in the dark movie reviews

International edition
Australia edition
Europe edition

DI Helen Weeks and Linda Bates in BBC1’s In the Dark

In the Dark review: a thriller that’s just the right side of formulaic

A man in a black coat is digging with a spade in the rain at night. I could be wrong, but I don’t think he is digging up new potatoes for tea. Well, it doesn’t look like an allotment, more like a forest. And what is he dragging? Something quite heavy … I’ve an idea but, to be honest, it’s hard to see what’s going on. I see why it’s called In the Dark (BBC1).

Post titles, this new crime thriller, adapted from the novels of Mark Billingham, brightens up a bit. It’s daytime, an urban environment (Manchester, it turns out) and DI Helen Weeks (MyAnna Buring) and a uniformed copper with a Taser are chasing a female suspect – a drug dealer and benefits cheat. Catching her, too, in a dead end. But no, she gets away by punching DI Helen in the stomach. Oh, and Helen’s pregnant, though she hasn’t told anyone, not even her Paul (Ben Batt). Anyway, the baby is OK – thank heavens – she tells her Paul (also a DI). He is over the moon, Helen less so it seems. Possibly because she knows it’s not Paul’s? But certainly because she is an ambitious, successful detective inspector, and she is not sure the whole baby thing is for her. “I’m a copper, I can’t see myself sitting in cafes with my tits hanging out,” she says.

It’s not an unfamiliar theme in this kind of drama. And there are a few more of those not unfamiliar themes. A little police sexism, some of it brought on by her aforementioned knocked-upness. Then, just after Helen has told Paul their news, on the other news – the one on the telly – is the story of two girls who have disappeared. And not only has it happened in the fictional small Derbyshire town of Polesford where Helen grew up, but the wife of the chief suspect is Linda, Helen’s bezzie mate from back in the day. Fancy that.

Helen has never mentioned Linda to Paul before. Nor does he know that Helen used to be the school bully, and he definitely doesn’t know about Adam, who may be the actual father of her (not yet) bump. I am beginning to wonder what else Paul doesn’t know. So to the career/baby theme, we can now add: “maverick cop from the big city returns to place of possibly unhappy childhood, to interfere with someone else’s case, and unearth a few secrets and ghosts from the past, some of them actual ghosts”.

Hey, maybe it wasn’t actually a fella at the beginning, but Helen, in a black mac, digging up her own past. But then does The Past come in heavy-duty black bin liners? It’s just a hunch, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a connection between what has happened to these poor girls now and something that happened to Helen and Linda back in the day. “Do you ever think about what happened all those years ago?” asks Helen. “Every fucking day,” says Linda. That doesn’t sound like something trivial, does it, like the time they drank a bottle of cider in a field, or snogged so-and-so at the bus stop?

Oh, and the person whose case Helen is interfering with, whose toes she is standing on, is local DI Tim Cornish (played by Ashley Walters, who, of course, has his own ghosts – good ghosts, I think – in his real-life past, having once been Asher D in So Solid Crew). DI Tim just wants to pin everything on Linda’s husband and get the case closed, possibly because of pressure from above, or perhaps because of police corruption. Again, neither is totally unheard of in a police crime drama.

In short, In The Dark is by no means a trope-free zone. Plus there are a few fairly sizeable asks. Not just: OMG, there’s my old pal Linda on the news. But also how every time anyone switches on the telly – at Helen’s house, at her dad’s house, in the pub – there is a significant development in the disappearance of the girls being shown on the local news. It’s like there is a “plot update” button on their remote controls. And DI Helen Weeks doesn’t have the depth or the realness of, say, Sgt Catherine Cawood; In the Dark is not Happy Valley , shifted south a little, down the Pennines. This is something louder, less involving, less human. But once you have accepted that, it’s a crisp opener (of four) – pacy, thoughtful and skilfully constructed, with multiple strands I am eager to see twisted together again. Is there any significance to the rose tattoos, I wonder? And what about farmer Bob’s rustled piglets … And there’s that water, and a floating shoe, and some kind of grill with a piece of meat on it, alive with maggots. One of those piglets I hope. Though I doubt it.

TV crime drama

Comments (…)

Horror News | HNN Official Site | Horror Movies,Trailers, Reviews

Film review: in the dark (2013).

Lea Lawrynowicz 05/02/2013 Uncategorized

After an accident, a woman hires a caretaker to help her adjust to life as a blind woman. Before long, she is embroiled in a fight for her life. Will she learn to protect herself using her only remaining senses in time to save her life? REVIEW:

Allie Leer, played by Elisabeth Rohm, is having a fairly swell evening at the beginning of “In the Dark”. An already successful visual artist, her latest exhibit is going gangbusters, and she has a husband with really good hair, and a little girl so cherubic she looks like she was peeled from the ceiling in the Sistine chapel.

However lady luck leaves Allie’s side long enough for her to get into a car accident that kills her husband and daughter and leaves her totally blind. How this happens exactly is unclear, since we see Allie being taken away via ambulance after the supposedly fatality inducing crash with absolutely no blood or marks of any kind….hmmmm.

Anyways, six months later, determined to lead an independant life, Allie finally goes back to the home she once shared with her family. At the behest of her therapist, she agrees to allow an aide to help her adjust to her new, sightless life.

The aide, a young, cute man by the name of Jeffrey, gently guides her through her new world of darkness, and Allie begins to start her life anew.

Soon, however, Jeffrey’s sweet boy act begins to curdle around the edges and then go completely sour.

He takes a real shine to the pretty blind lady and soon becomes totally sexually obsessed with her. Fearing that her growing independence will mean he won’t get to be around her anymore, he starts doing things like move her furniture around so she bumps into it, and dosing her too heavily with her nighttime sleep aid.

What starts out as a thriller about infatuation quickly turns into a laughable montage of over the top stalker behaviour from Jeffrey. He pastes pictures of his own face into the framed photos of Allie’s deceased family, lurks around her apartment after she’s fallen asleep so he can root through her underwear drawer and rub her bras on his face.

One of the funnier moments features Jeffrey angrily smashing a bag of bagels after he discovers that Allie is having breakfast with her friend and neighbour, played by Shannon Elizabeth (and they said there was no life after “American Pie”) .

