Darkness

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Darkness

PG-13

2004

1h 28m

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

5%

Tomatometer

56 Reviews

31%

Popcornmeter

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

01/08/2007

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.

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Time Out

06/24/2006

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.

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Empire Magazine

04/01/2006

2/5

Back to horror school for you, Seor Balaguer.

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Alistair Lawrence

Common Sense Media

06/30/2022

1/5

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

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

12/18/2019

1.5/4

Nothing even remotely interesting occurs.

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Felix Vasquez Jr.

Cinema Crazed

04/29/2009

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

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Gi S

@Gistevenn Feb 27

It started out ok but then it put me to sleep somewhere around the middle of it.

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Jenny B.

@jennyanne412 Jan 10

I actually really like this movie The pacings a little weird but I like the idea of it. It's a decent watch I don't hate it it kind of fits the genre of horror movies in the 2000s. If you grew up in that time. You know what I'm talking about

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Terrika T

@RT69813594 01/24/2025

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.

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Amanda M

@RT26723460 11/07/2024

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

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Emilliano Jr S

@emill_santos 08/28/2024

More of family drama than horror with shaky camera.

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06/19/2021

Exceptional synopsis.

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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)