ironhorse_iv Review of Murder in the Dark

Murder in the Dark (2013)

I'm sorry, but Murder in the Dark is not a film to die for. Not at all!

[4/10 · 18 April 2016]

I'm sorry, but Murder in the Dark doesn't deserve to be, in the '8 films to die for' in 2015. Maybe if the movie was based on the 1983 collection of short fiction by Canadian author Margaret Atwood; which had 27 pieces of writing, ranging in variety of styles, including fictionalized autobiography, parables, travel stories, satires and prose poems. I would see it! After all, all of those stories, are held together through their major themes of loss, menace and terror, and men's abuse of power. Now, that would be something to die for! In the end, the annual horror film festival got it wrong, by adding this film. This is by far, the weakest of the eight independent horror movies that debut at After Dark Horrorfest 2015. Originally released in 2013 and directed by Dagen Merrill, Murder in the Dark tells the story of a group of young international med students camping in the ruins of a medieval Turkish town for some odd reason to play the party game "Murder in the Dark". Only to find out that, someone is taking the game, way too seriously, as one by one, each member of the team are killed off. Without spoiling the movie, too much, I have to say, the movie's parlor game concept isn't the focus of the film, like the title makes it out to be. Not only does, very little murder happen in the dark, but the movie doesn't even capitalize on the gimmick of the game, besides the order of people getting killed. There isn't any variations! No vampires! No Froggy Murder! No Lonely Ghost! No anything! The parlor game part of the film is really disappointing. It doesn't help that the movie was filmed with a very low budget. The cheapness of the film, clearly shows in the fake looking blood, lame deaths and lack of sets. Although the film is set in Turkey, it was actually filmed in an old abandoned medieval town of Craco, Italy without permission. Because of this, the production for this film, was often stop, due to protest from the nearby town. Its shows, how limited, their time was, at the town. As most of the night shots, were filmed, elsewhere. While, it's cool to see them, camping in an old abandoned medieval town of Craco and I was in awe of the beautiful magnificent place, they shot in. It still doesn't make sense for the characters to be there. The town wasn't abandoned due to medical reasons. So why are they even there? They're not Archaeologists or Historians. So, what's the appeal? Also, how did the killer's hide out, not get detected by any of the students. Wouldn't all the medical supplies, be a big hint that something isn't right? Another question, the audience members, might be asking in this film, is how the killer could be in so many places so quickly. The twist toward the end, also doesn't add up. His premise in the film is still confusing even after they expose who he is. I really don't get, what he's trying to accomplish, by being a street surgeon. They show that he killed, a previous group of campers. Are we really supposed to believe that everybody in that group and this group has organs that are compatible with each other and happen to be in the medical field? How unrealistic convenient! Anyways, I have to say, the group of actors in this movie were mediocre, at best. I really couldn't understand, some of the things, they're trying to say, under their think Australian, Indian, Russian and South African accents. It doesn't help that the actors for this film, weren't allowed to see the script, in order, to bring a more honest reaction. The fact that the actors improvised much of the dialogue, shows how lazy, and not well-plan out this film was. The love story between Taylor (Mary Kate Wiles), the daughter of group leader Matthew (Phil Austin) and Australian hitchhiker Kevin (Luke Arnold) really comes out of nowhere. A few times when the characters were yelling with each other, I was left a little bit perplexed about the reasoning, why they were. Again, this is the nature of having to improvise and come up with dialogue on the fly without the support of a thought-out script. This choice by them, really backfired on the filmmakers, as it makes the characters look very dumbfounded for people that supposed to medical students. It was very annoying. It also doesn't help that all the characters are not that unlikeable. All of the yelling by them, made it frustrating to watch. I had to turn it off, several times, because of that. One other thing, that didn't look right in this film, is the camera work. Everything looks so generic. It never capture how beautiful, the city is. Some scenes are way too pitch dark to tell, what's going on, while others are way too shaky or out of focus. I wish the movie use more framing, lighting and properly capture a shot, because the city of Craco deserves better. Overall: Though, Murder in the Dark means well, its approach is not good. It's too clichés to stand out. I admire the intrepid spirit it took to make this movie, but this isn't a movie, I would rewatch, anything soon.