The hard cold reality is that the “I seem real nice but I’m really a crazy stalker trying to ruin your life” deal in movies has been done before..like, a lot. Despite the cast putting in a valiant effort (Rohm is particularly effective here) nothing hides the fact that the script is entirely unoriginal. Jeffrey seems to go from zero to batshit so fast that it can’t help but feel very forced.

It also doesn’t help that there are so many moments of incredulity. Even though Allie is blind, it’s pretty hard to buy that she wouldn’t notice or sense Jeffrey standing a foot or so away from her as he films her showering. Also, at the risk of sounding bitchy (a risk I’m willing to take), for a supposedly renowned artist, Allie’s artwork is shockingly terrible. It’s hard to believe she mourns her former profession, when her work done before the accident looks like something a blind person would make.

There are some elements here, put in a more capable filmmakers hands, that could have been explored in order to bring something new to this already spun tale. Themes of vulnerability and voyeurism, safety and trust lurk in the darkened shadows, begging to be teased out into some fresher. It’s a shame though, that instead the film takes an emotionally hollow route that climaxes in a fairly predictable, yet weirdly camp crescendo.

I will say that the biggest contribution that this film makes is a very unintentionally funny scene involving homicide by casserole dish.

If you’re stumbling around for a film to watch, and your wild groping causes you to find this movie, do yourself a favour and turn a blind eye, better films are waiting for your eyes.

In the Dark (2013)

Tags Aiden Turner Elisabeth Röhm Elizabeth Peña in the dark Patrick Muldoon Richard Gabai Richard Portnow Sam Page Shannon Elizabeth

Film Review: Thir13en Ghosts (2001)

Film Review: Wish Upon (2017)

Film Review: Jacob’s Ladder (1990)

Film Review: Barton Fink (1991)

Film Review: The Steam Experiment (aka Chaos Experiment) (2009)

Film Review: Night of The Demons (2009)

Movie Review – In The Dark (2015)

August 21, 2015 by David Opie

In The Dark , 2015.

Written and Directed by David Spaltro. Starring Grace Folsom, Lynn Justinger, Fiona Horrigan, Catherine Cobb Ryan and Kayla Leasure.

A skeptical grad student and a renowned paranormal specialist investigate a potentially haunted home and the troubled woman inside whose affliction may be beyond the capacity of either of them.

While the best of horror is held in high esteem, the genre is often disregarded as the black sheep of Hollywood. For every Halloween or The Shining , there are countless Vampire Hookers and Killer Klowns from Outer Space … these are real movies by the way and no, that wasn’t a typo.

Aside from cult classics such as The Blair Witch Project , indie horror doesn’t hold the best track record, which is why it’s surprising that director David Spaltro chose to tackle the genre for his third feature, following the indie dramas Things I Don’t Understand and …Around .

Fortunately, In The Dark stands tall above other indie horrors of its ilk, largely due to Spaltro’s background in dramatic storytelling. By taking the time to flesh out the personalities of each character, Spaltro grounds the horror and encourages the viewer to sympathise with their individual plights. This approach also enables Spaltro to use the special effects sparingly, a wise move considering the relatively low-budget.

This isn’t to say that In The Dark doesn’t impress visually. It’s rare to see cinematography of this standard in a low-budget horror, giving the illusion that the production cost more than it actually did, and this is due in large part to the work of cinematographer Gus Sacks. The opening credits are beautifully designed and the make-up used once Bethany’s possession begins to take hold is also effective. Unfortunately, sparing use of CGI to create a glowing effect in pivotal scenes towards the end detracts from the overall aesthetic and feels somewhat unnecessary.

Aside from a perfunctory boyfriend and the occasional apparition, Spaltro exclusively cast women in each of the four central roles, all of whom successfully transcend the horror archetypes of sceptic, believer etc. A particularly chilling confrontation between Justinger and Folsom in the final act demonstrates exactly why Spaltro has chosen to work with these talented actresses more than once. In what could have been a clichéd exploration of evil itself, the two performers manage to anchor the scene in the realm of possibility, no easy task within the realms of the horror genre.

Moments like this elevate In The Dark above the trappings of a typical possession movie, although more ambiguity in the central narrative could have elevated the film even further. By leaving little doubt in the audience’s mind that Bethany has been plagued by demonic forces, some of the tension between Justinger’s sceptical student and Horrigan’s expert is lost along the way. Depending on your perspective, it could be refreshing that Spaltro chose to lay all his cards out early on, distinguishing In The Dark from other possession movies of its ilk, but it’s a shame that the cause of Bethany’s condition wasn’t held back for just a few scenes more.

In The Dark isn’t the scariest film ever made, but it doesn’t need to be. Spaltro’s first foray into the genre is a chilling movie that circumvents many of the mistakes made by those new to horror, drawing tension from the characters themselves as much as the awful situation that they find themselves in. The ending may have been jarring for some, but in the classic tradition of horror, Spaltro left the story wide open for a sequel. Let’s hope then that In The Dark reaches a wider audience after completing the festival rounds, as this is one low-budget horror that actually holds genuine franchise potential while also serving as an enjoyable stop-gap during the wait for The Conjuring 2.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★

In The Dark debuts on the festival circuit this October and Things I Don’t Understand is available for renting/purchasing at http://www.tidu.vhx.tv . For more information, visit the official In the Dark Facebook page here .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=8k_v0cVxqEY

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

The Most Disturbing Horror Movies of the 1980s

The Worst Jean-Claude Van Damme Remakes and DTV Sequels

10 Essential Home Invasion Horror Movies

Essential Vampire Movies To Sink Your Teeth Into

Underappreciated Action Stars Who Deserve More Love

2000s Horror Movies That Don’t Deserve the Hate

The B-Movie Queens

20 Epic Car Chases That Will Drive You Wild

Yellowstone: What Will Happen to Kevin Costner’s John Dutton in Season 5 Part 2?

