Alone in the Dark DVD Review:

The Film

Alone in the Dark was one of the first films to come out in 2005, and for sure one of the worst films of 2005 already. Based off of the ancient Atari video game, this is a terrible horror/action film that is worst than most direct to video movies. Most of the film’s horrendous nature comes from director Uwe Boll, who directed another terrible movie based on a video game with House of the Dead. The direction is weakly lost, the production value is cheap, and the cast is pretty dreadful as well.

Opening with a very long scroll speaking of an ancient civilization that disappeared off the earth after opening a door to another dimension, which in affect let something slip through. That something that slips through is just a part of this film’s overzealous and overcomplicated plot for a film of this nature. The creatures/monsters/demons, or whatever you want to call them as like chameleons in the dark and just get really angry and kill people.

This secret civilization has a childhood connection and is an obsession for paranormal investigator Edward Carnby (Christian Slater). Carnby has just received a critical artifact from the Amazon involving this ancient race. He quickly learns that the secret paranormal government agency, 713, which he use to work for is also hiding something from him about the disappearance of his recent childhood friends. The 713 is led by the hardcore Burke (Stephen Dorff), who has no respect or trust for Carnby. That is until a plot involving an obsessed scientist named Hudgens (Matthew Walker) is unveiled with the release of those creatures raving havoc on all humans. Carnby’s ex-girlfriend Aline (Tara Reid) is Hudgens’ assistant and joins the fight against this hideous creatures and finding the secrets of Carnby’s past.

As the synopsis inscribes the plot for this film just gets too complicated. There is no reason to have so many things going on in a mindless film like this one. It just makes for more problems and things left uncovered. Uwe Boll’s trashy direction also does not help with uneven action moments involving acrobatic attempts and slow motion. Boll of course also has an early sequence where bullet time is focused through a block of ice. The sequence is so weak that it is obvious Boll just places props like ice among other things just to create unnecessary effects to look cool. There is not one solid piece of direction in this film. The creatures themselves are never defined, even on how they kill their victims; Boll has fun with his hands in gore as usual.

The cast are cardboard cut outs as well. It is ashamed Stephen Dorff can not get a good role, because he is not that bad of an actor, he just needs to get a new agent. Christian Slater tries to be better than he has in the past few years, but he hits an all time low as Carnby in this film. He and Tara Reid share one of the worst love scenes to ever grace the screen, it is painfully pointless and clumsy. Speaking of Reid, she is suppose to be a smart artifacts guru, but wears super tight pants, tons of makeup, but of course her glasses make her smart. Reid is as unconvincing as it gets.

Alone in the Dark is not just bad, it is really bad. It is embarrassing that this film got a wide release in theatres. Even fans of the video game will hate this one. Perhaps if Boll would have not taken this film too seriously, it could have been camp fun. The end result is an atrocious experience.

Audio

The sound is noisy and defined. The work on the details of the action sequences and the creature noises are drowned out by the film’s loud soundtrack.

Video

The film is transferred for the most part clearly, but the way Boll shot the film almost makes it look a little hazy at moments, such as when the final nest of the demons is found. When not in the dark, the colors are visible, especially the blood.

Special Features

--Audio Commentary by Director Uwe Boll
Maybe one of the worst and the funniest commentaries to ever surface on a DVD. Director Uwe Boll speaks swiftly about all areas of the production and all his intentions with the film. Though amusing, you will ask yourself continuously what he was thinking.

--Into the Dark: Behind the Scenes of Alone in the Dark
This is a typical making of feature that contains interviews with the cast and crew. Stephen Dorff is the only actor not interviewed, and probably because he knew how bad a production the film was. It is hilarious how much the writer of the film and Uwe Boll think that this film is great. Boll’s egotistical side comes out, and though the basis of the video game is mentioned, it is never focused on. The feature also does not last too long, which is good.

--Shedding A Light: The Visual Effects of Alone in the Dark
This extra feature contains numerous interviews and in depth looks at all of the visual effects used in Alone in the Dark. The interviews reflect that the effect artists know what they are doing, but just don’t utilize their ideas together too well. There is one sequence in the film that is so cheaply done with Tara Reid among everyone just shooting in the dark. The sequence looks horrendous and in this feature, the visual effect gurus show that none of the actors were shooting their guns, all of the sounds, and flashes of light were added as visual effects. Like most of the film, bad idea. The artists also get too excited over using a pointless green screen in the introduction of “713” and the character of Burke.

--Music Videos
“Uredesbyrd” by Dimmu Borgir
“Eraser” by Hypocrisy
“The Quiet Place” by In Flames
“As I Slither” by Kataklysm
“Deathbox” by Mnemic

--Storyboard to Screen
The opening chase sequence with Slater’s character and the half demon, half human predator is storyboarded in this feature. What is most amusing about this feature is that some of Boll’s cheeseball choices, such as slow-motion and rising backflips are not part of the original storyboards.

--Alone in the Dark Trivia Track
By turning on this special feature, little trivia facts not only about the film, but the cast and crew pop up occasionally. It is a nice idea, but not too revealing.

--Bullet Time Animatic
This is another visual effect feature that shows in detail the utilization and creation of the “one” bullet time moment in the film that as stated before is pretty weak.

