Is this thriller a masterpiece? No, definitely not. Is therefore so awful as some other reviewers proclaim? Again, I feel to say no, although I found it closer to the bottom marks than to the excellence. I would define this movie as a rather slow attempt of emulation of Se7en, unfortunately without the greatness of that glorious movie. It has a touch of original inspiration (the serial inducted-suicides are somehow well constructed, if you know what I mean...), but the dialogues are dull, the acting rarely convincing... The final is highly predictable as well as its rapid escalation unjustified in front of such a long movie - the twist, by deduction and by an incredible amount of hints spread throughout the story, could cover the only hero-protagonist left. Bottom line: you will watch it, then you will forget it. Rapidly;)
12 Reviews
As boring a serial killer thriller out there as there is.
poolandrews8 December 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Passed the Door of Darkness starts as rookie detective Chris Malloy (Matthew Prater) fresh faced & just out of school begins his first day on the job, he is teamed up with his idol the hard nosed cynical detective Murphy MacCasey (co-writer Mark Colson) who has seen it all over the years. They are called to a terrible scene, a house where a man & his two children lay dead, then soon after another bizarre crime scene faces them when MacCasey's daughter Laura (Kathryn Avery Hansen) has the unfortunate experience of walking into her house & blowing her boyfriends head off with a shotgun that was rigged to go off as the door was opened. A killer is on the loose, a killer who sets deadly traps that innocent people set off & kill someone close to them thus turning them into killers. It's up to MacCasey & Malloy to find the killer before they strike again but there may be more to the case than they first thought as suspicion's turn closer to home...
Co-written & directed by Peter Mervis under the pseudonym Traxler Mervis I got the impression that Passed the Door of Darkness was trying to be a Se7en (1995) or a The Silence of the Lambs (1991) style serial killer mystery thriller but doesn't have any of the things that made those two films absolute solid gold classics & is a rather miserable overlong little film in it's own right. First of all I have no idea why it's called Passed the Door of Darkness as there's no doors in it & there's nothing supernatural in it either. The script is poor here with the serial killer aspects all but disappearing in the second half as it focuses on the relationship between MacCasey, his daughter & Malloy which is deathly dull & when the film does kick back into serial killer thriller mode there's a ridiculous twist ending which is barely explained & makes no sense like why didn't he remember committing the murders before but suddenly does or why he then decides to almost randomly commit suicide himself or what his motives were. It smacks of a twist ending for the sake of a twist ending because that's what an audience would expect with very little thought behind it & ultimately I don't think it works or satisfies on a dramatic level. The character's are awful with some of the worst clichés I've seen in a while, I mean the fresh faced young idealistic cop right out of college who thinks he knows everything gets paired up with an embittered cynical veteran who teaches the kid the realities of life, oh please come on as if we haven't seen this a thousand times before & here it's very poorly realised with paper thin characterisation which is another reason why the twist ending just falls flat & feels stupid.
There's a couple of mildly gory moments here, a man has his face blown off, there's a decapitated head, a woman has her arm chopped off with a machete & then the wound is burned closed before a bomb is placed in her mouth & her head goes bang. I have actually probably made it sound gorier than it is & the film doesn't focus on the gore or the murders that much & at times you can forget your watching a film that's supposed to be about a serial killer. There definitely nothing scary here & the entire film looks like a cheap point & shoot made for telly effort with no style whatsoever.
I would have though Passed the Door of Darkness was a low budget film & the production values are cheap with a cop station that consists of two rooms & no cops other than the two detectives are ever seen there. The acting is really poor here which just makes the thing even more of a chore to sit through & means it has even less impact.
Passed the Door the Darkness is a boring serial killer thriller with bad character's, a bad twist ending & it feels like it goes on forever while your watching it. The thriller elements are rubbish, the horror elements are crap & the sub soap opera style dramatics are just dull. One to avoid.
