Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘From the Dark’

Written by Scott Edwards

​There are sometimes in life when you think you know somebody, but they turn out to be the complete opposite of who you thought they were. For the most part, this does not make that person a bad person, you just did not know them as well as you thought you did. It is always good to take note of the different things that your friends say and do, so if they do start to change, you will not be surprised to see who or what they become. 

Sarah and Mark are going on a little trip through the Irish countryside. After Mark has just gotten a new haircut, Sarah does not approve of it, since it is much too short for her liking. Mark tries to take the focus off of him and changes the conversation to marriage and why anyone would be willing to legally bind themselves to someone else. This takes Sarah by surprise and she tries to defend it, but Mark is stuck in his ways of thinking and no matter what she says, she will not be able to change his mind. The banter continues in the car while Sarah gets an update on her phone saying that they have made a wrong turn and need to turn around. But before the couple can get an accurate reading of where they are at, they get stuck in a large puddle and need to find a way to get the car unstuck.

With their conventional attempts of moving the car not working, Mark decides to go and try to find some help. Telling Sarah to wait by the car, he huffs it through the countryside and finds a house, but nobody seems to be home. Searching the house for the owner, Mark is surprised to see an injured man in the doorway. Trying to help the man, assuming it is the owner, Mark sees that his neck is bleeding and runs back to the car to get Sarah to help him out. But when the couple arrives at the house, the man is gone, and all of the lights have been knocked out. Searching through the house again, they find that the man is afraid of light and when Mark’s flashlight goes dark, the man attacks him. Hitting him with the light from her cell phone, Sarah is able to scare the man away and the two decide that the house may not be the safest place to stay.

Trying to get back to the car, Sarah is convinced that they are going the wrong way. When Mark tries to explain where they are, he is grabbed from behind by something and pulled into the marsh. After Sarah is able to break him free of whatever was attacking him, she sees that his leg has been ripped to shreds and she needs to get him back to the house to try and cover up his wounds. As Sarah looks out the window, she sees that there is another man lurking around the outside of the house. Knowing that these people are frightened by light, she stocks up on any kind of light she can find. Trying to keep Mark safe from the hunters outside the house, Sarah finds out that he is becoming one of them as well. Being left on her own, Sarah has to find a way to make it through the night before one of these beasts gets to her first.

This started off as just your normal vampire movie, but then it changed up the genre a little bit. I have never seen a vampire shy away from a flashlight before and when one is hit by the florescent light straight on, you can understand why. Interesting would be the word for it, it was not great, but it was not bad either, just interesting. I liked how the shadows were utilized to the fullest effect to keep the vampires hidden until they were ready to be seen. I think the story ran a little bit long, but the payoff at the end of the movie is worth it since you do have a solid ending to the story and are not left wondering what happened. Stay Scared.

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