Against the Dark

Plot synopsis:
Prologue: "Once the infection hit, there was little time to react. People did what they could but, since no one was immune to the effects of the virus, authorities were ultimately helpless as the virus rapidly spread. All who became exposed and survived an initial attack began their own relentless quest for blood, attacking and feeding upon the innocent. There was no vaccine, no known reports of individuals made immune. Neighborhoods and entire cities were wiped out. The very fabric of civilization was breaking down before our eyes. Many surviving humans like us were left to fend for themselves, moving around during the day and hiding at night, barricading themselves inside secure buildings. Others formed vigilante groups or became hunters, swordsmen who were tracking down and killing the infected. We were lucky when we managed to find a refuge, a place where there was some food and shelter, a place where we could survive until we could be rescued. But with the location of our refuge no longer being safe and the chances for rescue becoming more and more remote, our options were running out. It was now us 'Against the Dark.'"Morgan (Danny Midwinter) and Dorothy (Jenna Harrison) have been holed up for the past three weeks at the medical complex where Dorothy was once a student intern. Dylan (Daniel Percival), Ricky (Stephen Hagan), Amelia (Emma Catherwood), and Charlotte (Skye Bennett)have come into the hospital looking for penicillin to treat Charlotte's pneumonia. Four hours before dawn, the two groups run into each other and decide to band together. Besides, they have to get out of the hospital before the generator fails and the main security door becomes permanently locked, and Dorothy is the only one familiar enough with the layout to get them to the door. Meanwhile, outside the hospital, Tao (Steven Seagal and his group of vampire hunters are fixing to enter, kill any vampires they meet, and search for survivors. They had better move quickly, however, because Lieutenant Waters (Keith David) has been given orders to "sterilize" the area at the crack of dawn. Fighter jets loaded with bombs are standing by, just waiting for the command to take to the air.Fortunately, Dorothy knows that all the corridors in the complex eventually lead to the security exit, so they start wandering down corridor after corridor, stepping over bloody body parts and fending off vampires who always seem to come at them one at a time. First to fall is Dylan when he goes into a bathroom to wash his hands and gets carried away by an uninfected surgeon (Claudiu Bleont) looking for humans to feed to his infected daughter. The hunters catch up to Morgan and help him kill a vampire. Together, they then rescue Dorothy from becoming some vampire's dinner, as well as Charlotte when she stops to nap. They also rescue Dylan just as little Sophie (Andreea Ungureanu) is about to get a chunk of him. Next to fall is Ricky who, while stoned, wanders through a storeroom and can't tell mannikins from vampires.With 29 minutes left before the generator fails, the hunters and all the survivors finally all meet. The survivors continue to wander the corridors looking for the exit while the hunters clear out rooms and shoot up more vampires. They all meet up again to take an elevator down to the next level. Next to go is one of the hunters, who gets pulled out of the elevator by a vampire just as the door closes and the elevator starts to descend. Suddenly, the elevator gets stuck. Morgan crawls through a hatch and starts to climb down the ladder. The elevator starts up again and knocks him to the bottom of the shaft into a pool of water where he is attacked by a vampire interested in his jugular. When the vampire tries to climb through the elevator hatch, Tao shoots him. The elevator starts up again, and the doors open. Tao gives a gun to Dylan and tells him to take Dorothy, Amelia, and Charlotte to the exit and then to head south to the nearest safe camp. Then he and his hunters go back to kill more vampires. When one of his troops gets bitten in the neck by a vampire, Tao does the only thing he can do...run a sword through her gut.Meanwhile Dylan and the girls have turned into yet another corridor, but this time they can see light at the end of the tunnel. Dylan goes ahead to check it out and is immediately set upon by a vampire. Hearing Dylan's gun fire, the girls start to run. Along the way, they meet a young boy. Amelia declares him not infected but, when she reaches out her hand to him, he bites her and runs off. Now infected, Amelia hangs back while Dorothy and Charlotte keep running, fighting off more vampires as they get closer to the exit. They finally make it to the exit and get the door open. Tao and his last remaining troop, Tagart (Tanoai Reed) catch up, but so does Amelia, now fully turned vampire. She tries to convince them to become vampires, too, but Dylan sneaks up behind and shoots her in the back. Suddenly, dozens of vampires come running down the corridor. Dorothy, Charlotte, Tao, Tagart, and Dylan escape through the door just as a generator fails and the door closes, trapping all the vampires inside. The army starts dropping bombs, and the whole place goes up in flames. In the final scenes, Col Waters receives word that the hunters and survivors have made it out alive, Dylan, Dorothy, and Charlotte drive off looking for the safe spot, and Tao and Tagart walk off, no doubt looking for more vampires to kill.