Co-written & directed by Peter Mervis under the pseudonym Traxler Mervis I got the impression that Passed the Door of Darkness was trying to be a Se7en (1995) or a The Silence of the Lambs (1991) style serial killer mystery thriller but doesn't have any of the things that made those two films absolute solid gold classics & is a rather miserable overlong little film in it's own right. First of all I have no idea why it's called Passed the Door of Darkness as there's no doors in it & there's nothing supernatural in it either. The script is poor here with the serial killer aspects all but disappearing in the second half as it focuses on the relationship between MacCasey, his daughter & Malloy which is deathly dull & when the film does kick back into serial killer thriller mode there's a ridiculous twist ending which is barely explained & makes no sense like why didn't he remember committing the murders before but suddenly does or why he then decides to almost randomly commit suicide himself or what his motives were. It smacks of a twist ending for the sake of a twist ending because that's what an audience would expect with very little thought behind it & ultimately I don't think it works or satisfies on a dramatic level. The character's are awful with some of the worst clichés I've seen in a while, I mean the fresh faced young idealistic cop right out of college who thinks he knows everything gets paired up with an embittered cynical veteran who teaches the kid the realities of life, oh please come on as if we haven't seen this a thousand times before & here it's very poorly realised with paper thin characterisation which is another reason why the twist ending just falls flat & feels stupid.
There's a couple of mildly gory moments here, a man has his face blown off, there's a decapitated head, a woman has her arm chopped off with a machete & then the wound is burned closed before a bomb is placed in her mouth & her head goes bang. I have actually probably made it sound gorier than it is & the film doesn't focus on the gore or the murders that much & at times you can forget your watching a film that's supposed to be about a serial killer. There definitely nothing scary here & the entire film looks like a cheap point & shoot made for telly effort with no style whatsoever.
I would have though Passed the Door of Darkness was a low budget film & the production values are cheap with a cop station that consists of two rooms & no cops other than the two detectives are ever seen there. The acting is really poor here which just makes the thing even more of a chore to sit through & means it has even less impact.
Passed the Door the Darkness is a boring serial killer thriller with bad character's, a bad twist ending & it feels like it goes on forever while your watching it. The thriller elements are rubbish, the horror elements are crap & the sub soap opera style dramatics are just dull. One to avoid.
Don't bother.
scurvyplease4 May 2009
This movie is, hands down, one of the worst I've seen in a long time. The script is nothing but terrible, clichéd lines, the acting is atrocious, and many of the stylistic touches are annoying (especially certain scenes where the characters' lines are echoed, as if the director didn't trust us to remember the important ones). I feel bad for the people who worked on this film, because they probably thought it would turn out really moody and suspenseful. Instead, I found myself laughing at the lame "twist ending" and nearly dozing off at certain points. What a waste of time. I almost never comment on this site, but this movie was just so bad that I had to come here and warn others about it.
Maybe perspective is everything? I doubt it.
BakuryuuTyranno22 November 2009
The premise of this movie sounded pretty good. In fact, I'm going to quote the TV guide information:
"Brutal serial 'chiller'. A crazed psychopath leads detectives on a trail of blood-curdling death as he turns normally stable citizens into killers in the most gruesome fashions imaginable." Now what does that sound like? Does it sound like this murderer has the ability to turn people crazy, homicidal even? Well that's what I expected, but no. This is one in a long line of movies trying to cash in on the success of Saw with a killer who has a message to deliver to his victims, except this killer's MO is to put people in "traps" that will kill them when their family members open the door, suspecting nothing wrong.
Maybe that doesn't sound so bad. I mean with so many people trying to cash in on Saw the laws of averages suggest some have to have some talent.
Too bad the killer doesn't have too much to do with this movie. All I can say without spoiling things is that the older detective has some unrelated issues, and that's what the second half of the movie ends up focusing on.
"Brutal serial 'chiller'. A crazed psychopath leads detectives on a trail of blood-curdling death as he turns normally stable citizens into killers in the most gruesome fashions imaginable." Now what does that sound like? Does it sound like this murderer has the ability to turn people crazy, homicidal even? Well that's what I expected, but no. This is one in a long line of movies trying to cash in on the success of Saw with a killer who has a message to deliver to his victims, except this killer's MO is to put people in "traps" that will kill them when their family members open the door, suspecting nothing wrong.
Maybe that doesn't sound so bad. I mean with so many people trying to cash in on Saw the laws of averages suggest some have to have some talent.
Too bad the killer doesn't have too much to do with this movie. All I can say without spoiling things is that the older detective has some unrelated issues, and that's what the second half of the movie ends up focusing on.
