Enter The Man-Cave Review of “The Darkness Within”
Aug 24by Enter The Man-Cave on Monday, August 23, 2010
I have always thought that the worst mental prison for anyone is to be a victim of paranoia. Paranoid delusions blur the lines between reality and whatever world is being constructed in a paranoid person’s mind. This affliction can cause a sense of constant stress, discomfort when interacting within crowds, distrust of everyone including loved ones, and worst of all, mentally detaching yourself from the real world into a realm of cold and darkness.
This brings me to my review of The Darkness Within, an indie flick screener I received last week. I read some spoiler-free reviews of this over the past month, so I was really looking forward to seeing this flick.
The Pitch
Recently engaged couple Chad and Ashley (Jimmy Scanlon and Michelle Romano) move into an apartment complex somewhere in the Northeast. Their new apartment brings its own minor terrors in the form of crammed living space and a large spider infestation, but the main concern Chad has is with his creepy yet hard ass neighbor Mr. Reed (Ken Flott).
After a strange encounter with him during his first night at the apartment, Chad catches Mr. Reed pulling the good ole’ peeping tom job on him while he is urinating late at night. Of course, Reed disputes this fact, even when Chad goes to the police for help.
Chad’s landlord, or should I say landlord’s daughter, Jordan (Stephanie Maheu) doesn’t know much about Reed, so there is no assistance that can be offered from the owner of the complex. Without any hard evidence or with no one to turn to for help, Chad must figure out the mystery behind Reed and his peeping ways before he loses grips on his own sanity and shatter his relationship with Ashley.
Meat and Potatoes
First and foremost, this is not a horror film, but more of a thriller-mystery-suspense kinda film. If you are looking for shotgun blasts, zombie rampages and buckets of gore, please look for another film. However, before you decide to pass this one up, let me explain a little about why you should take this one in if you can get your hands on it.
The Darkness Within is a slow-paced film. The first 15 minutes or so needs some adjustment and patience from the audience because soon you learn that you are being paced for a reason. There is not a great deal of action and the film is dialogue heavy. As the film keeps moving along. a sense of dread and despair starts to form for our protagonist. You begin to feel the claustrophobic frustration he experiences within his own living area, which is normally always a person’s safe haven in life.
From an antagonist standpoint, Reed brings an unusual sense of fear that you might not be used to experiencing. Reed isn’t your average frail, shy and “creepy dude” character that you normally see in films. Instead, he physically looks pretty intimidating and has a brash confidence. If you confront him, he will look you in the eye and subtly warn you that he is no pushover and will not back down.
The Darkness Within a low budget affair which means it is shot on a meager budget and is not going to have the greatest thespians in the world at your disposal. That should never be an excuse for lack of effort or asking for a sympathy card from your audience. You make a film to entertain people and you should always give it your all whether your budget is $1 or $1 billion.
Director Dom Portalla knows what he is working with and delivers his feature with extreme confidence. You can tell it in his cinematography, lighting and editing. In fact, at one point it’s like he says, “hell yeah I’m using multiple jump cuts”, so the film school rulebook is happily out the window.And the lighting configuration is simply otherworldly.
He also seems to pull the most he can out of his cast. After viewing the special features, it seems as though most of them have been working with him for some time and the fluidity between them is certainly existent. So besides containing a great story, these are other aesthetic reasons why I liked this film.
If I have to throw a negative, I’ll throw it at a low velocity. The web of despair for our lead is interrupted by his several visits to Jordan and her on-and-off again roommate upstairs. I understand that their scenes play out important aspects to the plot later on, but it does disrupt the mood and flow of the film. That aside, I did enjoy those Shelby and her roommate’s presence and interactions with Chad on their own separate from the context of the film.
Those two characters, especially the Jordan character, need to have her own film. Seriously, while the actress playing Ashley is very attractive, Stephanie Maheu as Jordan had the ETMC babe pulse beating at a serious high. She is definitely a cutie with some attitude and I enjoyed seeing her every on screen appearance. So big thanks to Portalla for supplying the chick factor to Darkness.
Final Act
Very rarely do I get duped and cannot figure out an ending to a film at about the midway point, but let me tell you that this whole movie is a set of quick jabs and the final act throws a nasty right hook that knocked me to the mat. An intriguing ending that I have to give high praise to the director for pulling off in a believable manner..
