The Darkness
Tags: haunting

Plot synopsis:
The film begins with a family of four being on vacation and having a cookout with some friends. While the parents talk about life and how fast their kids grow up and enjoy the food, Andrew (the teen son of the other two parents) decides to explore the canyon with Stephanie and Michael (the teen daughter and the young son of the main parents). All the parents then talk about Bear Grylls for a good minute after cautioning their children to be careful.The three children then explore and say that the place could be scary. Andrew then tells Mikey about how the Grand Canyon was haunted and legend told of guardians of the spirit world once lived in the trees and would come back eventually and end the world. Andrew and Stephanie then decide to explore further, with Andrew giving Mikey his watch after Mikey gets scared from the story. While just sitting there, Mikey drops Andrew's watch and jumps down a rock to get it, only to be sent falling inside the Grand Canyon. Inside, an unharmed Mikey finds several black rocks with symbols in the middle and pockets them into his backpack without anyone noticing.Both families then go home. The next day, Mikey's parents (Kevin Bacon and Radha Mitchell) attempt to have sex, but are interrupted by a random door banging and a dog barking. When the mom goes downstairs, she sees that the tap is on. She thinks it's Mikey, but when she asks him, he claims "Jenny" did it and not him. When she asks who Jenny is, Mikey claims it's his friend in the walls. She then tries to talk to her daughter, but Stephanie just freaks out at her mom 'invading her privacy' (even though all she did was look in the mirror) and closes the door. When the mom then goes back to find Mikey having breakfast, the tap is open again. The dad and Stephanie then decide to go off to work and school, but when the dad tries to touch Mikey's backpack (with the rocks), Mikey freaks out and just tells his dad and sister to go. Mikey then plays hide and seek with his mom by hiding in plain sight under a blanket and jump-scares his mom when she finds him.Mikey and his mom then go grocery shopping and Mikey goes off to the balloon section and "worries his mom sick". Mikey then gets two balloons, and they head home. At home, while Mikey is coloring and his mom is on her laptop, she hears thumping in the attic. She then goes up and gets jump-scared by Mikey. When she asks Mikey how he got up, he claims Jenny taught him how to. The light bulb then pops, and she goes down with Mikey.At work, Mikey's dad is working and talks with a new employee (who is then later implied to be having an affair with him despite only appearing once). Mikey's dad and Stephanie then get back home. Later that night, Mikey's mom overhears the dad talking about work and then walks around the house. Stephanie, who is taking a shower, is suddenly surprised by handprints appearing on her mirror. Thinking it's Mikey, she storms off to his room and threatens to ruin his toys. Mikey then claims that it was Jenny and the two fight. The fight is broken up by Mikey's mom and comforts Mikey. Mikey's dad talks to Stephanie, and we find out Mikey is autistic. Stephanie tells him to get out. Later that night, Stephanie wakes up to find black handprints on her blanket. Ignoring it, she goes down to get a snack and gets surprised by something banging the microwave. In fear, Stephanie goes to her parent's room and sleeps there instead.The next day, the dog continues to bark, and we find out it's the neighbor's dog and Mikey's mom finds a black handmark on Stephanie's blanket and disinfects the air in the room. Stephanie then has a container in her room where she vomits into (because of anorexia) and freaks out when she sees her mom watching. When Mikey's dad gets home, a crow lands on his car, and he shoos it. Inside, he breaks up a fight between Mikey's mom and Stephanie and puts Stephanie out of the room. We then find out that her anorexia has caused multiple containers of vomit under her bed. Mikey's dad then takes her to a therapist to get help.The next day, Mikey's mom dumps him at his grandma's house while she decides to go to the hospital for Stephanie. At his grandma's, Mikey tries to follow her pet cat to the living room. The door then jump-scares Mikey's grandma and the water turns on. When she shuts off the tap, a snake is suddenly on the kitchen counter. We then see Mikey's parents running to the hospital where we learn that no one was harmed, but Mikey tried to kill his grandma's cat.Later at home, Mikey is sitting alone in his room feeling the rocks in his backpack. His mom, who is checking herself in the mirror, suddenly sees a blanket with a figure in it. Thinking it is Mikey, she touches it, and it sinks into the floor. The fire alarm then goes off (and the figure in the blanket rises again), and she sees a fire in Mikey's room, while Mikey is in the hallway holding a box of matches.When Mikey's dad Peter gets home, Mikey gets scared and runs up to his tree house. Mikey's dad is fed up with Mikey's autism, saying he is now dangerous. We then hear something coming from the big scorched part of Mikey's room.Later that