Ultimately fails, but not without merit
Wizard-828 July 2014
Of the three movies I have seen from Night Light Films, "Passed the Door of Darkness" is without doubt the best. The screenplay this time around tries to be a little thoughtful, dealing with some serious themes. Some of the acting by the no-name cast is also pretty decent. And the movie does display some seriously messy corpses here and there. However, all of that is not enough to save the movie. Like other Night Light productions, the movie is seriously cheap, ranging from tacky sets to inadequate lighting (why doesn't anyone turn on a light in this movie?) The so-called twist ending will no doubt be guessed by most viewers long before it happens. However, the biggest problem with the movie is that it's way too long and drawn out. While it doesn't get to the point of being seriously boring, viewers will repeatedly be telling the movie to simply get on with it - that is, if they don't turn off this Night Light long before it ends.
Very thought provoking movie---up until the terrible ending
Troy_VA28 April 2012
Warning: Spoilers
We have a star in the making in gorgeous Kathryn Avery Hansen who exudes sensuality as Laura in every frame in which she's featured. The story itself is basically an interesting rehash on serial killer movies wherein our cop heroes Chris Malloy (played by Matthew Prater) and Murphy MacCasey (played by co-writer Mark Colson) are hunting a shadowy unknown murderer who always manages to stay one step ahead of his pursuers and obviously has some sort of vendetta (a semi-homage to V for Vendetta in the "revelation") against the veteran detective.
The movie had appropriate moodiness in the musical selections, great atmosphere and an interesting storyline which kept me interested until the very end, but the frayed loose ends left hanging by the twisted finale took a full 2 points off my rating. Are we supposed to believe Malloy was the serial killer or that his murderous father is still roaming the dark alleys looking for more victims? If it was indeed young Malloy, how did he have physical confrontations with the killer? There are many more unanswered questions but those alone really spoiled it for me. This could have been a great movie if they had only taken an extra minute or two to remove the ambiguity.
The movie had appropriate moodiness in the musical selections, great atmosphere and an interesting storyline which kept me interested until the very end, but the frayed loose ends left hanging by the twisted finale took a full 2 points off my rating. Are we supposed to believe Malloy was the serial killer or that his murderous father is still roaming the dark alleys looking for more victims? If it was indeed young Malloy, how did he have physical confrontations with the killer? There are many more unanswered questions but those alone really spoiled it for me. This could have been a great movie if they had only taken an extra minute or two to remove the ambiguity.
We are born in the grave
nogodnomasters30 November 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Chris (Matthew Prater) is a junior detective working with the seasoned Murphy MacCasey (Mark Colson). Chris looks up to Mac as a father figure. Mac can't stand having Chris around. We get hints there is something wrong with both individuals as they attempt to solve a string of bizarre murders.
Mark Colson reminded me of Sam Elliot with his accent and phrases. The film is mildly interesting. The joker face on the DVD cover isn't seen until the end.
Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity. Available on a DVD multipack.
Mark Colson reminded me of Sam Elliot with his accent and phrases. The film is mildly interesting. The joker face on the DVD cover isn't seen until the end.
Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity. Available on a DVD multipack.
Not A Horror Flick
aesgaard4117 December 2023
Warning: Spoilers
I don't know why this is in a DVD set of horror movies. I mean, there's nothing "horror" about it. It runs like a cross between "Hill Street Blues" and "NYPD Blue." There's nothing paranormal or supernatural about it. It's just a film about a police investigation tracking a serial killer, and there's not much of anything to catch one's attention. Just endless dialogue, a lot of disposition and not much action. Not even a car chase or a lunch break. (Although, I did get bored watching it and start another weak film calling itself "horror." The production doesn't look bad, and the cast seems strong, but it's extremely tedious and mostly dialogue. I don't recommend this movie unless you're into crime movies or exaggerated detective stereotypes.
counter critic
kenfairbanks5 November 2009
I disagree with the prior posting of bad on this movie.If you were not paying attention then you most likely would not enjoy the movie,although it would be pretty hard not to be interested at all in this movie PASSED THE DOOR OF DARKNESS,it contained one of the most well thought out mysteries of all,MURDER SUICIDES, the pain of life and LOVE and each persons way of dealing with personal demons in their life. This movie is a lesson we should all take notice of, for it has far reaching arms that touch all of us in life.And if all you do is watch a movie to judge it then you should not be watching any movie at all for they all are written by people with a message,miss the message and pay the consequence,of not knowing more to life than you know!!!