Essential Cult 80s Movies You May Have Missed

Comic Books
Video Games
Toys & Collectibles
Articles and Opinions
About Flickering Myth
Write for Flickering Myth
Advertise on Flickering Myth
Terms of Use
Privacy Policy

Supported by

Review: In ‘The Dark,’ a Traumatized Teenager Becomes a Zombie

Share full article

By Teo Bugbee

Oct. 25, 2018

The horror film “The Dark” begins queasily, following a man, Josef (Karl Markovics), who has absconded with a blind, bound teenage boy to a cabin deep in a shadowy wood known as Devil’s Den. Josef has monstrous intentions, but he is no match for the forest’s demons.

The cabin turns out to be home to an undead, flesh-eating teenager, Mina (Nadia Alexander). She kills Josef, but spares his victim, Alex (Toby Nichols). He has not known death or the taste of human blood, but Mina senses a kindred spirit and his suffering speaks to her own. When search parties come to collect Alex, Mina responds with deadly overprotectiveness.

Despite its violence, “The Dark” is quiet in sound and style. The camera frequently hides with Mina in the shadows as she observes intruders who may become her prey. Rather than relying on shocks, “The Dark” takes a sober approach to its realistically gruesome imagery. Mina and Alex are survivors of childhood abuse, and bear the scars of their suffering. Alex’s eyes have been scratched out, while Mina carries wounds from a sexual assault. Her skin is torn and decaying, a grim echo of the acne that might plague an ordinary teenager.

This is weighty material for a slim film, and the direction by Justin P. Lange is heavy-handed. Mina and Alex seem less like teenagers and more like case studies with traumas rather than personalities. The horror genre can be a pipeline into the dark corners of the psyche, but the impact of “The Dark” is more clinical than cathartic.

Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes.

Explore More in TV and Movies

Not sure what to watch next we can help..

“Megalopolis,” the first film from the director Francis Ford Coppola in 13 years, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Here’s what to know .

Why is the “Planet of the Apes” franchise so gripping and effective? Because it doesn’t monkey around, our movie critic writes .

Luke Newton has been in the sexy Netflix hit “Bridgerton” from the start. But a new season will be his first as co-lead — or chief hunk .

There’s nothing normal about making a “Mad Max” movie, and Anya Taylor-Joy knew that when she signed on to star in “Furiosa,” the newest film in George Miller’s action series.

If you are overwhelmed by the endless options, don’t despair — we put together the best offerings on Netflix , Max , Disney+ , Amazon Prime and Hulu to make choosing your next binge a little easier.

Sign up for our Watching newsletter to get recommendations on the best films and TV shows to stream and watch, delivered to your inbox.

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

Upcoming Movies and TV shows
Trivia & Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

Movies / TV

No results found.

What's the Tomatometer®?
Login/signup

Movies in theaters

Opening this week
Top box office
Coming soon to theaters
Certified fresh movies

Movies at home

Fandango at Home
Netflix streaming
Prime Video
Most popular streaming movies
What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Link to Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Link to Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Babes Link to Babes

New TV Tonight

Evil: Season 4
Trying: Season 4
Tires: Season 1
Fairly OddParents: A New Wish: Season 1
Stax: Soulsville, U.S.A.: Season 1
Lolla: The Story of Lollapalooza: Season 1
Jurassic World: Chaos Theory: Season 1
Mulligan: Season 2
The 1% Club: Season 1

In the Dark Reviews

Could have used stronger writing and a better closing segment, but it's a fine time killer with tight direction all around.

Full Review | Oct 13, 2015

Common Sense Media

Movie & TV reviews for parents

For Parents
For Educators
Our Work and Impact

Or browse by category:

Get the app
Movie Reviews
Best Movie Lists
Best Movies on Netflix, Disney+, and More

Common Sense Selections for Movies

50 Modern Movies All Kids Should Watch Before They're 12

Best TV Lists
Best TV Shows on Netflix, Disney+, and More
Common Sense Selections for TV
Video Reviews of TV Shows

Best Kids' Shows on Disney+

Best Kids' TV Shows on Netflix

Book Reviews
Best Book Lists
Common Sense Selections for Books

8 Tips for Getting Kids Hooked on Books

50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12

Game Reviews
Best Game Lists

Common Sense Selections for Games

Video Reviews of Games

Nintendo Switch Games for Family Fun

Podcast Reviews
Best Podcast Lists

Common Sense Selections for Podcasts

Parents' Guide to Podcasts

App Reviews
Best App Lists

Social Networking for Teens

Gun-Free Action Game Apps

Reviews for AI Apps and Tools

YouTube Channel Reviews
YouTube Kids Channels by Topic

Parents' Ultimate Guide to YouTube Kids

Explaining the News to Our Kids

Family Tech Planners
Digital Skills
All Articles
Latino Culture
Black Voices
Asian Stories
Native Narratives
LGBTQ+ Pride
Best of Diverse Representation List

Celebrating Black History Month

Movies and TV Shows with Arab Leads

Celebrate Hip-Hop's 50th Anniversary

In the dark, common sense media reviewers.

Sex, booze, and smoking in appealing but uneven dramedy.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

Messages about loyalty and friendship are clear de

Murphy is a fallible woman on a redemption arc --

A disappearance and presumed death is at center of

A main character has frequent no-strings sex with

Cursing and iffy language: "ass," "horny," "boned,

A main character frequently guzzles from beer and

Positive Messages

Messages about loyalty and friendship are clear despite iffy messages about casual sex and intoxication. Sensitive points are also made about disabilities, about tendency to turn those with disabilities into some type of "hero" or "message" instead of an ordinary person.

Positive Role Models

Murphy is a fallible woman on a redemption arc -- her penchant for intoxicants, cigarettes, and meaningless sex are setups to show her progression as a person who in early shows says she doesn't care about herself "at all." Other characters can be rather thinly sketched and unrealistic, like her doctor pal who is somehow always available for investigatory drives around town (don't doctors work long hours?).

