''The Darkness'' is a 2016 American
supernatural horror film
Supernatural horror film is a film genre that combines aspects of horror film and supernatural film. Supernatural occurrences in such films often include ghosts and demons, and many supernatural horror films have elements of religion. Common them ...
, directed by
Greg McLean and co-written by McLean, Shayne Armstrong, and Shane Krause. The film stars
Kevin Bacon
Kevin Norwood Bacon (born July 8, 1958) is an American actor. His films include the musical-drama film '' Footloose'' (1984), the controversial historical conspiracy legal thriller '' JFK'' (1991), the legal drama '' A Few Good Men'' (1992), t ...
,
Radha Mitchell
Radha Rani Amber Indigo Ananda Mitchell is an Australian actress. She started her career with various appearances on Australian television, including a regular role as Catherine O'Brien in the soap opera ''Neighbours'' (1996–97).
Mitchell la ...
,
David Mazouz
David Albert Mazouz (; born ) is an American actor. He is best known for his leading role as Bruce Wayne in Fox's Batman-prequel TV drama '' Gotham'' (2014–2019). Mazouz started his acting career with several guest roles before joining the Fo ...
,
Lucy Fry
Lucy Elizabeth Fry (born 13 March 1992) is an Australian actress. She is known for portraying Zoey in '' Lightning Point'', Lyla in '' Mako: Island of Secrets'', and Lissa Dragomir in the film '' Vampire Academy''. Fry was also cast in Hulu's e ...
,
Matt Walsh,
Jennifer Morrison
Jennifer Marie Morrison is an American actress, director, producer, and former child model. She is mainly known for her roles as Dr. Allison Cameron in the medical-drama series ''House'' (2004–2012) and Emma Swan in the ABC adventure-fantasy s ...
,
Ming-Na Wen
Ming-Na Wen (; born November 20, 1963) is an American actress and model. She voiced Mulan in the animated film ''Mulan'' and its sequel, portrayed Melinda May / The Cavalry in '' Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' (2013–2020), and Fennec Sha ...
and
Parker Mack
Parker Mack Klebenow, known professionally as Parker Mack, is an American actor, writer, musician, and director, who is best known for his role as Finn Madill in the ''Freeform (TV channel), Freeform'' drama ''Chasing Life,'' and as Felix Turne ...
.
The film is about a family who visits the
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...
and brings home a supernatural force that feeds off their fears and takes over their lives. Filming began in April 2014 in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
and ended in May the same year.
Blumhouse Tilt and
High Top Releasing released the film on May 13, 2016 (Friday the 13th). It was largely panned by film critics, but grossed $10.9 million against a $4 million budget.
Plot
Peter and Bronny Taylor go on a vacation to the
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...
in Arizona with Stephanie, their
bulimic
Bulimia nervosa, also known as simply bulimia, is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging or fasting, and excessive concern with body shape and weight. The aim of this activity is to expel the body of calories eaten ...
teenage daughter, Mikey, their adolescent
autistic
The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
son, and another family, the Carters. Mikey discovers a small
Kiva
A kiva is a space used by Puebloans for rites and political meetings, many of them associated with the kachina belief system. Among the modern Hopi and most other Pueblo peoples, "kiva" means a large room that is circular and underground, ...
cavern, where he finds black rocks with symbols on them. He takes the stones.
When the Taylors return home, strange things begin to happen. Bronny finds that the kitchen taps keep turning on, and Stephanie sees handprints on a mirror, both of which Mikey blames on “Jenny.” After Stephanie gets home from school, she vomits into a container and puts it under her bed. Bronny catches her, and she and Peter learn that Stephanie has been throwing up for a while. They take her to a hospital for help, leaving Mikey at Bronny's mother's house. Bronny's mother finds Mikey trying to kill her cat, much to Peter’s disbelief.
At home, Bronny searches online for answers to the strange activity and learns about the
Anasazi
The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as the Anasazi, were an ancient Native American culture that spanned the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, a ...
Indians, who believed that demons were bound to rocks hidden in caves. If the rocks are taken, the demons take the shape of a
crow
A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifical ...
,
snake
Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...
,
coyote
The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...
,
wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...
, and
buffalo. The family has already had encounters with a crow and a snake. The demons connect to young children who are dragged into their world, triggering an event known as 'The Darkness.' The only way they can be banished is if the rocks are returned to where they were found by someone who is not afraid.
