Dark Was the Night (2014)
Released in the UK in it's correct title and also back in 2014 as Monster Hunter, Dark Was the Night is an excellent beautifully paced, creature feature.
Wisely keeping the creature off screen for the most part enables the film to ratchet up tension levels and allow for some excellent characterisation thanks to a nicely written script and great performances from Kevin Durand (Whom i last saw out gurning Nic Cage in last years fun Primal) and Lukas Haas as two local sheriffs trying to piece together disturbing happening as horses go missing, large footprints are seen in town, and bodies are discovered high up in trees in nearby woods. What is commendable for a movie of this ilk is how well written the secondary characters are, even the smaller roles are nicely rounded and three dimensional making you invest in them when Durand isn't on screen.
Working the English folkloric myth of the Devil's Footprint's into the movie works in it's favour as the mystery deepens and atmosphere builds before we arrive at a climax in a Carpenter esq base under siege final twenty minutes when we do get to see the beast in all it's glory culminating in a quite surprising final shot which i didn't see coming.
|