Travel back to the dawn of man, and see how they deal with this demon.
“Out of Darkness,” originally titled “The Origin,” looks like the kind of horror movie that A24 would distribute, especially if one of the characters has to have his mouth ripped open by some kind of otherworldly being. Instead, it’s distributed by Bleecker Street, and even the trailer makes the film look haunting, especially if it takes place during the Stone Age. And sorry, I do not have any rock puns to provide for you at this moment, because I’m not trying to be funny. I’m trying to be informative on this small horror film.
And as I was watching this towards the end, I was reminded of the “Predator” prequel “Prey,” which had that alien came face to face with a young Comanche warrior. I know these are obviously in different periods, but there’s something about that really sets the tone and complexity quite well. People back then haven’t heard of iconic characters or cliches or reality, so it would make sense to make horror movies set before movies and cliches even existed.
We meet a group of early humans who are all looking for a place to call home. At this moment, they need to find food and shelter to help continue their journey, and campfires are usually the most helpful as their resting ground. Their journey is sidetracked, however, by a demon, who takes them out one by one. It either kills them or abducts them.
The “stray” of the tribe is Beyah (Safia Oakley-Green), who is blamed for these strange goings ons, because she starts to bleed. And that’s why she’s almost sacrificed to it. But she knows how to thrive on whatever happens.
These early humans speak “Tola,” which was created for the film, and is based on Basque, which has origins in Spain and France. And they’re all portrayed by English-British actors who must have studied long and hard to nail this language.
There’s also a shot of an aurora giving a confrontation scene a greenish complexion. One of the characters in that specific scene almost looks like he has an aqua face. Other shots are placed in somber, cloudy environments, and they’re all beautifully photographed by Ben Fordesman.
The story (written by Ruth Greenberg, Oliver Kassman, and director Andrew Cumming) doesn’t take full advantage of the set-up, and it does run for less than 90 minutes, but the performances from the cast (especially by Oakley-Green) are a revelation, the R-rating is ballsy, and the ambiance sets the horror quite well. It’s the kind when I could be in a field and being scared of a loud noise (reflect to my “Midsommar” review for my explanation). Cumming, whose background includes TV episodes and short films, makes his feature debut with a chilling perspective, especially when it’s set during the Stone Age.
I’ve had good reasons for missing out on the American horror film “Night Swim,” one of them being that the trailers didn’t speak to me, and I’ve made the right decision. I also think I’ve made the right decision on seeing “Out of Darkness,” because the trailer and poster is actually scary. And the overall movie is a reflection on them. In fact, I was reminded about the success of “The Babadook” or “Talk to Me,” both from Australia. I can’t guarantee this film will be as financially popular as those two, but I can guarantee it will receive appreciation. Open your eyes people, and save the jump scares for the saps.