Customer Reviews

Dark Country

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Some movies smack you square in the face, presenting everything up front and knocking the wind out of you with the scares they have to offer. Others offer a slow boil, brewing away, giving you information one piece at a time. The clues are there but for some reason they never seem to show themselves clearly until the end. DARK COUNTRY is one such film.

Thomas Jane (who also directed) is Richard, a man we know little about other than that he just met the love of his life in Vegas named Gina (Lauren German) and the pair have united in holy matrimony. Waking the next morning, they prepare to move on down the road by driving at night to avoid the heat of the desert.
In true film noir fashion, Richard narrates the film and gives his perspective now and then as to what is going on. The night time drive is one filled with discovery as the pair find out more about each other, something most people do prior to rather than after the wedding. During their discussion, the heat rises not only from the desert but from a tease Gina offers Richard that results in some erotic yet not non-nude goings on.

As they drive, Richard comments about the sky being so clear in the desert you can drive without your lights on. But when they click them back on the first thing they see is a man stumbling across the road in front of them. They swerve, barely avoiding him but enough to end up off the road. Going back to see if he is okay, they find him alive but banged up beyond recognition.

Further up the road they see his car overturned and realize he's been injured severely, most of his face a bloody pulp. They gather him up, place him in the back seat and head out to find help.

But as with all good episodes of the classic TV series TWILIGHT ZONE, everything is not what it seems. The victim wakes, at first screaming, then laughing and finally talking to his rescuers. His appearance makes Gina uncomfortable, understandably so. And as the trip progresses, he turns from thankful victim to attacker, resulting in a fight with Richard and his apparent death.

Deciding the best way to handle the situation is to simply bury him in the desert to avoid the police, the pair does so. It's not until later down the road that Richard realizes he buried his watch along with him. Returning to the burial site, they find the grave open and the victim gone.

It is here things turn even more strange with a roadside rest area, a major argument between the two leads and the culmination of posters seeking missing people that all come together. Add to the mix a state trooper played by Ron Perlman and the strangeness gets twisted and turned enough to hold your interest until the last reel unfolds.

The film plays to many of the classic film noir modes, offering the narration I mentioned earlier as well as looking at a seedier side of life that can not result in Disney type glory. These are battered people whose past lives make no difference but who breathe that lifestyle in all they say and do.

The film was shot in a special 3-D system (that doesn't transfer on DVD) that gives it a sort of SIN CITY look that bodes well for the tone of the film. The desert here feels hot, emitting an onscreen heat that you can feel while watching. The night feels strange as shot here. Both become not just scenes but characters in this story.

Jane and German do a great job in their roles. Jane as the love struck sap willing to do anything for the woman he thinks he loves. German as the seductive woman who sees the chance at a new life with a man who loves here. As I said before, these are not character traits that are explained but ones that develop from the characters we watch on screen.

The ending is something most viewers won't see coming. It caught me off guard, not startlingly so but in the surprise of it. Jane as director does a good job of letting this story come at you not in a rush but as a slow burn.

Not directly a title for Halloween, but perhaps one that would be good leading up to that mysterious holiday. DARK COUNTRY, while not a perfect film, offers what few movies these days will do. It's a slowly unfolding tale that directs the viewer down the paths it chooses as opposed to what they want. And that disturbing journey is one worth taking for a night's rental.

Two newlyweds from Vegas are making a night drive through the desert. They come across a bloody, disfigured man who's been in a car wreck. And everything goes downhill from there...

They don't make them like this anymore. DARK COUNTRY is low-budget noir/horror at its finest, a crass, violent, remorseless film whose script (kudus to Tab Murphy) owes quite a bit to Mickey Spillane's hard-hitting noir novels and Richard Matheson's tripping "Twilight Zone" episodes. It is dark and twisted, somewhat of a character study revolving around a couple (Thomas Jane and Lauren German, who manage to carry damn near the whole movie) who don't really know each other, and begin to find out things they aren't comfortable with. Jane's directing is solid; he knows what he wants--a low budget movie that LOOKS low budget--and manages to pull it off with only a few minor hitches (it slows down a bit near the end, becomes a bit too convoluted to follow closely). However, it looks cool and feels trippy. Throw in a few possible supernatural twists, an appearance by Ron Perlman (whose character isn't necessary at all, but it's still nice to see his ugly mug), and an ending Rod Serling would be proud of, and you have one hell of a film.

A direct to DVD release that is better than some movies I have seen with a $50 million dollar budget.

The other review hit it dead on. If you like the Twilight Zone, then you'll love this.

Don't expect a fancy product - what you get is just good story telling with plenty of tension.

