Customer Reviews

ALONE IN THE DARK 2 - DVD Movie

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

To be honest I didn't think the first Alone in the Dark movie was quite as bad as its reputation. It was flawed but watchable. The sequel could have been good and it had an interesting cast, including Lance Henriksen and Danny Trejo. But the direction and most of the actors (especially the female lead) were bad and, most importantly, the story made no sense at all. It was not entertaining and not worth wasting time or money on.

While I was disappointed in the lack of action sequences, I think that including even half of the action from the game would have taken away from the realism of the film, as mountains of action sequences work a lot better in a game than they do on film. The film opts for a quieter tone, and a much more thoughtful and introspective approach. I appreciated this a lot, as a fan of the game.
The movie is well made, and well thought out. I was not disappointed in this aspect. I have to bring to life the fact that Alone in the Dark is not an horror movie at heart. It is a mystery film with a few horror scenes and an interessting visual style.

This ended up being one of those BDs where the extras, Blu quality and franchise name almost push this into a four-star category, but everything else dragged it right back down. Though I should say fans of the numerous recognizable actors in this will end up wanting a copy - especially with the price this is being given away at.

The story was intermittent and the short shooting schedule showed through in virtually every sequence, but it is always fun to watch Lance, Trejo and Ralf do their thing. The picture quality is excellent, even with the ghost effects. The DTS gets used well with the action scenes, but the sound itself is poorly done (dialogue/voice editing mix mostly). The flashy filming gets irritating very quickly, but the Blu clarity is solid enough you can see the strobe lanterns (subbing for lightning) in all of the outdoor shots, so screening this in the store did nothing for generating buzz. The supplements have a few worthy notes, including:

* Making of, 15 minutes. Mixes cuts from the other supplement/interviews with non-narrated behind the scenes footage that gets dry pretty fast. This extra closes with a shot of the crew falling asleep on set - long days presumably.
* Cast interviews, 8 sit-downs totaling 24:12 minutes, play all option. I would recommend watching Ralf's only as he actually interviews quite well (that and Lance's best snippet is in the making of). Even if you are anti-Uwe Boll (most of this film's criticism is from his hate club) Ralf mentions his production ethic and other assorted goodies. But the classic moment is him mentioning a desire to work in theater; I have liked this guy going back to Gladiator so hope he gets his wish.
* Crew commentary.

No region coding shown, English SDH only and English 5.1 only. Aside from the pain of watching some cheesy acting, subpar writing and an incomprehensible storyline, you are getting a decent Blu. Cannot give this above an average rating, 1.5 for the film, 1.5 for the BD clarity and extras.

As any respected horror fan will attest, two words to strike fear in your heart are UWE BOLL. Although Boll doesn't direct, he is a producer so be warned. I must admit I saw the first AITD but don't remember it! So is this a sequel or not? On its own, though, it's pretty mundane. Rick Yune and Rachel Specter are pretty awful but vets Lance Henriksen, PJ Soles and Ralf Moeller try hard. The script is rather confusing and the editing/lighting annoying. And what's with the two different blades and the hidden trunk? Just not my cup of tea, Uwe.