Darkness

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Darkness

PG-13

Released Dec 25, 2004

1h 28m

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

5%

Tomatometer

56 Reviews

31%

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25,000+ Ratings

Paul (Stephan Enquist) and his older sister, Regina (Anna Paquin), unpack and settle into their new country home with their mother (Lena Olin) and father (Iain Glen). An atmosphere of dread slowly becomes evident in the house, and, before long, strange things are happening within its walls. As the supernatural occurrences get more intense and threatening, Regina looks into the house's dark history and struggles to uncover the reason behind the macabre presence.

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Critics Consensus

Yet another predictable variation on the hoary old haunted-house movie, Darkness is an illogical, portentous mess.

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J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

As in most bad horror flicks, intimations of unspeakable evil are supposed to distract us from the yawning gaps in story logic and character motivation.

Jan 8, 2007

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Time Out

Even as the darkness closes in, there is never any real sense of dread. The slow-burning terror soon fizzles out, as does the damp squib of an ending.

Jun 24, 2006

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Empire Magazine

Back to horror school for you, Seor Balaguer.

Rated: 2/5

Apr 1, 2006

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Alistair Lawrence

Common Sense Media

This haunted house horror has all the ingredients for a decent supernatural thriller but ends up overcooking all of them.

Rated: 1/5

Jun 30, 2022

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Nothing even remotely interesting occurs.

Rated: 1.5/4

Dec 18, 2019

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Felix Vasquez Jr.

Cinema Crazed

There's the draw from the audience of potential scares and the good cast, but there's nothing ever delivered to us.

Apr 29, 2009

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Terrika T

I'm not sure why there is so much hate for this movie; it is one of my horror go-tos. To me, nothing is scarier than the realization that you've been tricked into being used as a pawn in a grand evil scheme and there's nothing you can do about it. And there's something so sinister about using love to accomplish evil. And the utter hopelessness that comes knowing the "bad guys" or evil has won and everything you've done or tried to do was completely useless??? That's horror jackpot to me. It's more psychological horror than physical horror. Total loss of the ability to control a situation which descends into chaos and destruction and the unknown is my own personal nightmare hell. I guess if that kind of hopelessness doesn't make you feel some sort of way, then this movie isn't for you. But if it does....oh boy, you're in for a treat.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/24/25

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Amanda M

I love this movie it is one of my top five. I don't know what these guys were watching.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/07/24

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Emilliano Jr S

More of family drama than horror with shaky camera.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

08/28/24

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Audience Member

Exceptional synopsis.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

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Louis S

This was actually a good movie. I don't quite understand all the hate. It does a good job with the psychological horror. More than the jump, and chi of most newer movies.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/24/21

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Audience Member

I can't believe you gave this movie such a bad review. You think something is bad because you read what someone has said about it? I remember when it came out on video--I saw it 2 or 3 times and thought it was just fine. It was actually very good. It's not formulaic, and I enjoyed the performances of the actors. Giving this movie such a bad review makes me suspect your other critiques....

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

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Jaume Balagueró

Director

Anna Paquin

Regina

Lena Olin

Maria

Iain Glen

Mark

Giancarlo Giannini

Albert Rua

Fele Martínez

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Synopsis

Paul (Stephan Enquist) and his older sister, Regina (Anna Paquin), unpack and settle into their new country home with their mother (Lena Olin) and father (Iain Glen). An atmosphere of dread slowly becomes evident in the house, and, before long, strange things are happening within its walls. As the supernatural occurrences get more intense and threatening, Regina looks into the house's dark history and struggles to uncover the reason behind the macabre presence.

Director: Jaume Balagueró
Producer: Julio Fernández, Brian Yuzna
Screenwriter: Jaume Balagueró, Fernando de Felipe
Distributor: Miramax Films
Production Co: Fantastic Factory (Filmax), Via Digital, Castelao Producciones S.A., Dimension Films, Filmax International
Rating: PG-13 (Intense Terror Sequences|Disturbing Images|Language|Thematic Elements)
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 25, 2004, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 10, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $22.2M
Runtime: 1h 28m
Sound Mix: DTS, Dolby Digital, Surround
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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