The premise is enthralling: a group of prehistoric humans arrive in a new land hoping to find a home. We don’t know where they came from nor why, but they are scared and desperate. Yet, something is stalking these new arrivals, lurking in the shadows to pick them off one by one. Survival is the thing in Andrew Cumming’s Out of Darkness. Sadly, none of it is as gripping or worthwhile as the film’s premise sounds.
Set during the Stone Age, Out of Darkness begins as the arrivals realize they have landed someplace that is desolate and unforgiving. The foreboding landscape is cold and rocky. There are no animals to eat and the possibility of starving or dying from the elements brings a cold realization to the small band. There is also something shrieking off in the distance, often heard at night. Things do not look good.
The ragtag band also does not trust one another. The hypermasculine chief, Adam (Chuku Modu), uses fear to control the group. He is also an expectant father anxious to protect the pregnant Ave (Iola Evans). Adam has no competition as the leader. Only the old man Odal (Arno Luening), appears to openly question Adam’s logic for bringing them to this windswept place. However, the younger members of the group aren’t fond of Adam’s strong-armed approach to leadership. His younger brother, Geirr (Kit Young), is gentle but afraid of Adam while Beyah (Safia Oakley-Green), a foundling, knows that Adam will soon try to use her for his pleasure. Rounding out the group is Heron (Luna Mwezi), Adam’s adolescent son.
It doesn’t take long for the band to be killed one by one by whatever malevolent creature lives on the island. The deaths are sudden and sometimes inventively gory, but it is difficult to truly care about anyone in the tribe. Cumming keeps the monster shadowy to amplify suspense but then all good will is lost when he reveals just what has been hunting the band. A good monster movie needs to have a monster that captures the imagination and what has been stalking Adam and his band is so risible, Out of Darkness feels like one big shaggy dog story.
Cumming also doesn’t use his setting to maximum effect. Shot in the Scottish Highlands, Out of Darkness is muted and downcast. Even sections in a creepy forest feel monochromatic and uninspired. But nothing is worse than the big twist, which comes about two-thirds of the way through. It is impossible to overcome or come back from. Fleeting hints of excellent camerawork may show glimpses of where Cumming might go with the right material but Out of Darkness is better off extinct.
Photo courtesy of Bleecker Street
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