Violence & Scariness

A disappearance and presumed death is at center of this show's mystery, but violence is muted; we see a vaguely human shape wrapped in a sleeping bag, which Murphy thinks is a character's dead body. A character is vaguely threatening: "You talk about my family to the cops again, we're going to have a problem."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

A main character has frequent no-strings sex with near strangers. We see characters kissing, ripping off their clothes (she gets down to a bra and boyshorts, no nudity), then feet moving rhythmically as a man moans. Later, a woman shops in a drugstore for the morning-after pill, jokes about her sex life being an "expensive habit." She also jokes about her roommate's relationship with another woman, speculates that they'll be "talking about feelings and touching each other's boobs" in bed; a character tries to buy sex toys in another scene. Characters refer to being "horny" and getting "boned."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Cursing and iffy language: "ass," "horny," "boned," "loser," "nuts" (referring to testicles); a woman repeatedly tells a barking dog to "shut up."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

A main character frequently guzzles from beer and liquor bottles and smokes cigarettes; alcohol enables her to make risky choices about sex and how she spends her time, is clearly a coping mechanism for her depression. Drugs play a part in the murder that launches this show's mystery.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that In the Dark is a dramedy about a woman who's jolted from a life of alcohol and casual sex by the disappearance of a young friend (who also happens to be a street-level drug dealer). The show's main character is a strong and relatable woman with a complex personal life, and her disability is used to make sensitive points about the way disabled people in general, and blind women in particular, are treated by those around them. We also see her in any number of risky and/or iffy situations: drinking liquor straight from the bottle, downing cocktails at the bar she hangs out in, going to the hotel room of a married new acquaintance, napping at work. Sex is represented by kissing followed by the removal of clothing (she gets down to her underwear), and the camera's focus on non-private body parts moving rhythmically while a man moans. We also see a woman buying morning-after pills and hear talk about virginity, a man not having "boned a blind chick" before, as well as other jokes about body parts. Violence is muted, but we see a presumed dead body wrapped in a sleeping bag, and there's lots of talk about murder. Cursing is rare ("ass") but there's other questionable language: "nuts," "horny."

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

Parents say (8)
Kids say (5)

Based on 8 parent reviews

Too Much Sex

Soft porn, booze, stds, etc, what's the story.

Since her sight faded away in her teens, Murphy Mason (Perry Mattfeld) has been living IN THE DARK in more ways than one. Nearly friendless save for her loyal roommate, Jess ( Brooke Markham ), she whiles away her time drinking, smoking, indulging in nonstop casual sex, and pretending to actually do something for the salary she's paid at the guide dog training center operated by her despairing mom Joy (Kathleen York) and long-suffering dad Hank (Derek Webster). But when Murphy's young pal Tyson (Nambitha Mpumlwana) suddenly disappears and his shady cousin Darnell (Keston John) seems to know more than he's letting on, Murphy realizes it's up to her to find out what happened.

Is It Any Good?

This series is trying to be two shows, only one of which works: a sparkling dark dramedy about a relatably fallible heroine, and a blah murder mystery that should have been pronounced DOA. First, the good: Mattfeld's Murphy is an entertaining great big mess who viewers can't help liking, even though her character initially comes off as a high-concept gimmick: a blind woman who's a drunk, nearly friendless, and with a sexual addiction telegraphed by a drugstore employee greeting her familiarly and asking if Murphy's there for "the usual": morning-after pills, which Murphy apparently prefers as a method of birth control. Why? asks every viewer familiar with the pill's reputation for causing fantastic nausea, given that Murphy's in the same drugstore where many gentler over-the-counter methods are easily available. OK, we can let that pass, because the dialogue is pretty great, and Mattfeld is appealing delivering it, particularly during one of the many moments when a side character assumes something stupid about her blindness. (When asked if her "other senses are heightened," she scoffs, "That's not a thing. I'm not Daredevil .")

However, when Mattfeld's not living her louche and watchable ordinary life, things sag a little. The doomed Tyson is a type, and so are the no-goodniks who populate his big-city world (by the way, never has Toronto less believably played a large American city, supposedly Chicago in this case). It's not especially buyable that a teen street dealer and an adult woman are great pals, and Murphy's investigation into Tyson's death is even more challenging suspension of disbelief. A person with no training, no particular investigative skills, and a serious disability is gonna get those bad guys where the cops fail? Only on television would such a thing work, and even when Murphy's inquiry does go well, these scenes are no more animated than those in a dull procedural. At least said procedurals usually have a juicy case at the center; this one is painfully unarousing. Wrap up that murder quick, and let's get back to watching Murphy against the world. Because that's a show that cooks. The mystery part of In the Dark is simply unappetizing.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the fact that Murphy Mason's character is played by a sighted actor. How often are characters with disabilities played by those who don't have that particular disability versus those who do? What examples can you think of each? Does this actor do a creditable job of playing a person who is blind? Do you wish the actor playing the character were also blind, or not? Why?

Dramatic television series often involve some sort of mystery: a person who is not what she seems, a crime to be solved, a disappearance or reappearance. Why? What dramatic possibilities are inherent in such a setup? Why would a series be more likely to need a mystery to solve than a movie?

In the Dark gives its main character habits that are considered unacceptable, but not so unacceptable that the character would be shunned by society. Why would the people making this show want to make its heroine "bad" but not too bad? What would be an over-the-top "bad" trait that would make this character not relatable to viewers?

Premiere date : April 4, 2019
Cast : Perry Mattfeld , Brooke Markham , Keston John
Network : CW
Genre : Drama
TV rating : TV-14
Last updated : February 26, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

Our editors recommend.

Jane the Virgin

Want personalized picks for your kids' age and interests?

The Good Wife

Good Behavior

Drama tv for teens.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

an image, when javascript is unavailable

The Definitive Voice of Entertainment News

Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter

site categories

‘dark matter’ review: joel edgerton and jennifer connelly in apple tv+’s relentlessly glum take on ‘it’s a wonderful life’.

Blake Crouch adapts his own novel in this nine-part dimension-spanning sci-fi drama also featuring Alice Braga and Jimmi Simpson.

By Daniel Fienberg

Daniel Fienberg

Chief Television Critic

Share this article on Facebook
Share this article on Twitter
Share this article on Flipboard
Share this article on Email
Show additional share options
Share this article on Linkedin
Share this article on Pinit
Share this article on Reddit
Share this article on Tumblr
Share this article on Whatsapp
Share this article on Print
Share this article on Comment

Have you ever watched It’s a Wonderful Life and wished that Frank Capra had paused to show us Clarence the Angel explaining to George Bailey how he was able to present him with the experience of a world in which he was never born?