night, Peter is talking to someone on the phone for business and hears a weird noise in the garage. There, the garage door is open. He closes it. He then goes back inside and sees the office door is open. He closes it. The TV then jump-scares him and he turns it off. We then see Mikey in his room aligning the rocks and hearing something from the scorched wall. Mikey's mom (who is taking a bath) is also jump-scared when something suddenly thumps while she's in the bathtub.The next day, Peter and Mikey's mom talk about the strange events. Mikey's mom then googles and finds out about Anasazi Indians. These Indians believed that demons were bound to rocks and that if taken, they would connect to young children who would trigger 'The Darkness'. The only way to get rid of it is to put the rocks back to where it was, but by someone who was not afraid of the events. She then sends the video to Peter and Peter sees a news article about how evil beings latch to autistic children. Peter's boss then jumpscares him by walking into the office during the "Let's go on the Internet and find answers" montage. Mikey's mom then goes to the supermarket and buys vodka along with some toys for Mikey.Mikey's mom Bronny, and Peter then go out for dinner with Peter's boss and his wife. They have small talk about business, and then the boss's wife talks about the supernatural before being cut off, and Peter is visibly embarrassed when his wife indulges her. Meanwhile at home, Mikey walks off somewhere while his sister is listening to music and plays with the rocks while looking at the burn stain.When Bronny and Peter get home, they fight over his embarrassment over her. When Bronny finds Mikey, he is covered with black handmarks and foams blood from his mouth. Peter checks Mikey, but Mikey is alright. Later that night, Bronny wakes up and hears Mikey counting. She then walks down the hallway and finds their family picture from the Grand Canyon shattered. She then sees Mikey with his back facing her counting after being led there by a wolf silhouette. Inside, she asks Mikey who he's talking to. He claims it's the Sky People. She asks where they are. He says it's behind her. Bronny screams and wakes up since it was a dream. She wakes up, and so does Peter. Mikey also wakes up, and so does Stephanie. But the neighbor's dog is there and attacks Stephanie. Peter runs out and screams at his neighbor (who is also somewhat awake late at night) about the dog. They then take Stephanie to the hospital and Mikey watches a movie with things exploding and is entranced by it.When Peter gets home, the neighbor's dog is now muzzled. Later that night, Mikey is still playing with his rocks. Hands then come out of the big scorched stain on his wall after he asks if Jenny is there. Bronny and Peter then have an argument, and she cries and confronts him about an affair. Peter then packs his things and asks for time off from his boss, telling him about the weird things at home. His boss then suggests Teresa, a woman who performs spiritual healings.Peter then continues to research over the supernatural beings and rewatches the video Bronny sent him (but this time the footage is extended to provide more backstory over the haunting) and finds out that the hauntings cause rifts amongst loved ones and the whole story of the haunting. He then emails his boss for contact details about the spiritual healer.At home, Bronny gets drunk and looks at family photos while crying.Peter then comes home and hears noises coming from the tree house and arms himself with a badminton racket. In Mikey's room, two figures rise from sheets, and he asks if it is Jenny. Stephanie then notices her bathroom door open before the black hand marks appear all over her body and begin choking her. Peter then gets jump-scared by a coyote which then runs into the house. Bronny then notices a figure behind them in the Grand Canyon photo. Peter storms into Stephanie's room and gets her out. He then sees Mikey in the bathroom with him smiling and the ceiling being covered with red handprints instead of black.Peter then takes his entire family and go to a hotel (where they buy the presidential suite out of desperation since only one room is left) where Bronny and Peter then reconcile and pledge to stop the haunting together. The next day, they find Teresa and Gloria (her translator). They talk about the hauntings, and they begin to do a spiritual clearing of the house. Upon arriving in Mikey's room, they note that it's where the real evil is. They then begin chanting but the demonic forces attack and drop a chandelier. Mikey then gets away from them and tries to enter the portal. After some more supposedly scary moments, Peter runs up to Mikey's room and locks the door.He sees Mikey walking into the portal with the demons. To stop them, Peter tries to bring the stones in, but he's afraid. He decides to swap with Mikey and begins walking away with the demons, but Mikey picks up the stones and claims that he's not afraid. The demons then all leave and Peter/Mikey jump out of the portal together. After everything is normal and the house is cleansed.Everyone is happy, and the family then has a picnic in the final shot.