--Trailer Gallery
Theatrical Trailer of Alone in the Dark
DVD trailer for House of the Dead
DVD trailer for Stephen King’s Riding the Bullet
DVD trailer for The Final Cut

Overall:

Alone in the Dark is a very dismal DVD, mostly because of how bad the film is itself. The extra features will only be fun for those few people that enjoyed this film. One of the worst films of the year thus far. Let’s hope that Uwe Boll never gets another project to make again, and that soon Stephen Dorff will get a smart supporting role in a solid ensemble film. This is cheap, horrendous, filmmaking at its worst.

The Film: F
Video: C+
Audio: C+
Extra Features: C-



Bailey Henderson

Region 1 Release Date: 05/10/05
Dolby Digital 5.1
DTS Surround ES 6.1 English
Subtitles: English and Spanish
24 Scene Selections
Widescreen (1:85)
Rated R for violence, language and some sexual content

Paranormal investigator Edward Carnby (Slater) is drawn into a battle between good and evil when he discovers an artefact that belongs to a long lost Native American civilization called the Abkani. Professor Lionel Hudgens (Walker) needs this to complete a key that will finally allow him to open a door that will unleash the pure evil on Earth. Carnby and Aline Cedrac (Reid) are the only ones who can stop his dastardly plan.

When it comes to transferring successful video games to the silver screen most adaptation miss more often than hit but can ‘Alone in the Dark’ change this? Definitely not!

The ‘Alone in the Dark’ franchise has been around since the early 1990s and has spurned four games with another in development. The game invented the survival horror genre and games like ‘Resident Evil’ and ‘Silent Hill’ owe everything to the adventures of paranormal investigator Edward Carnby because he was the original monster hunter. Investigating the occult and ghostly goings on, the character and his adventures should have been good material for a motion picture but that was until Uwe Boll and his team got involved.

For some unknown reason director Uwe Boll seems to the game industry’s go-to-guy when it comes to adapting games to the big screen and it is very hard to see why. He is a director that makes Ed Wood look like a master. Imagine if the so called ‘worst director in history’ was given a budget and some stars desperate for a hit and you would get better films than Uwe Boll is producing.

The film does absolutely nothing with the source material, using only the Edward Carnby name and the supernatural setting to link it with the gaming franchise. For a movie entitled ‘Alone in the Dark’, seventy-five percent of the film takes place in daylight, with only the climatic events taking you into darkness. Another major problem is that the film only has three monsters and one of those is a normal human taken over by a worm simbiot. This fact makes the film look cheap and undeveloped.

The script is also appalling. How can accomplished and well know actors like Christian Slater, Tara Reid and Stephen Dorff actually agree to deliver these awful and embarrassing lines? All of these actors maybe desperate for a hit but you have to wonder if they actually read the script before agreeing to appeal in this rubbish. For example, when Edward and Aline have an unneeded love scene, the music is ‘Seven Seconds’ by Youssou Ndour and Neneh Cherry, which is unintentionally funny.

With Uwe Boll involved in more upcoming video game adaptations, the future of big screen versions of hit game franchises is looking very bleak indeed. For anyone who is a fan of the ‘Alone in the Dark’ games they will be horrified by what they are witnessing because this isn’t the adaptation that they have been wishing for. Game companies really need to watch this film and his previous effort, the just as awful ‘House of the Dead’ before they let him loose on their games.

Star Rating = *

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1 with Dolby Digital 5.1 and dts surround sound tracks, the movie is presented extremely well.

BONUS FEATURES

In the Dark (7.42 mins)

Director Uwe Boll, writer Elan Mastan, producer Shawn Williamson and stars Christian Slater and Tara Reid talk about bringing the video game to the big screen. They reveal why they choose to not base the film on any of the game plot but to try and come up with a new Edward Carnby adventure. Christian Slater and Tara Reid talk about preparing for the film including fight and firearms training.

Shedding a Light (9.27 mins)

Visual effects supervisor Doug Oddy, visual effects Ted Gervan, visual effects compositors Joel Tong and John Fukushima and 3D artist Ben Wylie talk about the main visual effects shots in the movie. The group reveal the secret behind the Bureau 713 Base, the bullet time sequence, the sandworm and the battle in the darkness.

Storyboard to Screen

View storyboard to finish sequence comparisons for the ‘Pinkerton Chase’ and the ‘Sandworm’ sequence.

Bullet Time Animatic (1.32 mins)

View the computer generated walkthrough of the Pinkerton chase sequence.

Music Videos

Watch the music videos from the film including Dimmu Borgir’s ‘Vredesbyrd’, Mnemic’s ‘Death Box’, Hypocrisy’s ‘Eraser’, In Frames ‘The Quiet Place’ and Kataklysm’s ‘As I slither’.

Director’s Commentary

Uwe Boll talks about how he got involved in the project and why he has become fascinated with computer game adaptations. He reveals how the film was financed and how he uses his own funds to bring the projects to the silver screen. The then goes on to talk about the story and the changes to the character, revealing how he cast the production and the way he approached it. He is very enthusiastic about the film and his past and future prospects but you have to question some of his logic.

OVERALL

While the film maybe appalling, the DVD treatment isn’t too bad. With some decent featurettes and a commentary track from a director who clearly thinks he knows what he is doing, fans (if there are any) should be pleased with the DVD package.

Jamie Kelwick