The Killer in the Dark and Needing an Angelic Night Light: A Movie Review

*full disclosure: a screener of this film was provided by Gravitas Ventures.

Director: John Preston.

Writer: Rick Vasquez.

Killer in the Dark was previously called Seance and this film was finished in 2001. The film stars Adam West ("Batman") and Corey Feldman in a low budget thriller whose plot can summed up in two words: malevolent spirit. This ghost from the past, named Michael, traverses the physical and spiritual realms to rehash Catholic themes e.g. hell, and angels to moderate affect. Recently released on video-on-demand November, 2011, this production is only for the most die hard of indie thriller fans.

The plot has already been summed up above; to elaborate, John (Feldman) faces some ghosts by holding a seance in a converted barn. His friends get involved and the spirit he wants to contact has a history of misdeeds and evil. Once contacted, Michael begins to hunt down John's attractive friends while offering one of the greatest and most comedic kills in film history - a DVD disc to the throat. Who knew those things were so sharp? The latter part of the film involves fighting Michael on a more mystical realm straight out of A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors . If you can dream it, then you can become it.

This indie feature could also be compared to Breaking Glass Pictures' feature Sympathy , where all or much of the action takes place in one room. To the films credit, there are hospital scenes and other sets, but much of the film takes place in a converted barn which now appears as living space. Made for a pittance, the film quality is fairly average and the acting, outside of Feldman, is atrocious early; however, the performances improve as time goes on. As well, the plot does not get too complicated, but writer Rick Vasquez does play with timelines a bit to unsettle the audience.

The Killer in the Dark is nothing exceptional. Yet, the film cannot be written off either. Feldman delivers a solid performance (surprised?), there is a lot of action here and playing with the spiritual offers a duality that other films ignore. This killer is more adaptable than most. This critic's attention seemed to drift elsewhere, but some horror fans might find a good time here in a murderous seance.

Overall: 6 out of 10 (Feldman's acting is good, others are weak, the story is a little predictable, good dialogue).

If you are interested in this film, then check out the video-on-demand platforms that the film is now available on:

Video-on-demand Platforms at Gravitas Ventures

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Posted in: 2011,2011 release,corey feldman,gravitas ventures,horror,movie poster,movie review,video on demand