"Cold and Dark" is a major missed opportunity and really should've been much better.
**SPOILERS**
Commended for his police work, John Dark, (Luke Goss) is set up with the mysterious Mortimer Slade, (Kevin Howarth) for his new partner. Finding that drug kingpin Ernie Stein, (James Whale) is still loose despite tons of evidence indicating his involvement, they decide to take it personal. When his employees start turning up dead, Internal Affairs agent Albany, (Carly Turnbull) is assigned to the case, but nothing is turned up. Continuing on with the case, he gradually starts to realize that something is wrong, and soon finds that a parasitic creature known as a Grail has taken over their bodies and is using them to extract their own brand of vigilante justice and feeding off the blood-lust. With the help of Dr. Elgin, (Matt Lucas) who helped to engineer the creature, they head out to stop his rampage when he murders an innocent victim and brings out a darker side of the vigilante style than they wanted to confront.
The Good News: When this one tried to, there was some great stuff in here. One of the best is the nearly outstanding amount of gore on display. This one is certainly messy, getting a lot of out there and into the film. There's several brutal attacks committed off-screen and later see the completely mangled and brutalized appearances, tons of splatter hitting the surroundings, and then the more clear-cut results, including chests torn open, scratches across the face and stomach, an arm completely bitten away, being impaled on a fishing ship anchor, as well as seeing a parasite erupt from a wound in the hand that literally drips blood as it bursts out from the skin and snakes around to face the potential victim. It's also got a couple of nice action scenes to keep the interest. There is one excellent attack, the first time the newfound power is shown, inside a filthy public bathroom stall that plays out from the perspective of a young man who becomes witness to the mauling taking place in the stall next to him but who can't see what's going on outside. The execution of this scene is really thrilling, as the coldness and complete inability to determine what's going on is contrasted with the brutality heard from the slashing being made and the insane amount of blood splattered into view. The other moment in here is the very scene where Dark experiences his transformation. We never actually see what happens other than a few screams and gunshots from off-screen, but when he comes running into the room to find his lifeless yet unmarked body only for him to get right up and walk away as if nothing happened, followed moments later by a corpse spontaneously combusting up in the rafters, it leaves a great impression that makes up for the fact that it is never explained or even discussed again. Despite all this, the very fact that it's so potentially great is the best thing about it. The parasite angle works well and comes off well within the vigilante angle, there's a potential for a ton of targets to go after and it's all well-done, leaving this one to be enjoyable at the right time.
The Bad News: This one this was a little problematic. One of the biggest flaws is that the film is way too confusing for its own good. The film jams a ton of subplots into its run-times, which wouldn't be so bad if the film wasn't so clichéd and predictable to begin with. As such, the fractured mess that is the film's narrative comes across more like an attempt to confuse and confound the audience, believing that the simplicity of the story would be too apparent if shown with clarity. There's no need to have as many as this one does, which is where it gets off-track since that also throws up the one main flaw apparent, it's too boring to get into. This one has the potential to keep the viewer with an interesting and original attempt that would've been enjoyable, yet because it introduces all the different plots together, it makes the movie as muddled as possible and just dull to get going to the action. Surprisingly, there's really not a lot of visceral action in the movie, another huge flaw. Most of the attacks by the creature take place off-screen, with the after effects shown in sometimes gruesome detail. It has a great idea, but lacks considerably because, by insinuating more violence than it actually shows, it really neuters the fear the creature could've brought. It gets old seeing all the brutality done off-screen, as it gets to the point where the viewer wants to see all the action. The last flaw to this is that the look of this is pretty terrible. Among the bigger ones is that the film relies on hand-held cameras to get that immediacy during some of the attack sequences, even though there's nothing to get a closer look at. Even more so, virtually every single scene is dimly lit in a bluish glowing manner. That creates the mood of a film visually coated in a somber mood, with much of the action seen through those darkly tinted blue lens. It creates a feeling of boredom matched by the sluggish pace, and it just doesn't work at all. These here are what hurt the film.
The Final Verdict: Bristling with potential but instead comes across without too much that really works, lowering it significantly. Give it a shot if you find films like these fun or in the mood for a more slow-burning creature feature, though those who prefer more action or more traditional fare should heed caution.
Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and Brief Nudity
**SPOILERS**
Commended for his police work, John Dark, (Luke Goss) is set up with the mysterious Mortimer Slade, (Kevin Howarth) for his new partner. Finding that drug kingpin Ernie Stein, (James Whale) is still loose despite tons of evidence indicating his involvement, they decide to take it personal. When his employees start turning up dead, Internal Affairs agent Albany, (Carly Turnbull) is assigned to the case, but nothing is turned up. Continuing on with the case, he gradually starts to realize that something is wrong, and soon finds that a parasitic creature known as a Grail has taken over their bodies and is using them to extract their own brand of vigilante justice and feeding off the blood-lust. With the help of Dr. Elgin, (Matt Lucas) who helped to engineer the creature, they head out to stop his rampage when he murders an innocent victim and brings out a darker side of the vigilante style than they wanted to confront.
The Good News: When this one tried to, there was some great stuff in here. One of the best is the nearly outstanding amount of gore on display. This one is certainly messy, getting a lot of out there and into the film. There's several brutal attacks committed off-screen and later see the completely mangled and brutalized appearances, tons of splatter hitting the surroundings, and then the more clear-cut results, including chests torn open, scratches across the face and stomach, an arm completely bitten away, being impaled on a fishing ship anchor, as well as seeing a parasite erupt from a wound in the hand that literally drips blood as it bursts out from the skin and snakes around to face the potential victim. It's also got a couple of nice action scenes to keep the interest. There is one excellent attack, the first time the newfound power is shown, inside a filthy public bathroom stall that plays out from the perspective of a young man who becomes witness to the mauling taking place in the stall next to him but who can't see what's going on outside. The execution of this scene is really thrilling, as the coldness and complete inability to determine what's going on is contrasted with the brutality heard from the slashing being made and the insane amount of blood splattered into view. The other moment in here is the very scene where Dark experiences his transformation. We never actually see what happens other than a few screams and gunshots from off-screen, but when he comes running into the room to find his lifeless yet unmarked body only for him to get right up and walk away as if nothing happened, followed moments later by a corpse spontaneously combusting up in the rafters, it leaves a great impression that makes up for the fact that it is never explained or even discussed again. Despite all this, the very fact that it's so potentially great is the best thing about it. The parasite angle works well and comes off well within the vigilante angle, there's a potential for a ton of targets to go after and it's all well-done, leaving this one to be enjoyable at the right time.
The Bad News: This one this was a little problematic. One of the biggest flaws is that the film is way too confusing for its own good. The film jams a ton of subplots into its run-times, which wouldn't be so bad if the film wasn't so clichéd and predictable to begin with. As such, the fractured mess that is the film's narrative comes across more like an attempt to confuse and confound the audience, believing that the simplicity of the story would be too apparent if shown with clarity. There's no need to have as many as this one does, which is where it gets off-track since that also throws up the one main flaw apparent, it's too boring to get into. This one has the potential to keep the viewer with an interesting and original attempt that would've been enjoyable, yet because it introduces all the different plots together, it makes the movie as muddled as possible and just dull to get going to the action. Surprisingly, there's really not a lot of visceral action in the movie, another huge flaw. Most of the attacks by the creature take place off-screen, with the after effects shown in sometimes gruesome detail. It has a great idea, but lacks considerably because, by insinuating more violence than it actually shows, it really neuters the fear the creature could've brought. It gets old seeing all the brutality done off-screen, as it gets to the point where the viewer wants to see all the action. The last flaw to this is that the look of this is pretty terrible. Among the bigger ones is that the film relies on hand-held cameras to get that immediacy during some of the attack sequences, even though there's nothing to get a closer look at. Even more so, virtually every single scene is dimly lit in a bluish glowing manner. That creates the mood of a film visually coated in a somber mood, with much of the action seen through those darkly tinted blue lens. It creates a feeling of boredom matched by the sluggish pace, and it just doesn't work at all. These here are what hurt the film.
The Final Verdict: Bristling with potential but instead comes across without too much that really works, lowering it significantly. Give it a shot if you find films like these fun or in the mood for a more slow-burning creature feature, though those who prefer more action or more traditional fare should heed caution.
Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and Brief Nudity