Let's be realistic.

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The Colombian Jose Gutierrez (Roberto Urbina) leaves his girlfriend in USA and travels to Colombia to visit his parents Carlos (Tony Plana) and Marta Gutierrez (Alejandra Borrero). Jose meets his former passion, Luiza (America Ferrera), and they date and go to a night-club. Then Jose is abducted and a group asks for ransom to his father, who is the manager of a bank. The insurance company does not honor the contract and Carlos seeks the help of KNRC, a company specialized in abductions and ransoms, and with the powerful drug dealer Umberto Pompeo (Fernando Solórzano). A commando seeks the kidnappers while a carrier heads to the Buena Fortuna Street to deliver the ransom money. Will Jose Gutierrez be rescued on time?"Hacia la Oscuridad" is a film with a messy non-linear story with terrible camera work and edition. The plot has the intention to show how dangerous is the life in Colombia but neither the story nor the screenplay are good. The action of Luiza is absolutely unreasonable and incoherent giving a ridiculous twist in the plot. The car chase is awfully filmed and edited and the boring flashbacks break the tension of the lead story. My vote is three. Title (Brazil): "A Um Passo da Escuridão" ("At One Step from the Darkness")

Being a fan of "Man on Fire," I decided to check out this film produced by and starring America Ferrera ("Ugly Betty") to expose the problem of kidnapping in Columbia. She says, "The rate in Colombia is awful. More than one person a day is kidnapped there." It is not just a problem in Columbia, but in many places in the World.Roberto Urbina (Che: Part One) as Jose is the victim, and spends his time thinking about his ex-girlfriend Luiza (America Ferrera). Of course, the film flashes back and forth from real time to the time of the kidnapping.Jose is not too smart. He sees some thugs in a bar that earlier pulled a gun on him on the football field, and he stands there downing shot after shot. Did Luiza set him up? He sure wasn't sober enough to see it coming.It did have a great car chase when Charlie (David Sutcliffe), the ex-FBI agent helping to deliver the ransom steals a car after getting stuck in traffic.An interesting film on the subject, but didn't set me on fire.

This movie says it is inspired by true events, but that's as far as the interesting part goes.I don't mind reading a movie (since this film is foreign), but being unfamiliar with the cast along with the constant and frustrating flashbacks, I had to continue to pause to finish reading something and then try to figure out who was talking, plus what character (actor) I was viewing and in what character context.Also, with each scene of seeing the ransom money delivery guy stuck in traffic to meet the noon deadline, then another and another and ....yet another flashback ... and back to the traffic frustration. The flashbacks were too often and they were the kinds that had flash, flash, flash of this and that kind of ratatatat pictures, that my eyeballs became so weary from the strain I had to stop watching this film. It was hard enough to read the movie, but to have my eyes assaulted with flashing flashbacks was just too much. I got the idea, okay? that these were good buddies who drank together and so forth, but enough was enough. This movie lacked cohesiveness with a very limited storyline. As far as I was concerned I didn't care if the kidnap victim was rescued ... was about ready to side with the kidnappers! So, fly this Frisbee disc out the window and don't waste your time.

I rented this movie thinking it would be an action film that came out of the dark. I realized during the first few minutes that this wasn't going to be short. The movie contains flashbacks of the kidnapped man's life with his friends and family. There are also flashbacks of other people as well. Mostly flashbacks of the people who are looking for the guy. I thought the ending was predictable if you listen close to the bad guys words when the scene of the kidnapping is giving. I didn't enjoy this movie because it was missing something. That something may be some details that are needed and some details that should have been kept in the dark! If u enjoy really boring movies that have the same ending that every other movie of the same category has now a days then rent this or buy this but in my opinion I would rather not see this again. It's not even a movie that I would see if I could go back through time.