''The Dark'' is a 2005

folk horror Folk horror is a subgenre of horror film that uses elements of folklore to invoke fear and foreboding. Typical elements include a rural setting, isolation, and themes of superstition, folk religion, paganism, sacrifice and the dark aspects of natu ...

film starring

Sean Bean Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean on 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Bean made his professional debut in a theatre production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983. Retaining his Yorkshire ac ...

and

Maria Bello Maria Elena Bello (born April 18, 1967) is an American actress and writer. Her film roles include ''Permanent Midnight'' (1998), ''Payback (1999 film), Payback'' (1999), ''Coyote Ugly (film), Coyote Ugly'' (2000), ''The Cooler'' (2003), ''A Hist ...

and directed by John Fawcett. It is based on the 1994 novel ''

Sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

'' by Simon Maginn. The film was shot on the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

Plot

While in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

visiting her husband James (

), Adèlle (

) tries to fix her relationship with her daughter Sarah (

Sophie Stuckey Sophie Stuckey (born 1 March 1991) is an English actress. Biography and career Sophie Stuckey was born in London, in the borough of Camden, on 1 March 1991. Her first role as an actress was in 2002, at the age of 11, in the film '' Close Your E ...

). By the side of a cliff, they see a strange memorial with evidence of a plate missing and with the name "

Annwyn Annwn, Annwfn, or Annwfyn (in Middle Welsh, ''Annwvn'', ''Annwyn'', ''Annwyfn'', ''Annwvyn'', or ''Annwfyn'') is the Otherworld in Welsh mythology. Ruled by Arawn (or, in Arthurian literature, by Gwyn ap Nudd), it was essentially a world of de ...

" marked on it. A local man Dafydd (

Maurice Roëves John Maurice Roëves (; 19 March 1937 – 14 July 2020) was a British actor. He appeared in over 120 film and television roles, in both the United Kingdom and the United States. His breakthrough performance was as Stephen Dedalus in the 1967 f ...

) explains that, according to traditional

Welsh mythology Welsh mythology (Welsh: ''Mytholeg Cymru'') consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium. As in most of the predominantly oral societies Cel ...

, Annwyn is a sort of afterlife. Later, Sarah vanishes on the beach, and another similar looking girl, named Ebrill (Welsh for "April"), appears in her place. Ebrill is the long-dead daughter of a local shepherd who also served as the town's pastor fifty years prior. When Ebrill, who was a sickly child, died, her father gave her to the ocean, sending her to Annwyn. He then convinced his followers to throw themselves into the ocean, claiming that it was the way to Paradise, while he privately hoped that their sacrifice would return Ebrill to him from Annwyn. Ebrill did come back, but, something came back with her. Her father tried to draw the evil out of her, through

trepanning Trepanning, also known as trepanation, trephination, trephining or making a burr hole (the verb ''trepan'' derives from Old French from Medieval Latin from Greek , literally "borer, auger"), is a surgical intervention in which a hole is drill ...

and locking her in her room. Dafydd was one of the followers who did not throw himself off the cliff, though both his parents did. Ebrill's father took him in, and when Dafydd could no longer bear witnessing the shepherd hurting Ebrill, he set her free, which in turn allowed the evil within her to lash out and shove her father over the cliff. Adèlle makes the connection that Ebrill is back once more because she has found a living substitute in Sarah. In an attempt to rescue her daughter, Adèlle throws both herself and Ebrill over the cliffs, despite James' protests, and sends them both to Annwyn, a

sepia Sepia may refer to: Biology * ''Sepia'' (genus), a genus of cuttlefish Color * Sepia (color), a reddish-brown color * Sepia tone, a photography technique Music * ''Sepia'', a 2001 album by Coco Mbassi * ''Sepia'' (album) by Yu Takahashi * " ...

-toned, misty version of reality. While in Annwyn, the film reveals that (prior to the events of the film) Sarah attempted suicide following an argument with her mother, resulting in their trip to Wales. Adèlle begs for a second chance with her daughter. Ebrill informs her that the dead don't get second chances. Ebrill and her father perform trepanation on Adèlle, to draw out the evil within her. Adèlle eventually escapes her bonds and rushes to find Sarah, who is locked behind a door. Adèlle finds a key and tearfully apologizes for being so selfish. In unlocking the door, Adèlle is able to rescue Sarah from Annwyn, though, in doing so, Adèlle sacrificed herself, only to realize too late that the Sarah she brought back was tainted by the same evil that had tainted Ebrill all those years ago.

Cast

— James *

— Adèlle * Richard Elfyn — Rowan *

— Dafydd * Abigail Stone — Ebrill *

— Sarah * Caspar Harvey — Young Dafydd

Critical reception

The

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

surveyed and, categorizing the reviews as positive or negative, assessed four as positive and six as negative for a 40% rating. Among the reviews, it determined an average rating of 4.70 out of 10.

DVD

The DVD was released on 11 April 2007. The soundtrack features a song by

Stream of Passion Stream of Passion is a Dutch progressive metal band with symphonic and gothic influences founded by guitarist and composer Arjen Anthony Lucassen and Mexican singer, violinist, and lyricist Marcela Bovio. They have released four studio albums. In ...

sung by

Marcela Bovio Marcela Alejandra Bovio García (born October 17, 1979) is a Mexican singer and violinist who is currently a member of the Dutch symphonic death metal band MaYaN. In 1995, she joined Hydra, a Mexican metal band, singing and playing violin. In ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dark, The 2005 films 2005 horror films British horror films German horror films Welsh films English-language German films English-language Welsh films Folk horror films Films based on British novels Films directed by John Fawcett Films produced by Paul W. S. Anderson British ghost films British supernatural horror films 2000s British films 2000s German films