Wow! Such a good movie.

I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.

Better Late Then Never

One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

'The Dark Stranger' drew me into seeing it, with a cool poster/cover, an intriguing and quite creative premise and as someone with a general appreciation for horror. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive. It is sadly however yet another film seen recently, hence some reiteration because the exact same strengths and flaws are here present in those films, that to me was quite disappointing considering its potential which it doesn't do enough with. 'The Dark Stranger' is not great, or good, has a fair share of problems (fairly big ones too) and doesn't do enough with its potential, which was hardly small. There are however a few decent, even good, qualities in 'The Dark Stranger'.Lets start with the positives. The scenery is atmospheric, likewise with the decent way it's shot. The music is suitably spooky and quirky and doesn't distract at all from the atmosphere, while not exactly enhancing it. A few unsettling moments and horror tropes and the acting is better than average.However, the story does feel over-stretched and some of it feels vague, under-explained in the last third where the film especially became duller, more predictable, more senseless and less scary it got. Too many characters are too sketchy and with nowhere near enough to make one want to endear to them. Their irritating and illogical decision making and behaviours frustrates. Making the film feel bland and forgettable with not enough heart put into it. The effects are ropy at best.Dialogue can be stilted and rambling while the pace is uneven, dragging in a lot of the second half and never is it exciting. Found too many the supposedly shocking moments not surprising or scary and the supposedly creepy atmosphere dreary, due to the excessive obviousness and the lack of tension and suspense. A lot of the film has underdeveloped plot elements and often nonsensical and confusing character motivations. There is very little threat here and what there is of it is used poorly, while the psychological elements are unimaginative and are more odd than scary. Some badly sagging momentum too. The direction is pretty leaden.Overall, not a terrible film by any stretch but should have been darker and scarier. 4/10 Bethany Cox

Leah (Katie Findlay) blames herself for her mother's suicide. In a constant dysfunctional melancholy, she starts to draw a graphic novel, which symbolically imitates her life and is ominous. The villain of the story is "The Dark Stranger." Findlay was able to pull off the quiet and moody teen, so much so that at 20 minutes into the film, she was irritating me. About that time the film changes gears slightly. The film takes time to build characters and the family relationship, much like a Lifetime feature. I can see this movie having an appeal to dark graphic novel fans such as "Slenderman." The film lets itself open to a sequel or even a TV series. Horror is mostly psychological. The production will be tame to those who demand blood and guts or Hitchcock.in their terror.Guide: No swearing, sex, or nudity.

I love making reviews for movies that surprise me. I write and do some drawing, but just for fun and catharsis, and sometimes loosing myself into the magic world of imagination.We have the story of a young woman (our heroine), who have depression and anxiety, and also agoraphobia (fear of leaving the house). She is visited by a therapist because of that, and it is implied that could perhaps try to attempt against her own life. She lives with her loving father and a brother who always want to skip school and feels ignored. This family had suffered the lost of a loved one: the mother, who had committed suicide after a heated argument with her daughter (and alcoholism was the reason).The loving father do the best he can with all his family have to deal with.Soon a stranger shows interest in that mother artwork, and our heroine is very suspicious of him. At the same time she had started to drawing again, only that this time she does it with her own blood and while in a trance... and she thinks that influenced by a character she call "The Dark Stranger". Reality and fantasy start to mix and boundaries seems blurring.And finally we know from the stranger interested in art the real identity of "The Dark Stranger".I loved the idea, and how the narrative caught my attention, and keep me interested.In other side the lead actress surprised me, I never had seen her before, she was quite believable.I love Enrico Colantoni, he is always awesome. The rest of the cast was nice, specially "The Dar Stranger"The worst: no explanation or more deep backstory, and some characters are lost in the movie, making a little plot hole.The best: the script was so original, the setting was pretty much fairy-tale that I loved it. And the special effects are pretty decent.8/10 RecommendedWe all are critics. Watch at your own risk.Greetings from Uruguay.

This movie tells the tale of a highly troubled teen who suffers from chronic hallucinations. Whether those hallucinations are the product of her traumatic past or a curse is not really clear. Apart from the fact that the protagonist has a hard time distinguishing reality from fantasy she also seems to suffer from agoraphobia (which is the clinical term for someone who is afraid of the outside world).What really irked me about the movie were the totally random "2D dream sequences/daydreams" which if I had to guess were supposed to add some sort of artistic element. Kind of a given choice considering how the movie is about an artist but not quite solid in it's execution. It ended up being really silly. After all this is supposed to be a Horror movie and not a children's playbook.Furthermore, the antagonist of the movie (the dark stranger) is basically an old man who is blackfacing/grayfacing. I know, this is supposed to be a scary movie but when I first saw the "dark stranger" I laughed out loud. It just seemed way too bizarre.To conclude: Was the movie scary? No, not really.