material). While in the bathtub, Regina thinks she hears something as the lights in the house flicker. As Mark has a flashback to a traumatic event in his past, he begins to convulse in the car in front of young Paul who then sees a stranger pull his dad from the car and try to help him on the road in the rain. A cloudy and dark apparition comes out from under Paul's bed, causing one of the boy's pencils to roll under it (all as we hear spooky voices in the room). Paul is in his room at night in the dark when a little toy carousal suddenly comes on by itself. We see some figures of children (presumably ghosts of some sort) standing in the dark in the house. An old record player suddenly starts playing on its own. As Regina gets off the bus at night in the rain, she notices a figure across the street watching her. Paul tests to see if some invisible force will cause his pencil to roll beneath his bed. It does and he slowly looks under the bed. His bedroom door then suddenly closes by itself. Appearing ever more deranged, Mark starts rapidly dicing some vegetables that he's preparing. He apparently then cuts his hand (we don't see the impact) as he's then holding a bloody towel over his wound. We see more flashed images of various spooky/scary looking figures. We see the silhouettes of various ghostly children standing in Paul's room, and we then hear him screaming to get out. Regina rushes to the door, but can't get it open (nor can he from the inside). We see more ghostly kid figures standing in the shadows. We see more ghostly kid figures standing in the shadows as Regina answers the phone (and there's childish laughing on the phone with one voice then saying "We're watching you"). Regina hears a loud creak from somewhere in the house. Regina finds an old photo lying on the floor. When she picks it up, we see that one of the three figures previously featured in it is now gone. We then see some sort of monster/spirit crawling across the ceiling toward a position above her. There's talk of Satanic sacrifice where seven children are to be killed by having their throats cut by someone who loves them. Villalobos is riding the subway in a tunnel when the lights start to flicker and we see the scary looking figure of an old woman (with blacked-out eyes) sitting across from him (who's there one moment and then not the next). Later, we see Villalobos walking down a tunnel walkway when the lights start going out behind him, slowly catching up with and then leaving him in complete darkness (but we don't know what happens to him). Regina realizes that a family member is in on the spooky, Satanic occurrences. We see a man coming at Regina in the darkness. We then see that he has her tied to a chair as he explains all and prepares a syringe to inject her (but that never happens to her). He does, however, gag her when someone arrives there. A pencil goes under Paul's bed and his miniature carousel starts to go around by itself (scaring Paul). Maria locks herself and Paul into a room when they're afraid of Mark who starts to pound on the door. After Maria tells him to take his medicine, he does but takes too much and has a very adverse reaction to that. A Satanic man states that something evil is about to be born (we see a large egg-like thing in a terrarium with a large snake around it). We see jittery images of ghostly kid figures in the hallway. Maria needs to perform a tracheotomy on her husband, but can't get herself to make the cut. Regina then does, but we don't see the cut. Paul screams, and Regina rushes to him. They then encounter their mom who's acting creepily toward them until they figure out it's not her and she suddenly turns into the above ceiling crawler creature. We see more flashed images of the ghostly kid figures. We realize that a person who's saved the kids is not really that person as their car heads toward a road tunnel (but we don't know what happens to them). GUNS/WEAPONS Maria holds a box cutter that she intends to use to defend herself, but never does. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: What sounded like "sh*t-head," "Get your ass out of my face," "What the hell /is this/are you talking about?" "Open the freaking door" and "You idiot." While in the bathtub (no nudity seen), Regina lies down and allows her head to go under the water. There's talk of Satanic sacrifice where seven children are to be killed by having their throats cut by someone who loves them. JUMP SCENES The sudden sound of a door opening might startle some viewers (in an already suspenseful scene). Accompanied by sudden music on the soundtrack, a figure suddenly darts across the foreground of a shot. A sudden sound might startle some viewers. Another figure suddenly darts by in the foreground of a camera shot. Mark suddenly shows up behind Regina. The sudden sound of a phone ringing might startle some viewers. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) An extreme amount of suspenseful and ominous music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 1 "f" word (and another possible one), what sounded like 1 "s" word, 4 asses, 3 hells and 2 uses of "G-damn." SEX/NUDITY As Regina awakens in bed, the camera shot somewhat accentuate her clothed bust. SMOKING Maria smokes twice, while a miscellaneous person appears to smoke at a party. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Mark mentions his parents splitting up sometime in the past when he was a kid. As Mark has a flashback to a traumatic event in his past, he begins to convulse in the car in front of young Paul who then sees a stranger pull his dad from the car and try to help him on the road in the rain. Paul nervously asks his father, "Are you going to die?" Maria tells Mark, "You're losing it" (based on the strange ways he's acting). Regina is more like a mother to Paul then Maria is, as she's the one who comforts him in tense times. Regina returns home to see her father being taken off in an ambulance (after another mental breakdown). Maria locks herself and Paul into a room when they're afraid of Mark who starts to pound on the door. After Maria tells him to take his medicine, he does but takes too much and has a very adverse reaction to that. Albert admits that he didn't love Mark in the past. A woman states that her husband has just died (in front of her and her daughter), but we don't know if that's true. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The concept of haunted houses. Occult material: Villalobos states that the house he was hired to design was a temple for giving birth to spiritual energies, and there's talk of Satanic sacrifice where seven children are to be killed by having their throats cut by someone who loves them. Mental illness and/or interruptions in sanity, etc. That includes scenes such as Mark stating that there are larvae in the walls and that they're talking about the family. Regina is more like a mother to Paul then Maria is, as she's the one who comforts him in tense times. VIOLENCE Murders of children in the past are implied (due to related talk as well as the sight of ghostly child figures), but we never see any such occurrence. Appearing ever more deranged, Mark starts rapidly dicing some vegetables that he's preparing. He apparently then cuts his hand (we don't see the impact) as he's then holding a bloody towel over his wound. Mark starts to tear up the floor with a pickax. We see a man coming at Regina in the darkness. We then see that he has her tied to a chair as he explains all and prepares a syringe to inject her (but that never happens to her). He does, however, gag her when someone arrives there. A man stabs another man with a syringe (filled with an unknown substance, and through his clothes), causing the second man to scream in pain and collapse (but we don't know exactly what happens to him). Paul appears to have a bloody nose and a black eye after an encounter with something or someone (but we don't see any such contact). Regina breaks a window to get out of the house. Reviewed December 25, 2004 / Posted December 26, 2004

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