If you can understand that you are witnessing a psychological thriller and not a full blown horror film with a major gore factor, then you are in for a helluva ride. Hopefully this one gets a distribution deal soon so that the masses can see it. It is leaps and bounds better than some of the crap that is currently on the video store shelves. And trust me and my “Amateur Hour” installments when I say I know so.
More Ink on “The Darkness Within”
Aug 10
The Liberal Dead have placed “The Darkness Within” on their
10 Indie Flicks That Deserve Your Dollars list along with their
Letter To Hollywood.
“The Darkness Within” came out of left field and has become one of my top picks for 2010, so far. With a remarkable story, believable acting and an ending that will leave your mind blown, this is a must see for any horror fan. Made on a budget of almost nothing, “The Darkness Within” is a perfect example of indie filmmaking in its purest most guerilla form.”
-Source
“The Darkness Within” is a perfect example at how to base a movie around a plot twist mechanic without it feeling tacked on at the last minute like many of your recent attempts, Hollywood. Also take note of the writing quality and how it makes up for lack of budget in every way.”
-Source
Planet of Terror Review of “The Darkness Within”
Aug 06By James Cortez on Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Fear 3/5
Gore 0/5
Entertainment 4/5
Creepiness 5/5
A man and his girlfriend move into a new apartment in a small suburb somewhere in New England. From the get go, the boyfriend gets strange oompa loompa vibes from his next door neighbor as he first appears wearing a robe and slippers, watering his front yard while at the same time, sporting a devious looking grin. After their day of moving, later that evening, the boyfriend goes outside to relax and take a few swigs from his flask. He finds his neighbor still watering the yard, with the EXACT same attire, while still flashing that crazy looking grin.
The couple head off to bed not too much later. The boyfriend wakes up in the wee morning hours to use the bathroom and is startled when he sees his neighbor peering in through the window. He sprints out of the house and rounds the corner to catch him but he’s nowhere to be found.
The next morning, before the young couple head out for the day, the boyfriend confronts the neighbor. Telling the boyfriend it wasn’t him, he begins describing the cozy, quiet and peaceful setting that is the neighborhood and how he wants to make sure it ‘stays’ that way. Not getting the response he was expecting, the boyfriend storms off.
The boyfriend and girlfriend head out to the local park to get acquainted with their new surroundings. The boyfriend, being a free lance photographer, starts snapping away. While taking pictures, he notices the creepy neighbor trailing behind them. After returning home from the park, a series of events occur in which the boyfriend perceives the neighbor as stalking and harassing them. As the paranoia of the boyfriend heightens, the film does a complete 180 which you don’t see coming. A sleight of the hand which totally throws you for a loop. Our devilishly looking neighbor appears again at the end of our film, intimating that he had a hand in exposing the boyfriend for who he truly is.
This one is a slow burner. Zero blood, no gore all psychological. A taut thriller with one hell of a twist. The only gripe that I have with the film is when the boyfriend takes refuge from the ‘occurrences’ with his upstairs landlord and her man friend/roommate. They both provide comedic relief and it detracts a little bit from the mood and tension the film does so well to build. But its not so much so that it derails the entire effort.
Overall, a great film: well shot, executed and more importantly, original. Kudos for the neat genre nod at the end too. I love it when a film subtly slips in a reference or two. Makes my nerdy heart jump for joy.
-Cortez the Killer
Hey! Look Behind You! Review of “The Darkness Within”
Aug 06By Nicki Hoy on Sunday, July 18, 2010
When I moved into my current basement apartment, the first thing I did was walk around the glass squared mosic-like windows and look into them to make sure people couldn’t see me doing stuff. It’s creepy enough that I have neighbors walking by my windows all the time but the thought of anyone trying to look in makes me want to move again.
Newly engaged couple, Chad Morgan and Ashley Sera are starting a new life together in a new apartment.
The couple deal with the adjustments of spacial limitations, big ass spiders and a creepy neighbor.
Chad becomes obsessed with his peeping next door neighbor Mr. Reed and sets out to discover what’s up with him.
Chad’s fixation on Mr. Reed causes his mental state to spin out of control. As things in Chad’s life start to unfold, he starts to question his own reality.
This creepy indie psychological thriller was made for $3,000 on a mini-DV cam and took place in the director, Dom Portalla’s own apartment. If that’s not impressive enough, the movie actually rocked too! I enjoyed the unraveling of Chad’s struggling psyche and also I loved that there was a The Shinning reference towards the end. This girl loves her horror references. So check out more information on The Darkness Within on the website and see the trailer below.