Tags: suspenseful, murder, violence

Review:
I actually heard from a few people that he took the script just for fun and support this movie.Skip this piece of crap and wait for Ruslan to come out, as that actually looks like it could be in comparison to Urban Justice and Pistol Whipped..
I have noticed that some people are glad to see Steven Seagal move his career in a slightly new direction by leaving behind his traditional style of roles in favor of something of a vampire hunter in his new film Against the Dark (or "Last Night," depending on whether you're looking at the cover box or watching the cast and crew interviews), in which he is the leader of a small group of people who stalk through the night dispatching the vampires that the entirety of the human race have transformed into as a result of a viral epidemic.Really?
Seagal has been one of my guilty pleasures for almost 20 years now, and while the vast majority of his movies are undeniably awful, there is always an element of fun in them that manages to come through even the stupidest story lines, but not this time.
So let's just refer to the creatures by what they really are, shall we?Steven Seagal's first line in the movie, by the way, comes after he and his team rush on screen and cut up a bunch of zombies that are closing in on a young boy.
It doesn't matter, the entire script is stupendously dumb, and the movie reduces the destruction of all of mankind to a handful of people wandering around a darkened hospital trying to avoid getting eaten while they wait for Seagal and his crew to come save them.
The United States Military, headed by Keith David (the movie's one completely wasted talent), waits outside for Seagal to do all the hard stuff.
You have Steven Seagal fighting vampires, I mean that alone should interest any martial arts movie fan since he hasn't really done anything like that before.
This movie is so low budget that almost the entire movie takes place in a hospital that is crawling with "vampires"; although we are told at one point that they are more like mutants.
Seriously though, if I had Linden Ashby and Steven Seagal in the same movie I would at least have them in a scene together, not to mention a fight scene.
No sh** Sherlock, the guy is locked in a manky hospital with an army of raging mutants inside and out.The acting is mostly okay, but Steven Seagal is so wooden it is hard to distinguish him from the scenery.Otherwise it's reasonable especially at some have no lines at all, aka attendants one and two :) There is horror and action in good measure but overall the film is a stinker.
When most of the population of Earth is infected by a virus and transformed in flesh eaters and blood drinking creatures, a group of hunters leaded by Tao (Steven Seagal) and his word chases the vampire zombies to eliminate them.
The choreography of the action scenes is ridiculous, most of them with Steven Seagal in close moving his sword in the direction of the camera in a terrible edition.
It does not matter if I like them, or even detest them ("The Snake People", "Hot Tub Time Machine" "The Adventures Of Pluto Nash", "Bowfinger", "Teenage Catgirls In Heat", "Walk On The Wild Side", "Jewel Robbery", "Billy Jack", and Valley Of The Dolls" are a few that come to mind), I always catch the ending (Even if it is just the last 10-15 minutes) to know how the film ended.
Seagal's performances in films like "Against The Dark", and "Attack Force" make the worst Charles Bronson movies at Cannon Films (Such as "Kinjite" and "Messenger Of Death") look like "Death Wish" or "Once Upon A Time In The West".
The look of the movie (cinematography, music and FX were all competent) It just needs tighter editing, and maybe a few more 'sub-plots (something i thought i'd never ask for, given the over-abundance of 'filler-plots' in more recent 'Seagal' movies) For once, a bit more plot wouldn't go amiss (other than people wandering around corridors, waiting to be attacked....then rescued....the end) David Cronenberg pulled off a similar trick in SHIVERS, by adding 'offbeat' dialogue and situations.
The director of AGAINST THE DARK, is no Cronenberg And i'm sure you know by now, that although billed as a 'Seagal' flick, his screen time amounts to about a third of the running time (although, the fragmented plot ensures that nearly most of the cast, are only ever seen roughly the same length also) Seagal is fine in the role of Tao, master swordsman and vigilante, and one can only sit back and wish that he had more screen time and more 'ass-kicking' to do (but he does do a fair amount here) The other actors around him, are OK, but nothing to right home about either.I was surprised at the 'gore' factor (quite Romero-ish, in places) but hardly anything to keep KNB awake at night.
Steven Seagal plays Tao a master swordsman, along with his team of hunters, they are looking for survivors of a deadly virus that has broken out and transforms people into flesh eating mutants, along the way they find survivors hiding in a hospital and have their work cut out for them trying to keep them alive.It is good to see Steven Seagal in a different kind of film than we're use to seeing him in, considering what I've seen in his last few DTV films, the flaws that this film had did not really come as a surprise to me, especially the editing, but it does have improved direction, great cinematography, and the cast is better than those of KILL SWITCH.Although this film doesn't really present itself as a Steven Seagal vehicle, because it takes 30 to 40 minutes before he really becomes involved, and for those seeking an intelligent storyline, you might find yourself being a bit disappointed, because there is no major storyline here, it doesn't provide any explanation for how the outbreak occurred or what the intended purpose of the virus was, it just starts in the middle of the mayhem.Was this film a bad move for Steven Seagal?