Dark Matter

Related stories, best apple tv+ deals: here's how to stream 'killers of the flower moon,' 'masters of the air' and more for free, 'the big cigar' review: andré holland's apple tv+ huey newton series can't decide whose story it's telling.

Joel Edgerton plays Jason Dessen, a Chicago-area physicist living an unremarkably content life with his wife Daniela ( Jennifer Connelly ), an art gallery something-or-other, and teenage son Charlie (Oakes Fegley). At one point, Jason had dreams of making big discoveries and winning big prizes, but in prioritizing his family, he chose a life that has him giving lackluster lectures to uninterested college students. In familiar TV/movie fashion, we happen to meet Jason as he’s trying to explain Schrödinger’s Cat and the paradox of “superposition” to a class; he’ll spend much of the rest of the series repeatedly trying to explain the same to us.

Jason’s friend Ryan (Jimmi Simpson), who does other science-guy stuff, has won some big science-y prize and Jason is semi-secretly resentful — something about the path not taken and the life not lived.

It might sound as if that summary, as well as the trailer for Dark Matter , is spoiler-y. It isn’t. One or two unexpected things happen in Dark Matter , but what I described was the premise, and the show is generally without twists. Also, it might sound from that summary like Dark Matter is a confusing show. It isn’t. All confusion in the story comes either from the characters on the screen functioning five steps behind the audience or from intentional decisions by the directors/editors to present simple things in confusing ways as an odd substitute for presenting confusing things in entertaining ways. This is not Counterpart , the short-lived Starz drama about the intersection between parallel worlds that may have been too smart for its own good. It’s more like Discounterpart .

The impressive line that Capra walks in It’s a Wonderful Life allows us to simultaneously see all the failures in George Bailey’s life and yet still know, even without Clarence telling him or us, that it was a good life. It’s both at once! Talk about superposition. Dark Matter wants to do something similar, which you’d probably understand even without the multiple winking nods and then the not-so-winking nod of a character running through a snowy street and past a movie theater showing It’s a Wonderful Life . Yet it fails.

It’s exactly the wrong way to start a series, because it puts the immediate emphasis on shadowy mystery, and we only then witness Jason1’s life and it, too, is muted. If the series doesn’t establish Jason1’s life in a way that makes us understand why he’s eager to get back to it, we’re only invested in his journey in a perfunctory way. We spend nine episodes watching Jason1 attempt to get his life back because cosmic disorder is bad, not because there’s any warmth to what we’re introduced to. Over the three episodes Verbruggen directs, there are almost no smiles, no jokes, no colors in the cinematography, nothing Capra-esque.

This is clearly what Crouch, creator and showrunner, wanted in his take on his own novel, because even after subsequent directors take over for Verbruggen, a downcast affect reigns. Multiple episodes occur in a conceptual realm known as The Corridor, a manifestation of the multiverse, a concept that Jason1 keeps needing to talk Amanda through, as if the Marvel Cinematic Universe didn’t exist in Jason2’s universe.

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen an actor taking less visible pleasure in a project that lets him play two different versions of the same character than Edgerton here. Edgerton keeps both men similarly intense and mumbly, so much that it’s nearly a thought experiment in anti-entertainment. If Jason1 didn’t acquire some facial wounds as part of the initial abduction there would be no distinguishing between the characters 95 percent of the time. The other five percent of the time, Jason2 has a “hard edge” so obvious that you want to shout at Daniela and Charlie for missing it.

Although she gets to try on several different hair styles — Jason isn’t the only character to exist in multiple realities — there’s little in Daniela to require an actress of Connelly’s stature. She has one meltdown in a later episode that’s so earned and so well-executed that I wished she’d been given more. Still, she has a bounty compared to Braga, who, for her part, at least gets a small mid-season arc, compared to several key characters from Jason2’s world so comically underdeveloped that their “storylines” are resolved in a closing montage after they’ve already been gone for three or four full hours. A show with this many actors playing this many alternate identities should be a smorgasbord of acting opportunities. Dark Matter is not.

THR Newsletters

More from The Hollywood Reporter

Tom pelphrey breaks down the bonkers finales of ‘a man in full’ and ‘outer range’ season 2, courteney cox says matthew perry visits her “a lot” after his death, lifetime adds pair of true-crime movies to summer slate (exclusive), alleged ‘baby reindeer’ stalker sent u.k. labour leader hundreds of abusive emails (report), the end of ‘yellowstone’: what is known about the final episodes, ‘yellowstone’ starts production on final season 5 episodes.

‘Kinds of Kindness’ Review: Yorgos Lanthimos Keeps You Squirming for Nearly Three Hours in Biting Power Parody

The mordant Greek auteur reunites with his 'Dogtooth' screenwriter, putting Jesse Plemons, Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe through an unpredictable surrealistic triptych.

By Peter Debruge

Peter Debruge

Chief Film Critic

‘The Kingdom’ Review: The Daughter of a Corsican Big Shot Practices Her Aim in Cannes Standout 13 hours ago
‘Emilia Pérez’ Review: Leading Lady Karla Sofía Gascón Electrifies in Jacques Audiard’s Mexican Redemption Musical 2 days ago
‘Universal Language’ Review: Matthew Rankin Channels the Best of Iranian Cinema in Absurdist Canadian Comedy 3 days ago

SPOILER ALERT: The following review contains mild spoilers.

A submissive office worker lets his boss dictate everything, from what he wears to the woman he marries. In the next segment, the same actor ( Jesse Plemons ) assumes a different role, playing a cop grieving his wife’s disappearance. When she resurfaces (in the form of Emma Stone), he’s less than enthused when she tries to dominate him in the bedroom. Finally, a woman (also Stone) abandons her marriage to follow a kinky cult leader (Willem Dafoe) who’s ordered her to find an elusive faith healer.

