Out of Darkness
Directed by: Andrew Cumming
"THE DAWN OF MAN. THE BIRTH OF FEAR."
In the Old Stone Age, a disparate gang of early humans band together in search of a new land. But when they suspect a malevolent, mystical, being is hunting them down, the clan are forced to confront a danger they never envisioned.
I get really excited when I hear that someone is getting a lot of buzz, during the film festival circuit, when they are showcasing their directorial debut. That is what was happening with this movie. Andrew Cumming (director) and I sat down together to talk about his new movie Out of Darkness. A movie that takes a deep look at humanity and sees what fear does to us. It's a human story through and through. There is this large element of horror, but within that, there is this great human study of behavior. I absolutely fell in love with this movie. Out of Darkness is breathtaking in visuals, sound design, acting and story. It played very much like a mysterious monster movie, and at its core it is. At the same time, there was a reveal towards the end that could make or break the movie for some audiences. It has a twist that may disappoint some fans of the genre, but for me and many others, it will be a huge well executed surprise. The movie is multilayered and I loved it for being that. There is still great sense of suspense in its runtime and amazing use of darkness and light. The scares are thought out and well executed as well. It's crazy to think that it's Andrew's first time directing. He absolutely crushes it and so do the cast. Without a doubt, it has become my number one movie of the year at this moment. Out of Darkness is a perfect flick to really think about life and us as humans. A perfect blend of horror and the human experience.
We not only get a stellar job from the director, but we have such an amazing ensemble in the cast as well. With Out of Darkness, the group we follow is made up of only a handful of people. The two major performances coming from Chuku Modu (Captain Marvel) and Lola Evans (Chose or Die). They have some great standout scenes that is riveting and gut wrenching. The entire cast brings their "A" game to this story and you really understand everyone's role and dynamic. The great aspect of this movie is that it's set in the Old Stone Age. They even decided to have the movie in the language of Tola, to be as authentic to its time period. The amount of research and work this cast did to make this movie possible is jaw dropping. You can really tell they cared so much about this story and how to make it come alive from the script. The landscapes are astonishing and really showed how isolated they are. Survival is everything and they had to go to this new land to survive. No matter what the cost is, they must survive and as a viewer following this group, that journey grabbed me immediately and pulled me in. The best experience for this movie is on the big screen, but it ultimately works very well at home too. Lights off while viewing this movie, is a must!
Out of Darkness brings the fear! It is a horror film that a lot of the horror community will really appreciate. The first tactic used in this film, is using some natural lights. There was some use of lighting equipment as well, but most of it was natural light. This kept the movie not only grounded, but eerie throughout the film. The use of lighting is expertly crafted. When things get dark at night, it gets really damn dark. It is pitch black dark and having a great sound design for the creature made me, as the viewer, really using my imagination to fill in the blanks. When there were elements in the woods that I couldn't see in the movie, that's when I was most afraid and where the movie had its most tension. Editing in Out of Darkness is some of best I've seen since the movie Talk To Me, last year. The editing is clean and cut beautifully. Some of the chase and running scenes are some of the best I have ever seen in a movie. They were able to pull some really crazy and awesome maneuvers with the camera and editing. The movie plays like a creature feature for the majority of the movie and it works so well. I do have to say that the third act is where things change. Like I stated before, this can make or break the movie for some viewers. It is worth checking out regardless, as it is a strong story from start to finish.
In my interview with Andrew Cumming, we were able to discuss why this time age is perfect to tell this story. We were also breaking down the theme of fear and what it does to humans. Like I stated prior, this movie has layers to it. The movie brings out the most fundamental fear in existence, which is darkness, something everyone for the most part can relate to. This movie absolutely rules when it comes to bringing that fear to life. The cast really brings the story to a very reviving point and you tend to care about each character. There are some characters that you do begin to hate. Which some characters, you are suppose to not like them, for obvious reasons with their decisions the characters do on screen. I think this movie will land for the majority of the viewers that go seek this one out. I had a complete blast watching this flick and I think people should absolutely give it a chance. Please make sure to check out my interview with the director. The interview link will be below. Episode is listed as "Knight Service with Andrew Cumming".
Link to Podcast Page:
Rating: 92/100