Audience Member
I liked the behind the scenes documentary style, and that it did NOT have the shaky-cam nonsense that 'documentary' films overuse. Not overly scary, but a decent popcorn flick. I would watch it again, and I would recommend it to someone with a couple hours to kill.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/15/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Perhaps Van Dien should seek therapy for extreme low self-esteem to be involved with such a mess. Just because he insists on wasting his time doesn't mean you should.
Rated 1/5 Stars •
Rated 1 out of 5 stars
01/12/23
Full Review
Audience Member
This movie seems to have been made specifically to catch your trust with fake reviews because GOD DAMN is this movie an objectively horrifying lack of originality, acting talent, good effects, and writing. My God, the only demons that attacked these characters are those bent on tormenting you the viewer with just how bad this movie is.
It doesn't even have the decency to make you laugh at the cheesy production or acting. On the contrary, you get a very serious feel from every actor even when they're attempting a relaxed scene, as if the entire process was taken very seriously.
Here's some examples of it's film atrocities, because I really want to spare you from watching it.
1. Casper gets launched over an interior balcony with an after effects level "energy" explosion after 2 minutes of you waiting in advance, knowing exactly what would happen because the misdirection of this movie is phenomenal.
2. Several admirably distasteful long shots are used during the demon's seizure party which gruesomely unveils the 5 minutes of acting practice each background member got before the shot.
3. Every horror movie cliche is used in the first 35 minutes including: The movie being set in a clearly haunted area that everyone denies, hearing voices, panning away and back to show the previously 100% visible ghost that is no longer there, a vague TV medium who senses bad "energy" yet is totally legit, tension between characters that has no reason to exist, obvious and fully visible ghosts in pictures, denying paranormal activity, getting annoyed at skeptics, waking up to ghostly activity, feeling an evil presence, demons regularly talking to the cast and like Disney villains to boot, flies spewing out of mouths, everyone denying the obvious demonic activity 5 feet away from them, doors slamming and locking, and more. I stopped watching after the first 35 minutes, so there's probably a hell of a lot more.
Do yourself a favour and skip this piece of shit, and better yet, go watch the free version on youtube and then add a legitimate critic to counterbalance the skewed ratings on this page.
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
01/28/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Darkness Reigns held my attention throughout the film and I really enjoyed the plot. It was great seeing Casper Van Dien play himself in the film. It definitely added an element of realism to the film, which took place in a haunted hotel. The movie takes a surprise twist at the end, which really caught me off guard. I recommend this movie to anyone over 18!
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/12/23
Full Review
Audience Member
The film's premise, although not so original, is a cool way to tell this paranormal horror about a film crew telling a story about a paranormal horror. The writing does a decent job creating this traditional styled nightmare, obvious wholes and notable plausibility not withstanding. Something you come to expect in most found footage stuff. It manages to work as well as balancing on a playground seesaw, some of it does good to come alive and other moments fall dead. Pun intended.
The cast offer a mix bag of believability and bland hollowness, with a few actors staying on point and giving great, believable performances as their characters. Some scenes feel contrived, while other- limited in dialog- flow smoothly and convincingly. Sadly the more dialog heavy, drama rich moments that, at times, fall short tend to be the times we get the much anticipated deaths.
Special effects and creature effects stick with the typical, lesser budget, styles paranormal horror leans on. It works on almost all levels. The ghostie stuff is cool and melds effortlessly when added and do very little to weaken the overall intentions of both Director and FX department. One of the pluses for "Darkness Reigns". Creature concept was nicely done, reminded me of stuff from "Silent Hill" and "Dead Space". I did feel the demon was more Buffy and less horror feature, creating a flat tone to its scenes.
Overall, "Darkness Reigns" was a well done film that had plenty, including Casper Van Dien, going for it, even with the parts that went wrong. It won't appeal to some, but I enjoyed this one. It isn't a big action packed nightmare wonderland, but "Darkness Reigns" does offer a slow burn, paranormal story with some fun effects. Atleast worth everyone checking out once.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/12/23
Full Review
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