Popular on Variety

That is perhaps the only way in which Lanthimos’ latest could be said to satisfy anyone’s expectations: At no point during “Kinds of Kindness” can audiences pretend to anticipate what will happen next. This long, scaldingly original film enthralls even as it frustrates, defying conventional logic while presenting an absurdist riff on modern society. It’s never boring, and yet, Lanthimos’ outré sensibility demands a special brand of patience (not to mention wariness) from viewers, many of whom will come to see Plemons and Stone stretching beyond their respective comfort zones, only to have the same limits tested in themselves.

Stone, who starred in the director’s previous two films, takes a while to appear, leaving audiences to figure out Plemons’ first character, a pathetic corporate lackey named Robert who does as his boss Raymond (Dafoe) tells him, even if that means smashing his shiny new Bronco into a stranger’s car. Raymond rewards Robert’s loyalty with one-of-a-kind sports memorabilia and a generous modern home, which he shares with his wife, Sarah (Hong Chau). For years, Robert has gone along with the arrangement, but this latest request — which is tantamount to manslaughter — is a step too far, forcing him to refuse Raymond’s orders for the first time. Like much of the film, what follows is much funnier on second viewing, as Robert spirals out of control before crawling back to his boss.

What do the various principals in this dynamic represent? Does Raymond embody all bosses, whose expectations shape so much of how the American workforce must behave? Could he be a lawmaker, religious leader or other figure of authority, to whom followers cede their free will? Maybe even a demanding film director? The answer is all of the above and perhaps none at all, as Lanthimos invites us to make what we will of the situation. Unlike “Dogtooth” and “The Lobster,” which provided fairly straightforward critiques of socialization and romantic coupling, respectively, the themes are less clearly defined in this case, making for a blurrier allegory overall. Technically, kindness is offered without thought of reward, whereas these three vignettes are about characters desperately trying to prove their love.

There’s a fair amount of overlap between the first and second chapter, in which Plemons now plays Daniel, a police officer who hasn’t been the same since his wife, Liz (Stone), went missing. When she miraculously reappears, he becomes convinced that she’s not the same person, and because Lanthimos makes the rules, it’s impossible for audiences to determine whether Daniel is acting rationally. Certainly, his mind games — macabre little tests of Liz’s devotion — would seem cruel in the real world. But when we don’t know how gravity works in this universe, how to interpret his behavior? Again, it’s funnier on subsequent viewings, once we’ve gotten over the initial shock.

With no offense intended to any of the actors who bare all in the film, Lanthimos treats sex (and death) as laughable and absurd. That’s one way of undercutting the importance people place on both, to say nothing of abortion, rape and suicide. His irreverence can be disarming at times, laugh-out-loud funny at others. It’s not clear in the end whether he aims to amuse, alarm or enlighten — quite likely all three. There’s an off-kilter precision to the entire project, heightened by “Poor Things” composer Jerskin Fendrix’s use of discordant pianos and stress-inducing choirs. Meanwhile, DP Robbie Ryan pivots from the trick photography of “Poor Things” to meticulous widescreen compositions, centered on some of New Orleans’ least-scenic locations.

When Lanthimos made “Dogtooth,” audiences may not have picked up on the dry, disaffected way the Greek actors delivered their lines. But now that he’s directing in English, it’s impossible not to notice — or be unnerved by — the way the cast underplay situations that would be wrenching in real life. The exception is Plemons, who evokes a young Philip Seymour Hoffman: His emotional commitment to these three roles is commendable, if on a slightly different wavelength from his mostly blank-faced co-stars. With a total of four parts to her name (including twins), Margaret Qualley has more to do here than she did in “Poor Things,” while Mamoudou Athie (who plays her husband in the second chapter) feels underused.

Lanthimos and longtime editor Yorgos Mavropsaridis strike a rhythm that’s totally distinct from that of other filmmakers, creating tension less from suspense than surprise. Each of the segments abruptly concludes with a Saki-esque twist, before moving on to the next. While certain themes carry over, the only real continuity is the title character of each chapter, R.M.F. (Yorgos Stefanakos), whose shifting status gives a clue to their order. To see him eat a sandwich, stick around through the end credits. And to fully appreciate the dark humor of it all, do yourself a kindness: Buckle up and take the whole ride again.

Reviewed at Cannes Film Festival, May 17, 2024. MPA Rating: R. Running time: 164 MIN.

Production: A Searchlight Pictures release, presented in association with Film4, TSG Entertainment of an Element Pictures production. Producers: Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Yorgos Lanthimos, Kasia Malipan.
Crew: Director: Yorgos Lanthimos. Screenplay: Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou. Camera: Robbie Ryan. Editor: Yorgos Mavropsaridis. Music: Jerskin Fendrix.
With: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Joe Alwyn, Mamoudou Athie, Hunter Schafer.

More From Our Brands

Sexual assault lawsuit against former grammy ceo dismisse, former washington commanders owner donates $35 million maryland estate to charity, big ten reclaims revenue lead after earning $880m in fy23, the best loofahs and body scrubbers, according to dermatologists, scarlett johansson says she was ‘shocked, angered and in disbelief’ after hearing chatgpt voice that sounds like her — read statement, verify it's you, please log in.

Action/Adventure
Children's/Family
Documentary/Reality
Amazon Prime Video

More From Decider

New Shows & Movies To Watch This Weekend: 'Bridgerton' Season 3 on...

Jax Taylor Admits His "Delivery Is Awful" In 'The Valley': "That's One Of...

What Happened to Regé-Jean Page? Did the Duke Bomb His Movie Star Career...

'9-1-1's Malcolm-Jamal Warner On Amir And Bobby, Working With Peter...

'Unfrosted' Has Everyone Wondering "What's The Deal With Jerry Seinfeld?"

Chrissy Teigen Stuns John Legend On 'The Drew Barrymore Show' With Reveal...

Brooke Shields Flashed Her ‘Mother of the Bride’ Co-Star Benjamin...

Andy Cohen Reveals Sarah Jessica Parker's Reaction When He Suggested Rosie...

Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The 8 Show’ On Netflix, A Dark Comedy Where People Join A Strange Game Show Where Time Is Literally Money

Where to stream:.

