UK Shaun The ending worked, I liked that. The journey towards the ending is dull. Acting wise, Sean Bean is good, Sophie Stuckey plays her part well of Sarah the bitchy daughter, but Maria Bello the mother, seemed a bit OTT, in panic mode from the word go.Reflecting on the comments printed on the DVD cover: "Seriously Scary" "Chilling" "Gripping" I didn't identify with any of them. Harry Potter is more scary.Not recommended.I'm struggling to find more words to write, as they would only be negative. IMDb requires a minimum of 10 lines of text per review.Seeing as the film takes on a Cliff side in Wales, complete with a single house, there is a sense of budget limitations. This should not be an excuse, as I've seen some excellent films that use very few locations.

Jen Riot First off, anyone giving this movie less than a 9 should really re-watch it. It is based on an old Gaelic myth, and manages not to cheese it up one bit. As far as horror movies go, I seriously have yet found a movie that made my heart thump as well as kept my mind going like this one. It's one of those movies like say...Donnie Darko.,.. where the more you watch it, the more you figure out, and the more you realize how genius the writer(s) were. If you like genuinely genius thriller/horror movies with beautiful cinematography and amazing acting, please watch this. Sean Bean and Maria Bello tore it UP! If you enjoy movies like The Fall, Donnia Darko, What Dreams May Come, Pan's Labyrinth, The Orphanage, Sixth Sense, The Others... Then this movie is one you'll want to pick up. It may change your life. =)

WakenPayne First off - to the positives. This movie is beautiful in terms of cinematography. The locations where they filmed looked like really beautiful places. However The cinematography is not all this movie has to stand on (Why would I give it 7 then?).The acting of this movie - in terms of the genre is actually very redeeming. I have seen a couple of horror films in the past and I have seen actors look blankly when they're supposed to be scared (I've seen a few of the "worst movie of all time" votes). Maria Bello and Sean Bean are very good actors and it shows in this movie.Without the scares this movie in terms of writing also is very good (becausee this is the same person who wrote Ginger Snaps 3 I was very surprised) you know the emotions that Adele and James are going through. A previous reviewer compared it to the Spanish movie El Orfanto (The Orphanage), The drama portrayed in El Orfanto is much better in comparison. I just thought I'd point that out.So as far as movies that are basically devoid of any scares (but mainly due to the sound engineer putting in every cliché imaginable) this is worth the watch.

tvernon42 Producers Jeremy Bolt and Paul W S Anderson deliver a confusing mess of a horror flick, part financed by Isle of Man films, who at least got great scenic visuals for their budgetary contribution.The film smacks of considerable re-jigging in post production, as if the first cut was disappointing, and standard horror editing/jump cuts were employed to deliver standard horror moments. I can only presume a grander ambition led all concerned into making this film, as it would be very disappointing to think that talent like Sean Bean and Maria Bello would sign up for such a poor and uninspiring venture into British horror.The Dark suffers from a major weakness – sheep aren't scary. Nobody told director John Fawcett, and there's a few scenes, built to scare that audience, that had me laughing. It was almost "Fast Show" in tone. The producers didn't have the budget to attempt a mass-CGI herd of sheep to rush a young girl off the cliff edge, so the director does his best with a crude edit of sheep close ups, designed to convince us that a herd has become possessed. You expect Mark Williams and Paul Whitehouse to appear.Basically, an estranged couple, played by Bello and Bean, are brought back together (ish) in a coastal farmhouse setting, thanks to their daughter Sarah, who goes missing. Although this happens almost half way through the film, the DVD box gives away this key development in the first line of its storyline summary, which pretty much dismisses the first half of the film. The prospect of bringing Sarah back from the dead, thanks to a local legend, is the focus of the second half of the film and this is where evidence of substantial re-editing awaits.To end on a plus, the cinematography is very good, and the locations are fantastic. The actors do a good job, and I suppose I've seen worse. If your quality threshold is low, this might pass 90 mins of your time but be warned, its not a film you'd want to see twice.