A great, thoroughly entertaining movie with a compact, riveting story and fierce scenescapes. Too bad we couldn't see it in the theaters. I heard it was shot in 3-D and intended to be shown as such, but went straight to DVD instead. Hopefully home theater catches up, and we can see this as it was intended to be shown, sooner than later.

I really enjoyed this movie. It was like a nightmare. The strange atmosphere really set in properly to make everything work. Its a dark movie, that seems so surreal at times, that you have to wonder whether its really all just a nightmare, were the protagonist will wake up at the end of the movie. I guess I also enjoyed it so much because its so vastly different from just about all the recent movies I've seen. I mean, its not at all a horror movie, and its not really a thriller either, but yet it manages to keep you in suspense virtually the entire time.
Definitely worth seeing if your tired of all the generic horror stuff out there.

I purchased Dark country starring thomas jane-who was in a punisher movie.( and like somebody said here before thomas janes punisher was the best punisher movie of all of the punisher movies thus far)but back to the movie dark country...I thought the movie dark country was a good, atmospheric, twilight zone like movie.if you like the twilight zone you will probably like this one too. it was about about two honeymooners(thomas jane & lauren german)who rescue a mysterious car crash survivor in the middle of the las vegas desert but their decision to save the man becomes regrettable when he turns on them and crazy things happen. I thought the plot,the atmospheric scenes,cool car,hotel,bar,rest room,etc where all well done with a surprise ending to boot! some people here did not like this movie but I sure did and I recommend it,especially if your a fan of rod serlings twilight zone like I am.

Starring and directed by Thomas Jane (The Mist, The Punisher, HBO's Hung), Dark Country is an impressive little horror noir in which a newlywed couple (Jane and Lauren German) come across a severely injured man while driving in the desert night. After trying to help the man, he attacks them, and that's only the beginning of the couple's troubles as we soon learn that things are not quite all they seem here. Shot in less than a month on a very low budget, Jane makes an impressive turn as a director here, managing to make the most of what little he and his crew have to work with here. Even though Jane has voiced his displeasure over the film not being presented in what he feels is the best cut, or the fact that it isn't even presented in the intended 3-D format he had in mind, Dark Country still manages to be a compelling, trippy, and surprising little film up to and including its shocker ending, which ends up taking a page right out of The Twilight Zone. With some gorgeous cinematography (and visual advising from comic artists Tim Bradstreet and Swamp Thing co-creator Bernie Wrightson) and Jane's good pal Ron "Hellboy" Perlman on board as well, Dark Country is a more than worthwhile trip that is wholeheartedly worth checking out at the very least. And here's hoping that we'll get to see more of Thomas Jane in the director's chair as well.

Following a newly wedded couple travelling at night through the desert, Dark Country (2009) takes you on a strange journey that features a huge twist that makes it hard to say much without giving things away. Supposedly shot in 3D, the film is actor Thomas Jane's directorial debut. While fairly well written, and with some quality acting, viewed on a standard television, the poorly rendered CG effects tend to detract from the overall impact of the film, which Jane intended to be in the spirit of Rod Serling's Twilight Zone. Some spoilers follow, so proceed at your own risk.

On something of a whim, Dick (Thomas Jane) and Gina (Lauren German) got married in Las Vegas. They are on the road in the middle of the night headed for California, when they almost run into a man standing in the highway. Pulling over, they discover that the man has a mangled face and is badly injured. Unable to call for help, the couple put him into their car and head off in search of a hospital. When the injured man unexpectedly turns homicidal, Dick kills him. After the couple buries the body in the desert, they pull over at a rest stop, where Dick discovers that his watch, which can be traced to him, is missing. Gina remains behind, while he returns to the grave site. What follows mostly involves the film's big twist, which has Dick on the run from the law, but unable to escape what fate has in store for him.

Much of the film features the couple driving in their car. Apparently all these scenes were shot against a green screen, and unfortunately the processed final images look terribly fake, and are a major visual distraction. Putting this issue aside, elements of mystery and intrigue do help make Dark Country an interesting watch. However, how satisfying the story may be is an open question.

Lauren German (Hostel Part II) is very good, and Ron Perlman (Hellboy) adds some credibility in a small role as a police officer. Besides directing, Thomas Jane also contributed to the screenplay. Jane discusses his thoughts on making the film in a commentary track. The film rates 3.5 stars for the story and general execution, but the spotty special effects drop the rating to 3 stars.

Riveting, mesmerizing, fascinating and other words that end in 'ing'! This was fantastic! It is a dark movie of the type that either grabs one or not. It did me! Not going to go into some long review. Suffice it to say this one grabbed me at the beginning and did not let go until the bizarre ending! Highly recommended!

If you like Twilight Zone type stuff, then this is very well done. It has a surreal quality to it that totally works for the material.