Korean Dramas

Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Atypical Family’ on Netflix, A South Korean Drama About A Family Trying to Regain Their Superpowers

Stream it or skip it: ‘uncle samsik’ on hulu, where a corrupt fixer and an idealistic young politician team up in postwar south korea, stream it or skip it: ‘blood free’ on hulu, a korean drama with miracle meat, corporate intrigue, and dangerous secrets, stream it or skip it: ‘parasyte: the grey’ on netflix, about a woman sharing her brain with an alien parasite.

Scripted shows that throw a bunch of characters together in a strange game seem to be a specialty of South Korea. Squid Game came out three years ago and became a worldwide smash because it was a scripted drama that was about surviving a game. Was there plot outside the game play? Yes, but not much. Now, a more darkly comedic scripted series about people in a game has come out of South Korea. In this game, time is literally money.

THE 8 SHOW : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: “I thought I’d be different,” says Bae Jin-su (Ryu Jun-yeol) as he looks out on the water as he stands at the railing of a bridge.

The Gist: Jin-su there because he’s about to end it all. He’s heavily in debt, owing 900 million won (about $667,000) to loan sharks. He works a lot of minimum-wage jobs, like at a convenience store, and has no discernable skills, thanks to his liberal arts college degree. He borrowed the money after an investment banker promised him he’d help him turn a huge profit, which of course didn’t work. So, after dangling from 40 stories up while washing windows, Jin-su felt he had no other choice.

Right before he jumps, he sees notices that money is going into his account, and a limo pulls up. Jin-Su thinks it’s some sort of citywide suicide-prevention program, and is surprised when the drinks in the limo are fake. He’s dropped off at a theater and presented with a card, a stack of money, and numbered cardkeys. He can take the stacks of money and go home or he can take a cardkey and go through the curtain. At first he takes the money, thinking nothing but bad things are behind that curtain. But, he figures, he was about to kill himself, so if someone is harvesting organs back there, what’s the difference?

Behind the curtain is a massive, colorful room, and eight floors of bedrooms. A clock reads 24:00:00.00. The number on his cardkey – 3 – corresponds to the floor he’s on. He goes into the room, and sees an empty space and a digital scoreboard. He’s presented with a uniform with his key number on it and a rule book. What he eventually figures out is that every minute he spends in the room earns him 30,000 won. But he has nothing to sleep on or pee into, and the prices of anything he brings in are 100 times what they’d be in the real world. If he leaves the room before 8 AM, he loses half his earnings. So he improvises, getting a bottle to pee in and cardboard boxes and newspapers to sleep on.

The next morning, he sees that time has been added to the clock. He meets the other players in this game: 8F (Chun Woo-Hee), 7F (Park Jeong-Min), 4F (Lee Yul-Eum), 6F (Park Hae-Joon), 2F (Lee Joo-Young), 5F (Moon Jeong-Hee) and 1F (Bae Sung-Woo). They decide to refer to each other by their numbers. They all have distinctive personalities: 7F is logical, 6F a bit rough. 8F wears only her bra under her uniform jacket and acts privileged.

They not only figure out that everything in the common areas is fake, including the food, but if they call for supplies there, time is taken off the clock. But the time reduced costs less money than the money things cost in their rooms. So they all ask for buckets, toilet paper and cigs. Then, when they realize the “free” food isn’t coming, 8F admits she got 12 packs of food and water in her room. When the group figures out the food is for all of them, but it’s not supposed to leave her room, 7F figures out that the chute that delivers items to them connects all the rooms. All of the contestants go up to the 8th floor to 8F’s quarters. That’s when they realize that not everything in the game is created equal.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? The 8 Show , written and directed by Han Jae-rim and based on the webtoons Money Game and Pie Game , feels a lot like Squid Game , except that no one is killed if they lose a challenge (we think).

Our Take: The 8 Show might be as dark as Squid Game , but it’s definitely more wryly funny than the Netflix megahit. In a way, it’s actually more intriguing. Sure, in both shows money is at stake. But in the case of The 8 Show , the contestants are going to have to figure out whether they will work together or be at each other’s throats in order to preserve whatever pot of money they think they’re winning.

We don’t know a ton about the characters playing this game. Except for 3F — Bae Jin-su — we don’t even know their names, at least not yet. But we don’t really need to right now. This is a case where each character’s broad archetypes serve the plot well. Someone needs to be the practical one. Someone needs to be the spoiled one, and someone needs to be the rebellious one. Jin-su’s thing is that he is good with prices and numbers, but for the most part he just seems like a neutral party. Because we’re seeing the game from his perspective, that’s a good archetype for him to settle into.

Han Jae-rim does try to get a bit stylistic, especially during the pre-credits sequence, which is shot in 4:3 format. We wonder if those kinds of stylistic touches will continue as the game gets more surreal; the set design of the game’s central courtyard is certainly colorful and surreal. We welcome some stylistic asides as the show goes on, because we suspect that some of the show’s dark humor is going to go by the wayside as the contestants figure out just how long the game is and how they may need to screw other players to get ahead. They’ve already figured out there’s a hierarchy when it comes to the rooms, the money earned per minute and the food. What other things are the game masters going to do to mess with these people?

Sex and Skin: Besides 8F parading around in her bra like she’s Sue Ellen Mischke , there’s nothing.

Parting Shot: The contestants see 8F’s room and realize she’s making much more per minute than they are. One of the contestants says, “Aw, shit” in English.

Sleeper Star: 7F, played by Park Jeong-Min, is certainly asserting himself as a leader in the first episode, given his application of logic to the proceedings. Who knows how long that will last, though?

Most Pilot-y Line: When the two thugs come to Jin-su’s flat to break his legs, they bang on his door, but are immediately shooed off by a mom whose baby is being woken up.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Like Squid Game , the fun of The 8 Show is seeing just what kind of situations the characters are going to be put in and how they figure out how to play the strange game they find themselves in.

Joel Keller ( @joelkeller ) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com , VanityFair.com , Fast Company and elsewhere.

