A Darker Light – review

Director: Mark Allen Brown

First released: 1996

Contains spoilers

A direct to video film, not on IMDb but ghosting around on YouTube, this isn’t a great film – I need to put that out there. However, it is certainly one carried by its earnestness to the point that, if you like the amateur end of direct to video releases you will find something in it. I did, in truth, find one piece of lore groovy (if, ultimately, a bit silly). The filmmakers clearly tried as well, which is a commendation in and of itself.

After a blooming awful pre-film trailer, we get voices with a black screen, a woman asking if someone needs a ride and a scream. Images of body parts, and a vampire biting into an arm and then we are in the film proper. Glenn (Steve Knudsen) narrates talking about change and things falling apart. We see him arrive at a crime scene, a cop called Sean (Scott Van Heldt), has a word before he goes to photograph the corpse. Why? The murder victim is Glenn’s wife (also his sister has disappeared).

Scott Van Heldt as Sean

Sean is the central character. He goes off to solve the murder for his friend and we get a narration whilst we see the vampire character from the beginning. We also see another vampire emerge from a crate in the woods and hitch. It is daytime and the vampires are out and about and wearing sunglasses. Later we hear that vampires actually need the light but have to wear sunglasses to prevent the light entering their eyes and burning out their souls.

staking

This is the groovy lore, though it doesn’t stand scrutiny. OK, I could live with them being able to day walk if they protect their eyes but… why do they need the light? What did they do before sunglasses? It isn’t great lore when you think (I was going to say, “think too hard” but the lore doesn’t stand against a casual examination). Staking works also – we see Sean handcuff a vampire woman and then stake her (or at least we see the movement of the stake being thrust down.

fangs out

It appears at times that a bite turns but, at other times, the victim’s corpse is found and what makes the difference isn’t explained. You will have noticed I stopped with the run through the plot pretty early into this review. That’s because the story is very simple. Vampires hitch and increase numbers. Sean tracks them down. Glenn can’t accept the idea of vampires. There isn’t much more depth. The acting is amateur but earnest, the effects not brilliant but you can tell they tried, the direction is nothing to write home about but I have seen much, much worse. 2.5 out of 10.