Well, venturing into unknown territory might not be such a bad thing, for what Seagal has brought out so far since doing DTV films, he has nothing to lose, but his only setback is his weight, without being insulting, there are fans that don't like seeing him this way, and we're not telling, we're pleading with him, pull yourself together, that FBI crap is long gone, your comeback movie is just around the corner.Overall, its a good movie and far better than SHADOW MAN, ATTACK FORCE and FLIGHT OF FURY, which are definitely his worst films without question..
I have to admit I went into it expecting it to suck, so maybe my lowered expectation had something to do with it, but the movie starts off like many others describing the disaster, we meet the survivors and meet Seagal and his crew.
Seagal and his team do kick a lot of butt, so that can't be the reason as to why so many people hate on this film.
I've been a Seagal fan for a long time, but his films have gone from great (Urban Justice) to lame (Against the Dark)to ridiculous (Flight of Fury).
Rating: 3 Out of 5Genre: Horror, Science Fiction, Action, Infection, VampiresDirector: Richard CrudoStars: Steven Seagal, Tanoai Reed, Jenna Harrison, Danny Midwinter, Emma Catherwood, Stephen Hagan, Daniel Percival, Skye Bennett, Tania DobreSynopsis: "Against the Dark" takes place in the not-to-distant apocalyptic future infectious vampires have taken their toll on the refugees of the world tapping them in undefended towns.
what a great idea Stevie takes on some vampires....I have watched it, Although as a film its not too bad, I would not chalk it up as a Stevie movie, He has a very small part in this Taomai Reed took more of the role that i would of expected Stevie to play, There was a distinct lack of depth to the story around the "Hunters" that Stevie headed up, Die hard fans may of noticed that the Sergent back a base camp starred along side Stevie in "Marked for Death" Im just hoping that Stevie gets back on track (Like i felt after renegade justice" and the next offering Driven to Kill is more "Old Skool" Stevie where we can see him deliver his Aikido without the stupid cuts and camera work....
Watching Good ol' Steven Seagal doing his over-the-top aikido we all love and appreciate him for as an actor, is never out of the question when you just want to kick back and enjoy some brainless action-comedy.
This is a pretty cool straight-to-video action/horror flick that happens to co-star Steven Seagal.
Oh dear, Steven Seagel has been starring in very mediocre to poor straight to DVD films in recent times and the digitally shot low-budget horror / action "Against the Dark" is another terrible outing.
Who does nothing much than wandering around, kicking in with some slaughter by samurai sword and whispering out inane dialogues.The future is looking grim as the earth's population has succumbed to a virus that turns its victims into zombie-like vampires.
Their only chance of survival seems to rest of a small group know as hunters led by Tao (Seagel in glory) who go around finding the non-infected and slice and dice those who are.The premise feels like a sloppily dull mixture of ''Resident Evil", "Blade" and "28 Days Later".
During a violent war between the species, a group of master hunters tries to escort a group of survivors away from a hospital containing a horde of vampires inside before the entire area is leveled in a tactical strike, but the creatures keep making advances on the group as they try to survive.For the most part this one was a very enjoyable and entertaining entry.
The idea of turning the virus into a more zombie-like creation, based around the spread of off an airborne virus and bringing about an absolutely ravenous mindset of not only attacking for blood but also ravenously ripping people to pieces that has nothing to do with drinking blood such is the mess left behind yet there's still numerous vampire traits on display which still leaves this one enjoyable enough.
Given the early knowledge of the virus, this one jumps right in with the attacks during the credit sequences and then leading to the early scenes of the group wondering around the hospital filled with the mangled body parts strewn around that leaves for plenty of encounters in the hallways and the different rooms swarming with the creatures, there's quite a lot to like here while setting up the numerous attacks and encounters in the second half.
With the exception of a handful of surrounding scenes, the entire film takes place in an abandoned hospital and mainly consists of characters wandering through dark corridors and fighting some dodgy villains.Shoehorned into this low budget mess is Steven Seagal, dubbed and doubled as usual, playing a vampire hunter who uses a samurai sword to dispatch the undead menace.
As per usual these days, Seagal hardly appears in his own movie, and his fight scenes are largely disappointing: full of that dodgy, jolting editing that seeks (and fails) to hide the fact that Seagal was doubled for the most part.The vampires themselves are a mess (not literally), who act more like the infected in Danny Boyle's 28 DAYS LATER.
Meanwhile a group of "hunters", ex-military assassins on a mission to eliminate any zombies they encounter, converge on the hospital.Against the Dark is a direct-to-video action / horror film that is notable for a number of reasons.