Review: I really don't know why people are writing comments slating this film.It is not a 'hardcore; horror that is likely to make you seek therapy for the rest of your life, but it is not dull or unwatchable either.The production is good, the acting is good, and it is the kind of film you can watch when you just fancy a 'movie night' with friends or family.The story is engaging enough to make it interesting.All these pseudo-intellectual ramblings criticising the film are just that - pseudo-intellectual.It is probably not the best film you will watch in your life but is it also very far from the worst..
Clearly everyone has different expectations when it comes to horrors, and for me personally, movies like Insidious, Paranormal Activity, Sinister and Dark Skies etc tick the box.
Then, about once a year, the stars align, Wes Craven rolls in his grave, and a movie like The Darkness limps into theaters, a horror flick that's so inept at everything it tries to accomplish that it only triggers catcalls from the audience.
In The Darkness, the whitest family I've ever seen goes on a family trip to the Grand Canyon, and by some ridiculous series of events, the son brings back five rocks that have Native American demons inside them.
His performance helps lift this film and is complimented by a capable cast who generally share good chemistry.The family dynamic, in particular, is very believable in a middle aged, kind of yuppie-ish way.I give The Darkness a six out of ten.
I actually enjoyed this supernatural thriller.i found it very suspenseful and eerie at times.the music was great.and the acting was good all around.Kevin Bacon Plays Peter Taylor.Radha Mitchell plays his wife Bronny.Lucy Fry plays their daughter Stephanie,and David Mazouz plays their son Michael.Mazous is a stand out here.the plot is basically this.Peter Taylor(Bacon) and his family return from a camping trip at the grand canyon.almost from the moment they arrive home,strange things begin to happen.little things at first,which slowly escalate to more serious events.the low rating here(4.2/10)is unjustified,in my opinion.while I wouldn't call it a masterpiece,i think it was still effective.for me,The Darkness is 7.6/10.
The Darkness is generic all the way down to its title - can you imagine the faces lit up when the actors (who did get paid anyway so whatever) are told they'll be in a new horror movie produced by Jason Blum (whatever you think of Blumhouse they made Whiplash so points there for that), and then comes a script called 'The Darkness' and those faces fall a little - and its laziness comes largely in execution.These aren't all necessarily bad actors really; Kevin Bacon, Radha Mitchell, even Paul Reiser I've seen do excellent work in major films for major artists.
Here, it's slumming in a story that feels like its grafted plot points and character beats from a Lifetime movie; the mother/wife who's an alcoholic; the philandering husband/father who can't keep it in his pants (until he decides to not to that so much due to the crazy s*** at home); the daughter who has bulimia since, you know, she has to be given something to do.
