''Darklands'' is a British horror film written and directed by Julian Richards, starring

Craig Fairbrass Craig John Fairbrass (born 15 January 1964) is an English actor, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his roles as Delmar in the thriller film ''Cliffhanger'' (1993), Dan Sullivan in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (1999–2001) ...

Jon Finch Jon Finch (2 March 1942 – 28 December 2012) was an English stage and film actor who became well known for his Shakespearean roles. Most notably, he starred in films for directors Roman Polanski (''Macbeth'', 1971) and Alfred Hitchcock (''Fren ...

Rowena King Rowena in the Matter of Britain was the daughter of the purported Anglo-Saxon chief Hengist and wife of Vortigern, " King of the Britons". Presented as a beautiful '' femme fatale'', she won her people the Kingdom of Kent through her treachero ...

, which was released in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

. Richards wrote the screenplay after attending the

Beltane Fire Festival Beltane Fire Festival is an annual participatory arts event and ritual, held on 30 April on Calton Hill in Edinburgh. Historical background The modern Beltane Fire Festival is inspired by the ancient Gaelic festival of Beltane which began on t ...

in Edinburgh. It was produced by

Paul Brooks Paul Brooks is a British-born film producer. Brooks has a Humanities degree in English/Philosophy/Psychology and Sociology from the University of London. He then went into real estate development before moving into film. In 1992 he executive ...

at Metrodome Films. Dubbed "the Welsh ''

Wicker Man A wicker man was purportedly a large wicker statue in which the druids (priests of Celtic paganism) sacrificed humans and animals by burning. The main evidence for this practice is a sentence by Roman general Julius Caesar in his '' Commentary ...

''" by the UK press, Darklands is possibly the first home grown Welsh horror film. The film forms part of the growth of the

Cool Cymru Cool Cymru ( cy, Cŵl Cymru) was a Welsh cultural movement in music and independent film in the 1990s and 2000s, led by the popularity of bands such as Stereophonics, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Manic Street Preachers, Catatonia and Super Furry ...

era of arts and culture.

Plot

Darklands follows journalist Frazer Truick as he investigates the mysterious death of the brother of trainee journalist Rachel Morris. Delving deeper, Truick becomes convinced that the tragedy was murder, committed by a bizarre religious cult. But as the evidence unfolds, things take on a more sinister and potentially lethal significance for the reporter, as he becomes embroiled in

devil worship Theistic Satanism, otherwise referred to as religious Satanism, spiritual Satanism, or traditional Satanism, is an umbrella term for religious groups that consider Satan, the Devil, or Lucifer to objectively exist as a deity, supernatural en ...

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...

and ultimately

human sacrifice Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease gods, a human ruler, an authoritative/priestly figure or spirits of dead ancestors or as a retainer sacrifice, wherein ...

Release

In 1998 Darklands was theatrically released in the UK by Metrodome Films, released on VHS by Pathé and broadcast by ITV. Darklands is available on DVD in Germany (Splended Films), France,

Fox Film Corporation The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American Independent film production studio formed by William Fox (1879–1952) in 1915, by combining his earlier Greater New York Film Rental Company and Box Office Attractions Film C ...

and Spain (Filmax). On 20 November 2012 Darklands will be released on DVD in the USA and Canada by MVD Distribution.

Awards

*Critics' Award - Fantasporto *Méliès d'Argent - Grand Prize of European Fantasy Film in Silver - Fantasporto *Best Screenplay - Fantasporto *Special Jury Award - Fantasporto *Best Independent Feature Award - Festival of Fantastic Films (UK) *Silver Remi Award - WorldFest Houston

Festivals

*Welsh International Film Festival - Aberystwyth, UK *

Fantasporto Fantasporto, also known as Fantas, is an international film festival, annually organized since 1981 in Porto, Portugal. Giving screen space to fantasy/science fiction/ horror-oriented commercial feature films, auteur films and experimental proje ...

Film Festival - Portugal *Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Films - Belgium *Valenciennes Action & Adventure Film Festival - France *Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival - Netherlands *

Newport Beach Film Festival The Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) is an annual film festival in Newport Beach, California, typically held in late April. In 2022, it was announced that the festival have permanently changed its date to be held in October, as the festival beg ...

- USA *WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival - USA *Fantafestival - Rome, Italy *Shots In The Dark Film Festival - Nottingham, UK *Puchon Fantastic Film Festival - South Korea * Espoo Ciné - Finland *

Festival of Fantastic Films (UK) The Festival of Fantastic Films is an annual non-profit celebration of ''cinema fantastique'', held annually in central Manchester, England. It was created by Tony Edwards and the late Harry Nadler (both members of the Delta Film Group, an amateur ...

- Manchester *Lund Fantastisk Film Festival - Sweden * Sitges Film Festival - Spain * Leeds Film Festival - UK *San Sebastián Film Festival - Spain *Cinenygma Fantasy Festival - Luxemburg *Scienceplusfiction Film Festival -Trieste, Italy *Another Hole in the Head Genre Film Festival -San Francisco, USA

Critical response

'Action horror with elements of ''

The Wicker Man ''The Wicker Man'' is a 1973 British folk horror film directed by Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt, and Christopher Lee. The screenplay by Anthony Shaffer, inspired by David Pinner's 1967 ...

'' ' - Variety.Variety
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References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Darklands 1997 films 1997 horror films 1997 independent films British horror films British independent films Fictional cults Cool Cymru Films scored by John Murphy (composer) Films about journalists Films set in Wales Films about human sacrifice Films about Satanism Films about witchcraft 1990s English-language films 1990s British films English-language horror films