Dark Summer (2015) Movie Review

Dark Summer (2015)   2/52/52/52/52/5


Keir Gilchrist in Dark Summer (2015)

A Slow Summer

17 year old Daniel (Keir Gilchrist - It Follows) finds himself with a new fashion accessory, an electronic tag, as after a run in with the law he is placed under house arrest for the summer. With his mother away on a business trip for a week Daniel finds himself home alone which is when the strangeness starts to happen and he gets a sense there is something else lurking in his home which he can't get away from.

Just because a movie attempts to go down the classic route does not make it automatically good. A simple but very true statement and one which is well worth remembering when watching "Dark Summer" a tale of a teen experiencing super natural stuff whilst under house arrest as well as being physically harmed at the same time. Now I mentioned the words classic because we have things such as young Daniel eating a bowl of cereal and when he looks down it is full of blood but when he drops the cereal it reverts back to milk, a scene which made me think back to "The Lost Boys" with the whole rice and maggots scene.

But that scene and so many more don't make "Dark Summer" a good movie, they just make it one written and directed by people who are schooled in horror movies. Look I am not saying that this pays homage to other horror movies such as "The Shining" or rips them off with copy cat scenes but pretty much every scene feels like it has been inspired by better movies. And the worst thing is that unfortunately none of it grips you with excitement due to a sort of distant feel to the camera work and an anonymous style to the characters which constantly keeps you at arms length. Yes when it delivers a violent horror scene it grabs your attention but never sustains it for more than a brief few seconds.

What this all boils down to is that "Dark Summer" might entertain those who enjoy movies with a paranormal edge but I am sure it will struggle to entertain those seeking more horror and violence of a graphic nature.


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