And of course the son who is autistic (though we don't see that at the start of the movie, set at the Grand Canyon where he happens to plop into a hole and find some spooky rocks, woo rocks, scary), and the filmmakers use the autism more to keep things in the first half suspicious.So in other words, it's not taking autism really seriously aside from it being a crutch to hold on to: there's some weird things going on in the house like (gasp) hand-prints and prints on a mirror during a shower, well you can blame it on the autistic kid Mikey, right?
And it all leads up to a conclusion that we've seen a thousand times with these possessed-house movies - and for some reason even though I believe the Anasazi are Native American in heritage the "healers" are Mexican because maybe they couldn't afford to hire Native American actors (and having actors speaking Spanish makes things more, uh, 'authentic' or scary).This is weak by way of building up family drama (also it feels confused as if on the one hand the family had these problems before this phantom menace so to speak arrived, but on the other hand it's also meant to be like the ghosts make them more effed up, which is it) and by the numbers (plus logic stuff, simple things, like is the movie so cheap that they couldn't show the boy at a school - the actor playing him doesn't look too young to be in school as autistic kids *do* attend), and yet its laziness causes it to be borderline offensive.
So this kid with Autism is more accessible to the preternatural and disturbs evil native American spirits that decide to disturb him and his family back.It Reminds me of Stir of Echoes, which also star Keven Bacon, but is nowhere near as good as that movie.
They change one or two elements on the script but in the end it is the same type of reheated and recycled haunting story.If they had, at least, included some gratuitous nudity or sex to make things a little more interesting or less soporific the film could be watchable.
As it is, The Darkness is boring as it can possibly be, without any scares, and in the final act, the introduction of the healers and their magic feather is painfully ridiculous.I wonder what forced Kevin Bacon to star in such drivel.....
Well, coming to think of it, Kevin Bacon is the only actor in the movie that wasn't terrible, because he is the Bacon.The only scary thing I can say about this is that I got to see the preview of the upcoming horror film "Don't Breathe".
When I saw the darkness, I felt like I needed to take out a ghost movie checklist and start listing everything I had seen before.
It's an awful mess of lame ideas copied shamelessly from genre classics and mixed together into a superficial esoteric story convoluted by unbelievable family drama.Why did actors like Bacon and Mitchell do this job?
Besides people "acting like you and me" by sitting in dark rooms intentionally while weird sounds come from the attic, the movie constantly rubbed everything in the face of the audience.
Horror doesn't mean blood, but come on - those demons were as evil and frightening as an old hag on the street.You don't need to be a cineast or a professional film critic to know that this movie was crap.
It may annoy people with me saying this a lot recently, but it is hard to not say anything when wastes of good ideas and talent is a bugbear of mine and something that has featured rather too heavily in my recent film viewings.Kevin Bacon and Radha Mitchell are reasonable leads and David Mazouz is more than up to their level.
In Blumhouse Productions' 2016 film 'The Darkness,' we see what happens when ancient spirits worshiped by the Anasazi Native Americans are awakened and terrorize a run-of-the-mill family from LA.Basically, what happens is the Taylor family is vacationing in the Grand Canyon when young son Michael (David Mazouz), who is Autistic, stumbles upon ancient stones that were used by the natives who inhabited the land to trap evil spirits who terrorized them.
It instead comes across as a a messy compilation of creepy happenings and a lot of family drama.'The Darkness' showed signs of being a promising low-budget supernatural thriller but unfortunately never gets off the ground, which explains why it was shelved and ultimately dumped into theaters when it was..
But if you are a hardcore Horror fan then this movie isn't going to get a rise out of you in the least bit, but the usual fan base for Kevin and Rhada which consists of my mom and company will probably enjoy this light thriller.
then go back and watch Friday the 13th again, because this one isn't worth much.Family (of fully clichéd stereotypes: hard-working father who is too busy to notice what is happening around him, specifically his wife's drinking problem, his daughter's anorexia, and his autistic son's new invisible "friend", and his new rock collection) finds themselves being followed by vaguely defined spirits after a trip to the Grand Canyon.