While investigating the murders of a serial killer, a cop wrestles with the demons of his own psyche.
linda_galvin6 June 2010
Warning: Spoilers
This is not one of the best thrillers I have ever seen but it certainly is - by far - NOT the worst. There are times when the slowness of it tested my patience. I did find that the script writing was well enough done to capture and maintain my interest to the end. At times the delivery of dialogue was a bit stilted. While the acting was more than a tad weak - again it was by far superior to MOST low budget films.
The two central characters played off well against each other and lent an intriguing dynamic to the story. The younger cop was determined to work with the well-regarded older cop who has more than earned his reputation. On a very basic level, the plot is simplistic yet plays out well to a disturbing, and twisted, conclusion.
The two central characters played off well against each other and lent an intriguing dynamic to the story. The younger cop was determined to work with the well-regarded older cop who has more than earned his reputation. On a very basic level, the plot is simplistic yet plays out well to a disturbing, and twisted, conclusion.
Quite well done....actually.
myles-845-66413013 March 2014
I don't believe that I have ever left a review here before, but having just watched this film, and reading some of the reviews, I felt like I needed to chime in. I have to say that I was actually intrigued for the entire running time. Yes it's something of a slow-burn pot boiler, but it never seemed "slow". The pacing kept me interested in what was coming and how it was going to unfold. It kept me guessing but I was never confused as to what was going on.
As for the acting, I thought that most everybody gave excellent showings. I'm not sure where the negative reviews on performances are coming from, but everyone, especially Mark Colson, did a great job. The lead, Matthew Prater, was OK. He was at his best when doing scenes that required him to let loose and get angry, which come to think of it, was most of the time. Kathryn Avery Hansen as detective MacCasey's daughter also shined bright in this piece. James M. Connor as Stephens--again, top notch.
I have this on one of those 20 horror film collections and, while a number of the movies in there are abysmal, this one was something of standout for me. Sure it's low budget, sure the print is a little dark in some places and the audio is a bit low at times, but there is nonetheless some great talent in both storytelling and performance here. Also, the death scenes are pretty darn well edited and look quite real. If you like crime thrillers, I definitely think that Passed The Door Of Darkness is worth a viewing.
As for the acting, I thought that most everybody gave excellent showings. I'm not sure where the negative reviews on performances are coming from, but everyone, especially Mark Colson, did a great job. The lead, Matthew Prater, was OK. He was at his best when doing scenes that required him to let loose and get angry, which come to think of it, was most of the time. Kathryn Avery Hansen as detective MacCasey's daughter also shined bright in this piece. James M. Connor as Stephens--again, top notch.
I have this on one of those 20 horror film collections and, while a number of the movies in there are abysmal, this one was something of standout for me. Sure it's low budget, sure the print is a little dark in some places and the audio is a bit low at times, but there is nonetheless some great talent in both storytelling and performance here. Also, the death scenes are pretty darn well edited and look quite real. If you like crime thrillers, I definitely think that Passed The Door Of Darkness is worth a viewing.
Definitely worth a watch
iamsecond166 January 2014
Warning: Spoilers
I honestly thought this was made in the mid 1990's based on what i assumed the budget was. But I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.
The movie starts out as you would expect, with a murder scene and a young detective. The beginning is pretty slow and I really had to force myself to pay attention, but I'm glad I stuck with it. Much of the movie is about the relationship between the veteran detective and his daughter, but if you listen and pay attention, this is a major part of the plot.
If you pay attention to the veteran detective's odd sayings, the movie becomes very enjoyable. There are no mention of doors being passed until the closing monologue, which, in my opinion, just adds to the movie.
The movie starts out as you would expect, with a murder scene and a young detective. The beginning is pretty slow and I really had to force myself to pay attention, but I'm glad I stuck with it. Much of the movie is about the relationship between the veteran detective and his daughter, but if you listen and pay attention, this is a major part of the plot.
If you pay attention to the veteran detective's odd sayings, the movie becomes very enjoyable. There are no mention of doors being passed until the closing monologue, which, in my opinion, just adds to the movie.
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