The zombies are another weakness – one character refers to them as vampires while they are surprisingly easy to destroy, not to mention the fact that they don't pose much of an intellectual threat, instead being the usual stock horror villains for the genre – gone are the Romero shamblers, the Fulci gutmunchers & the Snyder speedsters.Moving back to Seagal, the actor spends the few minutes he's in swinging his sword in the direction of the zombies while wearing his trademark long leather coat (the same coat that he has worn in numerous other DTV actioners – probably due to the fact that he has put on some weight & doesn't want his fans to notice, an exercise in futility since his weight has been the talk of action fans for the past few years).
The acting is terrible and the vampire mutants are ridiculous.Most of the scenes with Steven seagal he just walks around like a hillbilly with a sword killing a few vampire mutants with his crew that try to look tough but never really succeed.This is the most horrible movie i've seen this year.
Steven Seagal plays Tao, the leader of a squad of ex-military vigilantes, "hunters" who are attempting to find and rescue a group of survivors of a worldwide virus, who are trapped in a hospital.
Not the Worst in Seagal's Fat Period because it is a bit Different and the Make-Up Effects for the Mutants and Their Prey are Somewhat Impressive.Worth a Watch for Gore-Meisters, Zombie Cultists, Steven Seagal Completists, and Low-Budget Movie Maniacs..
Steven Seagal stars in a horror film where he has to battle against vampires !
It's one of those movies that differs very little than most of the other ones broadcast on SyFy and The Horror Channel It's unoriginal and derivative and in this case owes an awful lot to 28 WEEKS LATER with characters trying to escape a lair populated by infected creatures and an army officer on the outside wanting to sterilize the area regardless of whether people are infected or not .
Vampires look and act a lot like zombies, and then spontaneously evolve for no apparent reason.12.
After a mysterious "virus" causes most of the population to become blood drinking flesh eaters what we have is Big Steve and his band of sword and automatic weapon carrying "hunters" doing most of the military's work for them slip sliding around killing never ending bands of fast moving vampire/zombies who can be recognized by their blood all over their mouth growling behavior.
But you just know large and in charge puffy faced sword flashing long coat wearing blues singing Steven Seagal will protect that little preteen girl from the evil even more bloated vampire/zombies who gently run their fingers through her hair like it's Dateline NBC.
So I going leave this movie with a rating of seven out of ten I would have rated it higher but for Steven Seagal's lack of screen time it brought it down.
Survival of a few uninfected is the plot, and add in a vampire hunter - Steven Seagal.
Armed with a shotgun and kitana sword, Seagal(name Tao in the movie), along with three others(Tanoai Reed, playing Tagart gets lots of action) get plenty of vermin to massacre while the rest of the cast just try to escape and withstand an onslaught of vampires popping up time and again as they move down darkened corridors and through dreary rooms, never knowing what lies in wait.
Apparently someone in the studio came up with a brilliant idea, casting Steven Seagal against the vampires and just shot the movie in a day.
Steven Seagal Vs Zomb...Vamp...Mutants?Movie tells a familiar story of a killer virus mutating people and few survivors trying to, well survive even more.
Well really one character does the killing, and its not Segal...I don't really know why they call it a Seagal movie because Steve is not really the main character, he is just walking and attacking the camera grew, he only has few lines and don't have much screen time.
the only good movie he's done in the last 5 years is urban justice, when i seen that i was actually pumped because i thought the old seagal was back.
Following a scene-setting opening that cuts costs with a quick voice-over monologue, the film has little to no real plot other than people stumbling around the hospital and running into zombies/vampires/mutants (it is never really established what the 'infected' are) only to fight them off or invariably be saved by Seagal and his leather-clad crew (little knowing that jets will explode all and sundry at dawn!).
A team of zombie hunters are conducting a sweep of a zombie infested hospital for survivors before the facility is bombed by the military.The movie was released direct to video and had a budget of $US7 million.The zombie hunters led by Steven Seagal are constrained by the virus, so there is minimal physical contact during the fighting and the predominant use of guns and a long (kitana) sword (although knives are also used).The film (horror genre) creates tension through use of dark lighting as the survivors make their way through the locked down hospital with the power threatening to fail, while under constant attack by the zombies.
I am a big fan of Steven Seagal movies, he's my idol.
I only watched the film because Steven Seagal was in it..
Too many movies like this...and Seagal was out of place..
There is also a group of "hunters" led by Steven Seagal and the hunters are killing these infected with sword and guns.
The government is also involved and ready to bomb the city and kill whats left and hope the hunters get the survivors and themselves out first.I have seen so many movies like this with 28 Days Later coming to mind first.
One key ingredient in making these films work is having a creature/zombie/vampire or whatever having a reoccurring part all through the movie to keep people looking and waiting for them.
This is by far the worst Steven Seagal movie that I have ever seen.
I have scene much better movies with Steven Seagal.