Spain continues with the revival of atmospheric, story-driven horror but this film is definitely a lot less impressive or memorable than for example "The Others", "The Devil's Backbone" or Balaguero's own "The Nameless". Well actually, I'm being too polite here... "Darkness", despite featuring some good ideas, is a dull and overly confusing haunted house/ restless ghosts story. Admittedly, it all looks beautiful and scary at first, but it doesn't take long before you realize that the shock-moments are the same old clichéd and meaningless tricks (sudden appearances, toys that start to function by themselves, slamming doors...) and that the premise actually doesn't make the slightest bit of sense, albeit smoothly presented. We follow a rather dysfunctional family that recently moved from the US to Spain, where the father has his roots and granddaddy still is a prominent doctor. Their giant house is very isolated and hides many old secrets and it's unhappy teenage daughter Regina who senses the danger first. Soon after, father Mark re-develops the disease everyone thought he was cured of and the young son Paul starts to behave mysteriously. Maybe it's because I lost interest pretty quick, but eventually I didn't understand one iota about the connection between an old dark house, a solar eclipse, a chronic illness and the sacrificial murders of seven young children. To make it all a little worse, there are numerous illogical aspects in the script that annoyed the hell out of me. What caring mother would simply ignore strangulation marks on her son's neck and say they're accidental bruises? Or what male adolescent would spend all his time and even risk his life for a girl he never even received a kiss from? Moreover, it's never made clear in which era "Darkness" is set! There's no reason to assume it's not set in present day, yet the cars and even the telephones look prehistoric. And in case you're wondering: no, it's not always raining cats and dogs in Spain, in fact, I always presumed it's Europe's sunniest country! However, it helps that this poor movie is blessed with a great cast and the cinematography is often very enchanting. The obligatory twist in the end is entirely implausible and proves all the more that "Darkness" is a beautifully decorated but empty package. Avoid!