They want their rocks back.Kevin Bacon does as well with the material as he could, and the film does have a couple of eerie visuals, like the coyote casually walking through the house (which turns out to be only a dream, which provoked me to shout " Oh, **** off!" at the screen)Film contradicts itself several times: Bacon is furious at his son for setting his room on fire, but in the next scene, he casually acts as though it is no big deal.
The opening sequence in the Grand Canyon had a couple of times when it was difficult to tell where people were standing in relation to each other, the first scene of Kevin Bacon and his wife in bed had something obviously edited out, and the closing credits stop shortly after beginning, and have a brief shot of the rocks again, in what appear to be a post credits scene set-up for a sequel, but even that scene is cut short.
This film started quite well then after the second act slowly got worse and worse, the acting was moderate but the final execution very poor.Why does Hollywood keep putting very average horror films out there will they ever learn ( doubt it) A few good scares but all been done before.I say see this if your really bored or have a couple of hours to spare otherwise don't bother.Average score and cinematography but not enough to make a cinema release.You will get frustrated by the hour mark and want your money back and save it for VOD..
A drama, a family trip, a horror and a psychological film all in one.I wish they had spent more time on the story than trying to be scary.
Hollywood script writers have obviously run out of genuine and original ideas so they can only recycle the same old fashioned demon stories we have seen in hundreds of horror films ever since cinema was born.
A good thriller or horror movie may use "fiction" (the world of ghosts and spirits)as the background of its story, but unless it takes it to a further level giving a realistic ending or solution given the fiction it is about, it makes no sense anymore.This is the case of "the darkness".
The CGI moments were also quite amateur, so he has a long way to go before he hits the big time.Budget: $4million Worldwide Gross: $10.9millionI recommend this movie to people who are into their horror/thrillers, starring Kevin Bacon, Radha Mitchell, Lucy Fry, Jennifer Morrison, Paul Reiser, Parker Mack and Matt Walsh.
Been watching horror/suspense/thrillers for over *cough* 40 years.However, it's a decent movie if you look at it from the point of view of a younger person, like a child or teen.The movie doesn't have very much gore at all.
Like most Kevin Bacon "movies" (and Radha Mitchell, for that matter), this indigestible tripe is a half baked mess of every horror movie cliche mixed with phoned in performances and ridiculously implausible character actions.You cannot connect with any of the characters; the daughter aside they are thoroughly unsympathetic and, dare I say, mentally challenged, as evidenced by their stupid decisions.It is hard to tell if this is an intentional device or simply bad writing, and I don't really care enough to find out..
And the movie never stepping outside of any horror clichés.Then it doesn't even help that you have competent actors like Kevin Bacon and Rhada Mitchell in the lead, even if Kevin kinda phoned in his performance this time..
Following a family trip to the Grand Canyon, they realize that the mysterious incidents and behavior they've been experiencing since returning are the cause of a dangerous malevolent spirit that's returned with them and must cleanse the house to be safe.Overall, this one wasn't all that bad of a supernatural effort.
The Darkness had good intentions but with an overplayed story and felt like many other movies that audiences have already seen..
The conflicts between characters outside of the main story line are supposed to add depth and build connections with the audience however in The Darkness those conflicts feel forced and are quite frankly rather unimaginative.Riddled with clichés at every turn, The Darkness offers nothing remotely original or thought provoking and the story line was so unbelievably convenient, I rolled my eyes into the back of my head more often than their cliché teen daughter.Often I'll recommend movies to friends even if I don't really enjoy it by saying something like, "If you have a an hour or so to kill, it may be worth a watch", but I cannot say that here, folks.Save your time or just re-watch The Poltergeist, that's what this film was trying to be anyway...
A supernatural force terrorizes a couple and their two children after the young son brings home some mysterious rocks from the Grand Canyon.Reading that description, it had my attention but I wondered how good can a horror movie be that's about a kid bringing home some rocks that are haunted?