Stream It Or Skip It

'The Resident's Malcolm-Jamal Warner Says Cast Would Be Open To Returning For A Season 7: "I Think We Would All Jump At The Opportunity"

'Live's Kelly Ripa And Mark Consuelos Learn Why Ankle Socks Are "Canceled" From Gen Z Members Of Their Studio Audience

'Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire' Comes To Digital, But When Will 'Godzilla x Kong' Stream on Max?

Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Monster’ on Netflix, a Dialogue-Free Indonesian Horror-Thriller

‘Bridgerton’ Season 3 Part 1 Climaxes With Penelope and Colin’s Steamy Carriage Ride

'The View's Whoopi Goldberg Snaps At Joy Behar While Defending Harrison Butker's Controversial Commencement Speech: "Stop That!"

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, i'll be gone in the dark.

Director Liz Garbus was faced with a big challenge when hired to adapt Michelle McNamara ’s I’ll Be Gone in the Dark into a six-part docuseries. It has to tell the true crime story of the Golden State Killer, a monster of a human being once known as the East Area Rapist and Original Night Stalker (and even the clunky acronym EARONS for a time) who remained uncaught for decades. But it is also very much the story of McNamara herself, a wickedly talented writer who became obsessed with this case, first writing an acclaimed feature story about it and then almost finishing a book about it before suddenly passing away. With the help of her team and her husband Patton Oswalt , the book was finished and glowingly reviewed, leading to the capture of The Golden State Killer.

How Garbus balances these intersecting narratives—the victims, the author, the world of true crime—is what elevates “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark,” a series that keeps its human core in a way that true crime offerings often don’t. McNamara’s writing was so widely acclaimed because she revealed as much about herself as the case she profiled, commenting on how much this man had impacted her life. So much true crime writing and TV turns victims into numbers, often telling us more about the background of the criminal than those he destroyed. This is a project that’s constantly centering the people that matter—the victims and the person who became obsessed with telling their stories.

“I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” opens a window into a world of true crime obsessives, the people who spend long nights poring over theories on message boards, sharing their own takes on famous crimes, or listening to podcasts like the great “My Favorite Murder” (co-host Karen Kilgariff is included as an interview subject). McNamara became a part of this world and started her own blog, True Crime Diary in 2006, in part fueled by her fascination with the case of Kathy Lombardo, an unsolved murder that happened near her home in Oak Park, Illinois. Before long, McNamara came upon the case of the East Area Rapist, a monster who tormented victims in the Sacramento area in the ‘70s but had none of the national attention of someone like the Zodiac Killer. She wanted to know why. After his crimes were tied to the murders committed by a serial killer known as the Original Night Stalker, McNamara became even more invested in the case, developing theories and even forming a trust with the investigators and victims.

In 2013, McNamara published an article about what she had dubbed The Golden State Killer in Los Angeles Magazine to raves, and an almost instant book deal. For the next few years, she worked on that book, coming closer to solving the case herself as she also started a family with Oswalt and daughter Alice. “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” never loses sight of McNamara as a person. Friends and family, including Oswalt, are interviewed extensively and ensure that this remains her story. She died suddenly in 2016 and Oswalt and others helped finish the book. The series avoids judgment about the stories that McNamara died of substance abuse but does suggest that her stress level regarding the case and book led her to mix prescription drugs in an unhealthy manner. It’s a reminder that everyone should keep a close eye on not only what they’re taking but what their loved ones ingest under medical guidance. No one thought McNamara would die.

Garbus knows that this isn’t just a biopic of a talent lost too soon. Early on, it’s made clear that McNamara was a deeply empathetic person, concerned about victims in a way that dispels that myth that true crime fans are ghoulish. And Garbus very clearly tries to mimic this humanist approach with her direction. Large sections of “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” are devoted to victims of the Golden State Killer bravely telling their stories of terror, assault, and rape. But it never feels exploitative. It’s a series about a community that forms around events like the various crime sprees of the Golden State Killer. Near the end, victims of the monster come together with fans of McNamara & Oswalt at an event for the book, and I was struck by how communities can form through trauma.

I watch a lot of true crime series and read a lot of true crime books. In another life, I could see myself becoming like McNamara, obsessing over a single case and working myself too hard to present it to the public. What separates “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark,” the book and series, is the warmth and humanity embedded in every aspect of it. This is a series about a man who tried to destroy those things—to take humanity and peace away from people—and yet it feels empowering and even warm in the end. None of us, even the victims, are truly alone in the dark.

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

Now playing

Glenn Kenny

Gasoline Rainbow

Peyton robinson.

Nothing Can't Be Undone by a HotPot

Simon abrams.

Monica Castillo

Irena's Vow

Christy lemire.

Film Credits

I'll Be Gone in the Dark (2020)

Amy Ryan as Narrator

Elizabeth Wolff

Writer (book)

Michelle McNamara

Latest blog posts

Cannes 2024: The Substance, Visiting Hours

Jack Flack Always Escapes: Dabney Coleman (1932-2024)

Cannes 2024 Video #3: Megalopolis, Kinds of Kindness, Oh Canada, Bird, Wild Diamond

Chaz Ebert and Esteemed Panelists Discuss Purpose-Driven Filmmaking at Cannes Film Festival

Cast & crew

A father and his teen daughter attend a pop concert only to realize they've entered the center of a dark and sinister event. A father and his teen daughter attend a pop concert only to realize they've entered the center of a dark and sinister event. A father and his teen daughter attend a pop concert only to realize they've entered the center of a dark and sinister event.

M. Night Shyamalan
Josh Hartnett
Alison Pill
Hayley Mills

Jody's Mom

Tour Manager

Main Street Pedestrian #1

Young Swat Member

FBI Agent …

Police Officer

(credit only)
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

Trivia While being distributed by a major studio (Warner Bros), Trap was allowed to resume filming under an interim agreement during the SAG-AFTRA strike as M. Night Shyamalan independently finances his own films.
Connections Referenced in All About: All About Horror in 2024 (2023)

New and Upcoming Horror

When will Trap be released? Powered by Alexa
August 9, 2024 (United States)
United Kingdom
United States
Good Grades
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (FirstOntario Center)
Blinding Edge Pictures
See more company credits at IMDbPro