I’ve seen enough movies to know that a wood chipper in the opening scene doesn’t usually bode well for someone. It’s only an omen in Dark Was the Night, though, setting the scene for a logging company to disrupt something else in the woods to do the damage. This something else doesn’t pulverize its victims like a wood chipper; it leaves bloody limbs lying all over the place.
90 miles south in the town of Maiden Woods, horses are missing and we put two and two together much more quickly than the characters in the movie. They collect clues to determine that the culprit has hooves, but two feet, “like a person or a bear.” I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that sheriff Paul Shields (Kevin Durand) finally does the research to learn that they’re dealing with a wendiga. (Look it up; he did.)
It could just as well be any generic monster, though. The supernatural aspects or stories of legend are played down in favor of the drama. In fact, Dark Was the Night is really a serious family drama that happens to feature a monster. Any revelation here about the nature of the drama would be more a spoiler than revealing the fact that the monster is a wendiga.
Honestly, the drama is fairly compelling. When Shields confronts his wife, Susan (Bianca Kajlich), he says things like, “I know you’ve been talking to someone.” Oooh… who? What about? During a potential fight, he then tells her, “You’re the one who left, Susan.” Oooh… why. Everyone in town consoles Shields and it takes a while before we learn exactly why.
When we do, it’s handled thoughtfully. It’s sad and perhaps relatable to some. Unfortunately, its a little heavy-handed when it culminates with the cast holed up in church to be safe from the monster and Shields forced to confront his own mental monsters. Susan tells him, “They believe you can protect them. These people need you.” Durand is quite good in his tortured role.
Lukas Haas is his deputy, Donny Saunders, who may have his own issues. Any other character or subplot is only hinted, not fully realized. This is purely the story of Shields and his family tragedy. The action, as it were, unfolds quietly and intensely in dark gray settings as ominous as the woods themselves. There aren’t many scares, but that’s OK. It’s not that kind of movie.
Written by Tyler Hisel and directed by Jack Heller (Executive Producer, Bad Milo), Dark Was the Night seems to have more noble intentions than your normal beast in the woods horror movie. However, I ultimately wasn’t sure how to take them. They were either profound in their simplicity or too pat to provide much substance. Give it credit, though, for letting me decide and not telling me what to think.
