THE DARKNESS

It's time for some boringly routine horror once again.  The Darkness shifts locations early but goes over some very familiar terrain.

The Darkness opens with the Taylor family vacationing at the Grand Canyon.  While parents Peter (Kevin Bacon) and Bronny (Radha Mitchell) are haning out with another couple, teen daughter Stephanie (Lucy Fry) and autistic boy Michael (David Mazouz) are exploring some trails with a friend.

Michael falls through a thin patch in the ground, leading to some underground tunnels.  These lead to a cave where Michael finds five oval stones with symbols etched on them -- and behind them five animal-human hybrids are painted on the wall.  Stephanie and Michael rejoin their parents, and it's back to the suburbs.

Back at their home, weird (but predictable, if you've ever seen a horror movie) things start happening.   Faucets start running uncontrollably.  Wild animals appear in the house (and the dog next door won't stop barking).  Black handprints show up on walls and people.  And while the rest of the family has their own problems -- Peter might be having another affair, Bronny struggles with alcoholism, Stephanie deals with anorexia -- Michael claims his invisible friend Jenny is doing everything he's blamed for.

Not familiar enough?  How about objects flying around, people having nightmares relating to the plot, and the elderly foreign woman (and her teenage daughter) who try and dispel the spirits?  These are all here.  What's not here is anything new.  While the cast is okay, there's not much in either scares or human interest -- and I've seldom seen a horror movie where the ending fizzles out so much.  The Darkness may not be Mystery Science Theater 3000-level bad, but it is boring, predictable, and tedious -- three things you don't want in any movie.

Overall grade: D
Reviewed by James Lynch