Bronny and Peter later find Mikey covered in black marks from a fire in his room, blood pouring from his mouth. Later that night, Bronny has a nightmare of a wolf. Depressed, she starts drinking. In Mikey's room, the fire-damaged part of the wall is revealed to be a portal. Stephanie is choked by handprints appearing all over her wall and body. In the treehouse, Peter sees a coyote and the shadow of a demon in Stephanie's window. The force stops choking Stephanie as he rushes in. He then breaks down Mikey's bathroom door and finds him with marks all over the walls and ceiling.
Peter calls a number given to him by his boss. It belongs to a woman named Teresa, who is said to perform spiritual healings. Teresa comes over with her granddaughter, Gloria, who acts as an interpreter. As they cleanse the house, Teresa and Gloria go into Mikey's room and note that this is where the real evil lives. They recite a chant as Mikey tries to enter the portal.
Peter sees Mikey walking into the portal with the demons. He finds the stones and follows Mikey into the portal but cannot set the stones down due to his fear. He offers to swap places with Mikey, but Mikey ends the event of 'The Darkness' by picking the rocks up and putting them back down, as he is not afraid. The demons are banished, and Peter and Mikey jump out of the portal together. It disappears, and Gloria declares that the house is clean of evil energy.
Cast
*
Kevin Bacon
Kevin Norwood Bacon (born July 8, 1958) is an American actor. His films include the musical-drama film '' Footloose'' (1984), the controversial historical conspiracy legal thriller '' JFK'' (1991), the legal drama '' A Few Good Men'' (1992), t ...
as Peter Taylor
*
Radha Mitchell
Radha Rani Amber Indigo Ananda Mitchell is an Australian actress. She started her career with various appearances on Australian television, including a regular role as Catherine O'Brien in the soap opera ''Neighbours'' (1996–97).
Mitchell la ...
as Bronny Taylor
*
David Mazouz
David Albert Mazouz (; born ) is an American actor. He is best known for his leading role as Bruce Wayne in Fox's Batman-prequel TV drama '' Gotham'' (2014–2019). Mazouz started his acting career with several guest roles before joining the Fo ...
as Michael Taylor
*
Lucy Fry
Lucy Elizabeth Fry (born 13 March 1992) is an Australian actress. She is known for portraying Zoey in '' Lightning Point'', Lyla in '' Mako: Island of Secrets'', and Lissa Dragomir in the film '' Vampire Academy''. Fry was also cast in Hulu's e ...
as Stephanie Taylor
*
Matt Walsh as Gary Carter
*
Jennifer Morrison
Jennifer Marie Morrison is an American actress, director, producer, and former child model. She is mainly known for her roles as Dr. Allison Cameron in the medical-drama series ''House'' (2004–2012) and Emma Swan in the ABC adventure-fantasy s ...
as Joy Carter
*
Ming-Na Wen
Ming-Na Wen (; born November 20, 1963) is an American actress and model. She voiced Mulan in the animated film ''Mulan'' and its sequel, portrayed Melinda May / The Cavalry in '' Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' (2013–2020), and Fennec Sha ...
as Wendy Richards
*
Parker Mack
Parker Mack Klebenow, known professionally as Parker Mack, is an American actor, writer, musician, and director, who is best known for his role as Finn Madill in the ''Freeform (TV channel), Freeform'' drama ''Chasing Life,'' and as Felix Turne ...
as Andrew Carter
* Trian Long-Smith as Sammy Levin
*
Paul Reiser
Paul Reiser (; born March 30, 1956) is an American actor, comedian, and television writer. He is known for his roles as Michael Taylor in the 1980s sitcom ''My Two Dads'', Paul Buchman in the NBC sitcom ''Mad About You'', Modell in the 1982 fi ...
as Simon Richards
* Ilza Rosario Ponko as Gloria Ortega
*
Tara Lynne Barr
Tara Lynne Barr (born October 2, 1993) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Roxy in the dark comedy film ''God Bless America'' (2011), which earned her a Young Artist Award nomination for Best Leading Young Actress in a Featu ...
as Kat
*
Judith McConnell
Judith Lynn McConnell (born April 6, 1944) is an American actress, best known for her role as Sophia Wayne Capwell on the TV series '' Santa Barbara'', on which she appeared from 1984 to 1993.
