'Out of Darkness' takes a classic horror story back 45,000 years. It's a chilling ride
There’s something out there in the dark and it’s going to get you.
If it seems as if that feeling is innate, going back beyond time, well, “Out of Darkness” is not going to argue the point. In fact, director Andrew Cumming’s debut feature makes it.
That’s because it’s set 45,000 years ago — the dawn of man, that sort of thing. A small group has braved a trip across the ocean, escaping a famine. They are hoping for greener pastures, so to speak, though so far the land is barren and forbidding. We first meet them huddled around a fire at night, when Heron (Luna Mwezi), a young boy, makes the eternal request: Tell me a story.
What is 'Out of Darkness' about?
Heron’s father, Adem (Chuku Modu), is the group’s leader. Arrogant in the face of possible disaster, he assures the group he can face and defeat any problem that they may face. His partner Ave (Iola Evans) — Adem and Ave, not so subtle — is pregnant. Geirr (Kit Young) is quiet, but encouraging to Beyah (Safia Oakley-Green), a “stray” who has joined the group, all of whom besides Geirr consider nothing more than a vessel for whatever they want. Odal (Arno Luening), a surly elder, rounds out the bunch.
Their storytelling session — monitored closely by Adem, to ensure no aspects of it undermine his bravery or leadership — is interrupted by a piercing shriek. What is it? What does it want? None of the group is sure, but they have a pretty good idea: It wants them.
We have been conditioned, all these centuries later, to feel the same way. At this point anyone who has seen a horror movie knows not to venture into the dark basement or whatever. Not so with Adem and the rest, implying that this fear — don’t wander from the fire at night, please! — is and always has been a part of us. I don’t know how convincing the argument is, but it is a cool idea.
In the daytime, the search for food and shelter continues. Cumming and cinematographer Ben Fordesman give us aerial shots that drive home both the absolute barren nature of their new land and its enormity. (The film was shot in the Scottish Highlands. Remind me not to visit.)
Inevitably, one of the group disappears. Even more inevitably, during the attempted search and rescue, the group’s members begin to turn on each other. Inevitably, they will come face-to-face with the threat. Maybe this bunch hasn’t mowed through a library of horror and adventure films, but it seems a sure bet that Cumming has.
'Out of Darkness' asks what it is to be human
Eventually, the remaining members of the group, and the audience, are forced to confront what it means to be a person, and what it means to be human, even in a time when that was a novel concept. That’s what makes “Out of Darkness” as intriguing as it is — to us, these concepts are not exactly groundbreaking, though they are always worth reexamining.
To the members of the group, however, all of this is uncharted territory. That’s a concept that is frankly hard to grasp — and in some ways, it could be used as a crutch. Even at less than an hour and a half, the film is, shall we say, patient in unfolding its story. Part of this is set up, lulling the audience for the shocks to come.
But for the characters, it’s just life as they know it, life as it unfolds before them and life that is about to change, forever.
Jody Jackson: The Swiss Army knife of Arizona sports news
'Out of Darkness' 3.5 stars
Great ★★★★★ Good ★★★★
Fair ★★★ Bad ★★ Bomb ★
Director: Andrew Cumming.
Cast: Chuku Modu, Kit Young, Safia Oakley-Green.
Rating: R for violence and some grisly images.
How to watch: In theaters Friday, Feb. 9.
Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. X: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly movies newsletter.
Subscribe to azcentral.com today. What are you waiting for?
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Review: Horror film 'Out of Darkness' returns to dawn of man
