Darkness (1993) by Leif Jonker

Director: Leif Jonker

Year: 1993

Country: USA

Alternate Titles: N/A

Genre: Vampire

Plot:

Living in a small town, a guy finds a vampire plague has overtaken the citizens and continually runs into the deadly creatures wherever he goes before managing to find survivors in the area who are looking for a master vampire slayer to help them survive against the deadly threat.

Review:

There's some really nice stuff to this one. One of the greatest parts of this is a great central storyline about the vampire plague being treated like a rampaging zombie virus running throughout the area. The whole concept of the outbreak coming together with the intent of giving their vicious nature a more prominent aspect of their personality by showing them rampaging through the community, attacking anyone and everyone with the sense of brutality that underlines their true nature, but is hardly ever seen here, treating them like marauding monsters overrunning places without impunity. There's also a large amount of action in here because there's a rather large number of confrontations, making it really hard to lose interest in the film since it's got plenty going on. From the battle in the abandoned house, where a big brawl makes out a lot of excitement through the destruction of the house and the gore-filled finish, a big shootout with them on a deserted highway road, a confrontation in an alley way and the opening scene in the deli is a classic, for it's a fast and hard-hitting scene that really feels quite exciting and is definitely fun to watch. It also opens the film on the right note, as it's a gory, action-packed sequence that is a real shock to see so quickly in the film's running time.

The last big plus is that there's a large amount of graphic gore in here. This one is really littered with a lot of bloody gore and graphic violence, which really helps this one, as the amount of gore comes from the really brutal deaths, as well as the actions against the vampires. Some have the skin melt down completely from the exposure to the sunlight down to bubbling skin and torn flesh, a whole slew of gunshots to just about every single orifice capable of handling a bullet, a massive amount of bites to the neck, throat and arms, in most cases ripping skin away to get more blood to come out, a creature knocked to pieces after being run over by a truck, chopped to pieces with a chainsaw, a couple are repeatedly stabbed with knives and sharp objects and another has their arm sliced into with a machete and then sawed off, leaving a large amount of blood and gore to appear. That, in addition to the film's ability to hide the reason for the resurrection and the war that occurs here is kept unknown, making it just like a seeming onslaught that occurs for no reason, are the film's best points.

This one here didn't have too many flaws at all. One of the big ones is that the film's low budget is quite apparent, sticking out mainly in the use of the blood and gore on display, which is mostly just colored water and not at all very realistic, as well as the special effects used for the vampires. It's not that they're bad, but the fact that they're very obviously just plastic or prosthetics, which is quite easy to spot and pick up, makes for plenty of moments where it's hard to take the scene seriously, as these effects take you right out of the film. The other flaw to this is the film's ton of liberties with the vampire routine, where it almost turns them into another creature altogether. The aversion to sunlight and holy water is kept, but they are so bloodthirsty and rabid that they don't mind spilling it all over the place while feeding or even tearing open any place to get at it. As well, they get taken down by gunshots anywhere on the body, and they have a pack mentality like zombies, and all of these are very different from the usual vampire rules. These are what's really wrong with the film.

Overview: ****/5

With a lot to really like about this one, and only a couple of really mild flaws that aren't too damaging, this one is a really worthwhile entry that manages to be far better than expected. Give it a shot if you're into the low-budget horror fare, are a hardcore gorehound, or are big vampire fanatics, while those who can't stand the budgetary issues should heed caution.