Rating of
2.5/4
A Good Bedtime Horror Story
Chris Kavan - wrote on 05/11/13
I like horror movies that are based on something you could easily encounter in real life - even when they push things to the extreme. In the case of Dark Circles, the horror comes from something most people can relate to: a new child. And the lack of sleep brought on by a backwards sleep cycle.
In this case, a couple with a new baby move to a country home and between the baby crying all night and nearby construction hammering away during the day - sleep is a rare commodity. Whoever worked on the makeup here deserves a medal because they did an excellent job of making the two look really, really tired (either that, or the actors just stayed awake for a few day straight).
Of course, lack of sleep leads to strange things - like seeing a mysterious woman and finding a half-burnt doll in strange places around the house. Of course, the longer you go - the worse things get - until you get to that moment when you can't tell what is real and what is in your imagination. The film does a good job of placing images out of the corner of the eye - a picture comes to life, footsteps run just behind - someone appears in the garage before suddenly disappearing - it's all very nicely done.
Eventually the husband tracks down a babysitter just so they can get a full night's rest - leading to my favorite moment in the movie that brought back fond memories of a scene in A Tale of Two Sisters. I don't like throwing out spoilers, but let's just say the house is inhospitable to strangers.
I was surprised that Paul Soter was the director. I knew the name, but had to watch the Behind the Scenes features to realize this was the guy from the Broken Lizard comedy team (best known for Super Troopers and Beerfest) - who knew the guy could do horror as well as comedy? The film has some great touches and an interesting ending. It wasn't entirely unexpected, but it also didn't turn out like I was expecting either.
In the end After Dark (which has a somewhat shaky track record with me) gets this one right - it's a horror movie that turns something common into a nerve-wracking thriller. There's a lot of tension and it keeps things rolling throughout the film. Also - I have to give props to whoever cast the baby - she upstaged nearly everyone else in the movie (and, because I had to see - apparently it was the same baby who was "punched" by Will Ferrel in The Campaign - I didn't see that one coming!).
