The Darkness

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Greg McLean/Starring: Kevin Bacon, Radha Mitchell, Paul Reiser, David Mazouz, Lucy Fry and Ming-Na Wen

The horror film The Darkness, which dramatizes a family's ordeal with angry, Anasazi Indian spirits, is so utterly weak, timid and innocuous, one might find it suitable programming for a cruise line catering to retirees seeking a pleasant, languid vacation. What is particularly disappointing about the film is that it isn't out and out bad. Had it been that, I might have at least been treated to some laughs. But no, this film features Kevin Bacon and Radha Mitchell; two actors capable of interesting performances if given half-way decent material (but rarely are they provided such). The film doesn't lack production value, just a compass to steer it away from the well-trod paths conventional horror films tend to walk. Even bad horror films can sometimes spook an audience but director Greg McLean's mediocre effort will only stimulate chronic fatigue.

How the Taylor family comes to be tormented by said specters is fairly mundane. During a family vacation taken with friends in the Arizona desert, the Taylor's young, autistic son Michael (David Mazouz) is left on his own by his older sister Stephanie (Lucy Fry). Shortly before, an attempt by the Taylor's friend's son to scare Michael with stories of evil spirits from Anasazi lore failed to have the desired effect on the autistic boy.

While on his own, Michael falls through a shaft in the canyon floor and lands inside a sacred Anasazi chamber. Seeing four inscribed stones resting on a mound of dirt, Michael takes them then finds his way back to his family.

Back home in their suburban, L.A. home, the Taylors contend with family issues. Peter (Kevin Bacon) and Bronny (Radha Mitchell) show signs of marital discord while their daughter Stephanie (Lucy Fry) is discovered to have bulimic issues. While Bronny turns to alcohol to cope with her philandering husband, Peter is introduced to an attractive associate at work who has just joined his architectural firm (Before it became apparent, I anticipated his architectural occupation. It seems like a typical go-to job for male, suburban professionals in the movies). A flirtation begins immediately, which seems to be encouraged by Peter's boss (Paul Reiser).

While the Taylors' confront their domestic problems, Michael begins to act oddly. Peculiar behavior, such as angry outbursts with his father, conversations with an imaginary person and gazing silently at his bedroom wall, leave his family unnerved. Before long, shadowy apparitions begin to skulk about the house and mysterious black hand prints cover Stephanie's bed. At one point, Michael actually drools black liquid.

Stephanie dreams about a wolf invading the house (we don't know it's a dream at first--the dustiest trick in the horror genre catalogue) and begins to realize the black hand prints (why black hand prints?) are not Michael's doing. Carrying the stones around in his backpack, Michael visits his grandmother, who is spooked by the appearance of a rattle snake on her kitchen counter. As the weird happenings become more frequent, the crisis culminates with a fire in Michael's bedroom and blood-red drawings on the bathroom wall.

Having had enough, Bronny seeks the services of a woman who deals with all issues related to hauntings (there's always that person in horror films who deals with paranormal pests).

With the help of spiritualists and some internet sleuthing by Bronny, the Taylors discover Michael has inadvertently invited Anasazi spirits into their home. We also learn how the spirits came to be trapped inside the stones in Michael's possession and why autistic people are the perfect conduits for malevolent entities seeking ingress into our world. The spiritualists warn the family that the spirits will attempt to abduct Michael once they've wreaked havoc on the household.

The strange animals the Taylors encounter in their home--a raven and coyote--are revealed to be spiritual vessels. Believe it or not, no one; not once, ever makes a connection between the rattle snake at grammy's house and the strange animal appearances in the Taylor residence. I guess dangerous, slithering reptiles don't raise many eyebrows in suburban Los Angeles.

When a spectral portal appears on the wall in Michael's room, Peter passes through it in an attempt to save his son, who are hellbent on carrying him away to wherever evil Anasazi spirits hang out. Peter makes a sacrifice for his son until Michael realizes returning the stones to the chamber is the key to stopping the spirits and ending the ordeal.
Is there a happy ending?

What do you think?

McLean, who co-wrote the screenplay, does a feeble job drawing a parallel between the family's issues and the appearance of the spirits, who are supposed to serve as some kind of metaphor for the domestic strife. The family's problems, which seem to get fixed with little effort, are dispensed with efficiently and economically. Treating Stephanie's bulimia means a visit to the therapist. An affair of Peter's is the subject of an emotional confrontation between husband and wife, which neatly covers a few minutes of screen time. We might assume the Anasazi spirits moonlight as family therapists because all seems blissful in the Taylor household after they depart.

Were the spirits ever really a menace, save for making messy hand-prints and prompting Michael to scorch part of his bedroom wall? Their presence is more of a nuisance than a terrifying incursion into the Taylor's bland suburban home. The Anasazi fiends were very fortunate they weren't arrested for vandalism. Those spirit-world hooligans; they should be sentenced to community service!

McLean's bag of scares are limited to loud, jarring sounds and dark apparitions passing unnoticed behind the character's backs. He doesn't reach for visceral dread but hopes the mere appearance of the dark Anasazi apparitions will be frightening enough. Unfortunately they're not.

The final, life-affirming shots of the Taylors (I guess I'm giving the ending away--I'm usually careful about that) remind us the story is mainly about the family becoming a cohesive unit. I guess we're supposed to think the existential threat from beyond helped bring them together...or something like that.

The Darkness is pretty limp horror but hey, at least Radha Mitchell was eye candy for an hour and a half (at least for me). If curiosity gets the best of you, fear not; the movie will turn up on some streaming service shortly, I'm sure.

So there you have it folks. Remember to stay clear of those Anasazi caves; lest you release malign spirits who practice diabolical acts of wall defacement.