Dark Circles (2013) (DVD Review)
Directed By: Paul Soter
Starring: Johnathon Schaech, Pell James, Andrea Frankle
Rated: R/Region: 1/Widescreen/Number of disc: 1
Available from Lions Gate
When new parents Alex and Penny retreat from the city and move into a place outside town, the stress and massive sleep-deprivation caused by their infant has both of them seeing things. Persistent sightings of a strange woman has each of them wondering if they are suffering from hallucinations, or if their new home holds a dark, supernatural presence. As their fragile grasp on reality spirals into delirium, Alex and Penny find themselves nearly helpless to deal with the horrific truth of what is really going in this house.
Well, this is a movie that seems to want to play off the fears and the issues one has when becoming a new parent. Things happen that seem to be all paranormal-ish, but we get a twist tossed at us later on that some could find clever, I found it illogical myself. Now don’t get me wrong, we have some weird stuff here and there and things do get a bit creepy. I just think the movie tried and failed at its attempt to be different. Can’t hardly blame it for trying, but we can blame it for not going that step further to try to make it make sense.
Of course I think the actress, Jenn Foreman, needs a lot of credit. She is barely in this movie, but when she does show up she adds life to an otherwise down-toned story with matching low-level enthusiastic characters. So, don’t go into this one expecting anything to happen at a rapid pace until late in the movie. Also, don’t look for a ton of logic along the way either.
– Commentary with Director Paul Soter, Actor Johnathan Scharch, and Blogger Ryan Turek
