Dark Remains Review

Dark Remains
Review by Rick Romanowski

Have you ever seen one of those rare, good, horror films that really hit your nerves and make you pretty damn scared? Well, I had the great pleasure of watching an independent horror movie known as Dark Remains. It tells the story of Allan and Julie, a typical couple who lost their daughter Emma when she mysteriously slashed her wrists. The two then decide to move to the country for some peace and quiet but when Julie starts seeing apparitions in the nearby abandoned prison she becomes obsessed and starts taking pictures. Meanwhile, Allan looks deeper into the history of the house they live in and finds a deadly secret. Soon, Julies starts piecing the puzzles together and finds out the pictures may hold the key to saving themselves. 

Honestly, this movie is very rich in depth, atmosphere and ambiance and truth be told… I actually got pretty scared and tense while I watched this movie. As it progressed I had my hands up to my mouth about to bite my nails anticipating the next scare and this is something that I haven’t done in a while. It brought me back to when I used to watch old classic ghosts films as a kid and back to a time when those kinds of movies really scared me. 

The frights in this film are mainly attributed the clever camerawork and I’m gonna jump on the bandwagon here and say that the cinematography was very impressive. The director had a great sense of vision and style. There are ghosts and it’s not to hard to spot out the homage Kubrick’s The Shining and Rosenberg’s Amityville Horror or even Takashi’s Grudge. There is even a little sign in the back that has a nod to The Overlook. The film builds up this sense that something will happen and when it does it comes right at you! It’s almost Kubrickian in the sense that the ghost don’t do anything until the end. However, one ‘apperition’ does flop it’s way down the stairs and then twists and craws towards one of the character forever immortalizing that spaz ghosts that Japanese horror has done so perfectly. I actually got really terrified at a couple of points. 

The movie, much like The Shining and Amityville is isolated and cut off from most people, or makes you think that you are isolated, and the film exists within its own world. The movie is almost always dark and very ambient with soft colors and it gives this rustic tone to the film and I felt, as a viewer, comfortable but also uncomfortable at the same time knowing what might happen. 

The only real gripe that I had with this movie were the performances. The characters are well written and very deep but I think the performances could have been a little better. The one personal thing that I did not like, and I know it’s necessary to move the story, but the cliche scene where one of the protagonists does that whole ‘researching the past in a library montage’  just gets to me every time. Other than that, I don’t really see anything wrong with Dark Remains. 

If you are a horror fan, I would really encourage you to watch it and see how the director is greatly influenced by old ghost film as well as new age ones. It’s fun to watch but it does tend to make one jump out of their seats. I had a fun but terrifying time watching it and it really does deliver a punch.