INFO
Runtime: 1h 38m
Released: Jul 24, 2015
Language: English
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Drama
Rating: Not Rated
Writer: Tyler Hisel
Director: Jack Heller
Sound: Darren Morze
Producers: Joey Carey, Jack Heller, Dylan K. Narang, Stefan Nowicki, Dallas Sonnier, Morgan White
Cast: Kevin Durand, Lukas Haas, Bianca Kajlich, Nick Damici, Heath Freeman, Ethan Khusidman, Sabina Gadecki, Steve Agree, Jacob Grigolia-Rosenbaum, Billy Paterson
SUMMARY
The opening scene begins at a logging camp about 90 miles north of a very small town by the name of Maiden Woods. It is morning time and it has just started to snow, with several logging crews busy cutting down the forest in a hurry. By the end of the day, everyone is leaving and the supervisor tries to contact the last crew that has yet to checkout, but without success. When the supervisor goes to investigate, he is attacked by something that came out of the woods.
This thing that lived in the forest where its home was cut down, begins to migrate south towards town. What follows, is the beast begins to become a problem for the town sheriff: Paul Shields, played by Kevin Durand. The sheriff, who already has alot on his plate due to the death of his youngest son and recent separation from his wife, has to respond to calls about missing farm animals just outside of town. Then pets inside of town start to go missing, with these unusual hooved tracks that lead all through town. As the sheriff and his deputy try to solve the mystery, things begin to unravel as they begin to realize that there is an apex predator out there that has yet to be identified.
In the end, the townspeople take refuge in the local church in hopes to survive the night until the rangers show up in the morning to hunt this creature down. You'll have to watch the movie to find out what happens.
SCRIPT
The writer does a good job giving a back story to the main characters so that we care about them. It also does an excellent job at creating this dreary mood that the audience can really sink into. The characters come across as authentic, but the dialogue can be a bit quirky at times. The relationship between the sheriff and wife comes across as weird and unclear, but I think that was intentional to keep it from overpowering the main storyline.
DIRECTION
One of the things I really like about this movie is its use of blue, red, and yellow filters. It usually doesn't work out that well for a movie when abusing filters like this, but the director found a way to make it work. I think it really helps pitch the mood to the audience.
While others praised the CGI of the creature, I found it to be lacking, and I think the director realized this, and that's why we hardly see it during most of the movie, but worked out well, as all it did was add to the mystery of the movie.
The CGI of the credit roll at the end of the movie is also a really nice touch. It makes watching the credits worthwhile for a change. One of the best credit rolls that I've ever seen in a horror film.
CASTING
Kevin Durand who plays as the main character: sheriff Paul Shields, gives an outstanding performance that I couldn't imagine any other actor playing the role as good as he did. Actor Heath Freeman, who plays as Jim, the town asshole, has pretty good chemistry with Kevin Durand. The rest of the cast come off as awkward when they interact and certainly could have been better.
AUDIO
This movie has an awesome soundtrack produced by Darren Morze. You can listen to it at bandcamp.com. The whole soundtrack is great, but this track in particular, called End Credits For Saul is a must listen. This track is played when the credits begin to roll at the end of the movie. Personally, I think "Dark Was The Night" deserves an award for its soundtrack, but being an indie film, it didn't receive much attention.
CONCLUSION
This movie delivers on giving the audience a good old-fashioned campfire tale somewhat based on urban and rural legends. This is one of those movies about facing a threat while feeling isolated, which I personally enjoy. The main story is a monster-mystery-thriller, with the main character's back story being that of a drama. The writer & director do a good job of blending the two genres.
I wouldn't call this movie original though(not in a bad way), as it was very loosely based on true events in England 1855 referred to Devil's Footprints, where bi-pedal hoof-prints were found that seemed to travel over the roof of houses. Which also reminds me of stories about the Jersey Devil of Philadelphia, where a humanoid, winged, and hooved creature that can travel through the tops of trees. Some Crypto-zoologists have actually spent large amounts of money and resources trying to capture a Jersey Devil to prove it actually exists.
All in all, I'd watch it again though. Heck, I have watched it again, about twice a year, every year.
THE FINAL SCORECARD
STORY: 2/5
ACTING: 4/5
VISUAL: 4/5
SOUND: 5/5
MOOD: 5/5
OVERALL: 4.0
HIGHLIGHTS: The acting of Kevin Durand, Direction by the Director, and the Audio/Sound-Effects/Soundtrack.
PITFALLS: A lackluster story, and the Official Trailer does not seem to relate properly to the actual movie(This one is better).