Creature in the Dark

source: Creature in the Dark

Coming from someone who loves a cheap horror movie, I would prefer to lick a wall than watch this movie again. (Give me a llama from space or a sofa with a blood lust anyday). I'm actually angry I finished it but I was like. Something's going to happen. Something must happen. My god it's over. By the time something does happen for all of two seconds, there is no suspense, and I literally couldn't care less about the character and whether or not the power ranger outside his window is going to eat him or tell him his brake light is out. Ps it's neither. In fact, it literally does nothing. I think what makes this movie worse is the lack of explanation. Suns gone out, we somehow haven't all instantly frozen to death, there are some creatures now that are attracted to light but it's fine to swing lights around like we are landing planes, so many unanswered questions.

I get it... keeping monsters hidden in the shadows saves on expensive special effects, but this film is ridiculous. Throughout the whole thing, we barely see what is menacing River Kern (Taylor Rhoades), survivor of an inexplicable worldwide blackout and an invasion by vicious creatures that are attracted to light. For most of the running time, Creature in the Dark is a slow-burn tale of a man struggling to raise a small child, Mya (Mya Rhoades), and it is incredibly boring. River reads Mya a book. River feeds Mya. River gives Mya a bath. Mya watches TV. All of this takes place in the one location and in the dark. River's stupefyingly dull childcare routine is interrupted by a couple of intruders, and a visit by one of the creatures (so laughably bad, it's a wonder they chose to reveal it at all), but these scenes are brief and do little to alleviate the tedium. The acting and direction isn't terrible for what appears to be a 'family and friends' affair, but next time I suggest they rustle up a decent budget and write a script that amounts to a bit more than 'One Man and a Baby' (there's a thought... I bet Steve Guttenberg would be up for a gig). See Cargo (2017) starring Martin Freeman for a similarly themed movie that is more successful (or the short film of the same name, which is even better).

The "creature" was an absolute disappointment, and honestly throughout most of the film it wasn't even seen. I was really hoping for a creature feature, but didn't remotely tick that box. The story focuses on the Dad trying to raise a baby girl after the "sun goes out"?? It had is good moments though. The story would be a decent post apocalyptic horror if the pacing was improved a little though. With a little bit more information on how things actually "ended". It was a very slow burn.

Creature in the Dark is a simple story. The effects are solid. And it didn't disappoint, left me waiting to see what would happen next.

Creature in the Dark