Simply Perfect

Powerful

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

The acting in this movie is really good.

Plot wasn't the strongest side of that movie. In fact, there was few of it. However background and setting where quite intriguing. Night landscapes of the desert, impressive starry skies and mysterious lights behind the scenes were absorbing my attention and didn't let me get bored, despite late night time when I watched the film. Also old cars were adding some of the flavor. As for the story itself, it was not much complicated, and quite predictable, so that can be counted as a disadvantage. It was mainly played by two actors who did quite well.Not a great movie, but still worth watching.

After enjoying television series Hung with Thomas Jane I decided to give this movie a try and it outdid my expectations. I loved it very much! Dark Country is quite different from most current horror movies because it's given a 1950's comic styling as well as film noir elements. The car scenes and landscapes are so beautiful, just like a painting. If you want to enjoy this, you have to open up for the imaginative intention of director, writer and actor Thomas Jane. The movie leans on American archetypes that Alfred Hitchcock also used, like the Good Citizen (gone lost) the Sad Blond, The Cop and even the All American Car and honors American film history and film heroes like Cary Grant and James Stewart.

A newly married couple hits the road and drives through the desert from Las Vegas when they encounter a person who was just in an accident. They take him and try to find some help, but they get more than they bargained for and all hell breaks loose. I was intrigued by this film from the trailer, not because of the story or the actors, but it was the visual flare that grabbed me. It was a film noir with a twilight zone twist and that was exactly what the film gives you. Dark Country is the directorial debut of Thomas Jane and with Dark Country he shows that he has some interesting concepts and talent to back it up, yet still needs time to hone those skills. Dark Country, while showcasing some impressive scenes, comes off as slightly amateurish at times.The most evident is the green screen. Now, Jane has obviously chosen to make it noticeable that when they are in the car, that the scenery in the background was stylized to make it feel like a comic book. It works, but the problem lies in the production values that are evident in the cracks. Bits of the green screen are visible through our lead female characters hair and around their faces. This takes you out of the film and you realize that you're watching a film. The second would be the audio. While Jane pays a lot of attention to the detail of the visuals, he seems to have let the audio slide a little bit. If a film has bad visuals, the audience can forgive you as long as the sound is good. If a film has bad audio, you are screwed. While the film doesn't have horrible audio, there are times that it feels like it was put together in a day. ADR is very evident and jolting. I give the film some credit for the intrigue. I immediately wanted to listen to the audio commentary from Jane to see what his agenda was. I got some of the film, while other parts of it were lost on me. The film is without a doubt a Twilight Zone entry aided by the film noir and graphic novel aspects that Jane added. It's a genre piece that has a specific market. Jane knows what he is doing and comes off extremely prepared and knowledgeable. I just wish he would have taken a bit more time with this one and improved those little imperfections. It's funny, during the film there were parts where I asked myself if Jane was trying to make a 3D film. Reading up on the film, much to my surprise it apparently was suppose to be a 3D film. Not only that, but Jane is apparently not happy with the final product. I can see his frustration because there is a lot here that could be good. Instead it feels as if it's an exercise. A project to see if Jane could actually direct. Dark Country is a beautiful looking film that has a few problems, yet those few problems are jarring enough to make you upset with the final product.

You enjoy from first to last second. Thank you Sakis.The first thing you will notice about this movie is it's style. It takes a few minutes to get used to the pseudo-film noire feel and the interesting camera work. In the end you may feel as though you've been watching an episode of The Twilight Zone, or Tales From the Dark Side. Welcome this feeling- it is the only way to really embrace the computer enhanced darkness that fills this movie.For the most part the acting is solid. Thomas Jane is pulling double duty as both lead actor and director, a difficult task for anyone (watch almost any Branagh film), and in this case it works. You can tell he feels very comfortable working with his surroundings, co-stars and cameras. Lauren German never really seems to find her stride in this movie but I'm willing to blame the writer for never making any very solid decisions as to her character. And Ron Perlman is just sort of there, being Ron Perlman. Which is fine, if you like Ron Perlman.