Shining a light in ‘The Darkness’ – Boston Metro
Aug 06By Boston Metro on 03:41, October the 30th, 2009
Nothing hurts young love like a creepy neighbor.
In psychological thriller “The Darkness Within,” a couple learns this firsthand.
The film, by local Dom Portalla, centers on recently engaged pair Chad and Ashley. The two seem happy at their new apartment until Chad notices a mysterious neighbor peaking through their window. He grows obsessed with catching the prowling voyeur, affecting not only his relationship with Ashley, but also his mind.
“I had this weird encounter with my neighbor, and it brought up some ideas,” says Portalla of his inspiration for the storyline.
Portalla, co-founder of Door Eleven Productions, wrote and directed the film on a $3,000 budget. To save costs he set the film in his own apartment. “The Darkness Within” also features original music and artwork.
The film premieres Friday at the Brattle Theatre; Portalla hopes movie fans will come out and support a local.
“Right now Boston is becoming a very exciting place for film with a lot of big Hollywood movies rolling through town,” says Portalla. “But there’s a lot of smaller talent, a lot of smaller movies that are being made, and the new blood should be able to garner just as much attention.”
-NORA DUNNE
Flickfeast Review of “The Darkness Within”
Jul 11
By Kevin Matthews on July 1, 2010 at 6:24 am
When you’re watching low-budget, independent cinema there often comes a time when you have to make a choice: just how much leeway do I give this film because of the limitations it struggles to work against? With Dom Portalla’s feature debut you get to ask yourself that question on a few occasions but the movie, thankfully, manages to win your favour in each of its three main acts.
The plot sees Chad Morgan (Jimmy Scanlon) and his lady, Ashley (Michelle Romano), moving into a new apartment in a new town. It’s not long before Chad starts to become paranoid about his neighbour, Mr Reed (a fun, slightly creepy turn from Ken Flott), as he starts to sense someone invading his privacy while things start to disintegrate around him.
As mentioned above, The Darkness Within is a movie in three distinct acts. The first act (after a very brief, pre-credits, teaser giving us a glimpse of things heating up, to say the least) is one of domestic bliss only slightly sullied by suspicion and unease. It’s not a bad start but really only livens up during one particularly memorable scene depicting Chad and Ashley debating how to dispose of a horribly big spider. Still, I have seen far worse.
The second act really kicks things into gear and brings in a number of elements that may seem extraneous at first but that certainly end up deserving their place in the movie. We get some more characters (including an all-too-easygoing landlady, wonderfully played by Stephanie Maheu, who tempts Chad into some old bad habits), an escalation of the paranoia and helplessness that Chad feels and a real feeling of things swiftly unraveling towards something that can only end unpleasantly.
The third, and final act, really rewards the viewer and ties everything up nicely. It also does enough to elevate the entire movie to something much more than its basic framework. The execution throughout may not be perfect but the material is solid.
In the acting stakes, I must say that I enjoyed Jimmy Scanlon’s performance but was pretty irritated by Michelle Romano. I’m sure that Romano meant well and did her best but, sadly, it wasn’t good enough and many of her scenes felt as if they had been inserted straight from, let’s face it, the storyline padding a dodgy adult movie. Thankfully, Scanlon, Flott, Maheu and Sean Pierce (playing a friend of Maheu’s character) all do pretty good considering that they’re certainly not full-time, worldly wise thespians.
Made for $3,000 on a mini-DV cam and set in his own apartment, does Dom Portalla make this movie worthy of the time you invest in watching it? Striving to rise above the many obstacles in his path, I’d have to say that he does. It’s the strength of the material that shines through and helps to raise this to a slightly above-average psychological thriller. Personally, I also liked the little nods to other movies in there (I sincerely hope the Halloween-like synth moment when Chad thinks there are more trick or treaters at his door was intentional) and the mix of dark humour in there with the more serious mind-meddling.
Sadly, the audio levels, static nature of the camera (most of the time) and pacing of the majority of the scenes slightly undoes a lot of the good work gained elsewhere. Necessity is the mother of invention and it’s clear that Mr. Portalla had to be very inventive indeed to even get his film made. He deserves some praise for that alone but, for this final judgment, I have to say that the movie would certainly benefit from some major spit and polish work.
DIRECTOR: DOM PORTALLA
STARS: JIMMY SCANLON, MICHELLE ROMANO, STEPHANIE MAHEU, KEN FLOTT, SEAN PIERCE
RUNTIME: 90 MINS APPROX
COUNTRY: USA
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