After watching it.....Wow, what a GREAT movie.If you like Horror movies that aren't all guts & gore & full of special effects then you might like The Darkness.I had my doubts at the start but after it was over, I was surprised I even liked it in the 1st place especially how much I liked it.I hope there's going to be a sequel with the same cast coming back like the Poltergeist movies.This movie was similar to Poltergeist so why not?
It stars Kevin Bacon, Radha Mitchell (who also starred in 'ROGUE'), David Mazouz and Lucy Fry. It's a pretty disappointing film, especially coming from Greg McLean.The Taylors are on vacation at the Grand Canyon, with another family, when the son, Michael (Mazouz), stumbles across a dark supernatural presence.
The family turns to friends for help.I really enjoyed McLean's other horror flicks, so I was looking forward to this movie, but it definitely let me down.
The Darkness had all the necessary ingredients for a decent horror film: the premise isn't very original, but at least, it offers a less trite alternative than the typical "vindictive ghost"; the cast includes various good actors (Kevin Bacon, Radha Mitchell, Paul Reiser, Ming-Na Wen and David Mazouz); and the special effects are pretty well made.
Friday the 13th of May 2016 brings on the release of 'The Darkness' starring Kevin Bacon where his family must do battle with ancient spirits of the Grand Canyon...
Just keep reading, thanks.'The Darkness' begins as Peter Taylor (Kevin Bacon) and his family have a camping trip within the Grand Canyon.
Just got back from seeing this in cinemas & have say it was pretty good though not 100% great.The film starts with a family who go camping in the Grand Canyon & their youngest son, who has autism falls into a cave & discovers a post supernatural ritual camber of some kind.
Not to be confused with Jaume Balagueró's Darkness (2002) talented director/writer Greg McLean of sleeper hit film Wolf Creek and underrated killer croc flick Rogue offers a supernatural horror in the vein of Poltergeist and Amityville Horror including their remakes.What really works in McLean's favour is the Taylor family is not made-up of the stereo type character models synonymous with the genre.
I saw "The Darkness", starring Kevin Bacon-The Following_tv, X-Men:First Class; Radha Mitchell-London Has Fallen, Silent Hill; Paul Reiser- Concussion, Beverly Hills Cop and Ming-Na Wen-Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D._tv, ER_tv.I had high hopes for this movie-I love good scary movies-but I was very disappointed.
Peter (Kevin Bacon) and his wife Bronny (Radha Mitchell) begin sharing their home with daughter Stephanie (Lucy Fry) and autistic son Mikey (David Mazour) with some inexplicable events like water turning on, footstep sounds in the attic and mysterious hand prints about the home.
Unfortunately, the scariest thing about this movie is how bad it is.As the story begins, two families are camping together in the Grand Canyon.
Peter and Bronny Taylor (played by Kevin Bacon and Rhada Mitchell, and, yes, I checked those spellings) have a teenage daughter named Stephanie (Lucy Fry) and a tween son called Mikey (David Mazouz), who happens to be autistic.
Echoes of POLTERGEIST reflect this haunting horror film about a family encountering malevolent Native American spirits AKA Anasazi who make their way into their home after a vacation trek to the Grand Canyon and communicating with the autistic youngest member (Mazouz) with spooky results.
Well, Other than the background story of the demons and the five stones, this is all the same garbage you've seen in just about every other horror movie to come out in the past 20 years.
Some kid or character does something stupid, day by day things get worse, family calls supernatural investigators, they can't do much s***, family deals with it themselves somehow.Unless you're 5 years old or you've been living under a rock and have never seen another horror movie in your life, the only thing about this movie that will scare you is what could have possibly been on Kevin Bacon's mind when he signed up to be in this train-wreck.
Because near the end, the ancient animal demonic avatars could have been horrifying if they actually tried, but when you finally see these 5 figures, you're not scared because you KNOW 100% that these are people with goofy looking masks, headdresses and costumes.The only good thing I can say about this movie is Ilza Rosario's pretty face.