A brilliantly-conceived and intelligent visual masterpiece

Rating: 9/10 (6 July 1999)

My age: 13
John Murdoch, played by Rufus Sewell, awakens in a bathtub in a hotel room, not remembering anything about his past and discovering that he is wanted for a series of brutal murders. He receives a phone call from Dr Schreber, played by Kiefer Sutherland, who wishes to help him, and leaves the hotel. He begins to have memories of Shell Beach from a postcard in his suitcase. He has no idea what is going on in the dark city. The strangers are another species who live under the ground and search for the human soul. The strangers have the ability to tune, to cloud people's minds and make them sleep. John finds that he is the only person who can resist this power and use it himself. Every night the strangers put the whole town to sleep, imprint people with new memories and change the appearance of the city. Detective Bumstead, played by William Hurt, is on the murder case, trying to bring John in, but is then caught up in helping John uncover the truth.
This film is visually excellent, especially during the scenes when the strangers are changing the city. I look forward to future work by the director Alex Proyas, whose directing style is brilliant in this film. Acting performances are very good, and the film has an interesting and intriguing plot. The characters are well thought up, and you really care about them. The film is great from start to finish, but the film is best in the end, with a showdown between the main stranger and John. One of the best films of recent times, Dark City deserves to be called the Number 1 movie of 1998 by Roger Ebert.
Australian Classification: M 15+: Medium Level Violence
Rating: 88 out of 100