Early life and education
McConnell was born in Pitts ...
as Trish
*
Krista Marie Yu
Krista Marie Yu (born October 25, 1988) is an American actress best known for her roles on television. She played the main role of Molly Park on the ABC family sitcom ''Dr. Ken''. In August 2018, it was announced that Yu would play the recurrin ...
as Tasha
*
Alma Martinez as Teresa Morales
* A.J. Tannen as H. Quinlan
Production
On February 25, 2014,
Kevin Bacon
Kevin Norwood Bacon (born July 8, 1958) is an American actor. His films include the musical-drama film '' Footloose'' (1984), the controversial historical conspiracy legal thriller '' JFK'' (1991), the legal drama '' A Few Good Men'' (1992), t ...
and
Radha Mitchell
Radha Rani Amber Indigo Ananda Mitchell is an Australian actress. She started her career with various appearances on Australian television, including a regular role as Catherine O'Brien in the soap opera ''Neighbours'' (1996–97).
Mitchell la ...
signed on to star in the film.
On March 5, director Greg McLean stated, "The story is based on a true story that was relayed to me first-hand many years ago about an actual haunting." On April 11,
David Mazouz
David Albert Mazouz (; born ) is an American actor. He is best known for his leading role as Bruce Wayne in Fox's Batman-prequel TV drama '' Gotham'' (2014–2019). Mazouz started his acting career with several guest roles before joining the Fo ...
was added to the film.
On May 6,
Ming-Na Wen
Ming-Na Wen (; born November 20, 1963) is an American actress and model. She voiced Mulan in the animated film ''Mulan'' and its sequel, portrayed Melinda May / The Cavalry in '' Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' (2013–2020), and Fennec Sha ...
joined the cast of the film,
and on May 7,
Lucy Fry
Lucy Elizabeth Fry (born 13 March 1992) is an Australian actress. She is known for portraying Zoey in '' Lightning Point'', Lyla in '' Mako: Island of Secrets'', and Lissa Dragomir in the film '' Vampire Academy''. Fry was also cast in Hulu's e ...
was added to the cast to play Stephanie, the Taylor family's daughter.
Trian Long-Smith also joined the film on the same day, to play Sammy Levin, the savvy, bright and flirtatious intern working for Peter Taylor’s character.
On May 9,
Matt Walsh joined the cast of the film, to play Gary Carter.
Parker Mack
Parker Mack Klebenow, known professionally as Parker Mack, is an American actor, writer, musician, and director, who is best known for his role as Finn Madill in the ''Freeform (TV channel), Freeform'' drama ''Chasing Life,'' and as Felix Turne ...
also joined the film.
On May 14,
Jennifer Morrison
Jennifer Marie Morrison is an American actress, director, producer, and former child model. She is mainly known for her roles as Dr. Allison Cameron in the medical-drama series ''House'' (2004–2012) and Emma Swan in the ABC adventure-fantasy s ...
was added to the cast to play Joy Carter, Gary's wife and also a mother of a child.
Filming
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
began in April 2014 in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, and ended in May 2014. The film was shot with the camera
Arri Alexa Plus 4:3, as revealed by cinematographer Toby Oliver.
Music
On June 2, 2014, Johnny Klimek was hired to score the film.
Reception
Box office
''The Darkness'' was projected to gross $3–5 million from 1,755 theaters in its opening weekend. The film grossed $206,000 from its Thursday night previews and $2.1 million on its first day.
It went on to gross $4.9 million in its opening weekend, finishing 4th at the box office, behind ''
Captain America: Civil War'' ($72.6 million), ''
The Jungle Book
''The Jungle Book'' (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, ...
'' ($17.1 million), and fellow newcomer ''
Money Monster
''Money Monster'' is a 2016 American crime thriller film directed by Jodie Foster, with a screenplay by Jamie Linden, Alan Di Fiore, and Jim Kouf from a story by Di Fiore and Kauf. The film stars George Clooney (who also co-produced), Julia Ro ...
'' ($14.8 million).
[
]
Critical response
On 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 ...
, the film has a rating of 3%, based on 35 reviews, with an average rating of 2.7/10. The site's consensus reads, "''The Darkness'' clumsily relies on an assortment of genre tropes, leaving only the decidedly non-frightening ghost of superior horror films in its wake." On Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a score of 27 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.
Background
Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale. It is currently Blumhouse Productions
Blumhouse Productions (; also known as BH Productions or simply BH) is an American film and television production company founded in 2000 by Jason Blum.
It is known mainly for producing horror films, such as ''Paranormal Activity'', ''Insidio ...
' worst reviewed film to date.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Darkness, The
2016 films
2016 horror films
American supernatural horror films
Films about autism
Films directed by Greg McLean
Films produced by Jason Blum
Films scored by Johnny Klimek
Films set in Coconino County, Arizona
Films shot in Los Angeles
American supernatural thriller films
Blumhouse Productions films
Universal Pictures films
2010s English-language films
2010s American films