User reviews

Not a whole lot to say about this film. It probably could have been decent given that that they seemed to have a good budget and some good actors, but they chose to go a very mediocre clichéd route with it instead.

The story was very predictable, which really hurt the film since this is pretty much all story. Aside from a few jump scares, the entire thing was pretty dull and boring.

It wasn't horrible, I watched the whole thing with out any temptation to shut it off, but it just felt like something I have already seen over and over again.

4/10

Actually you are not so much in the dark during the movie (metaphorically speaking, literally there is quite some darkness here). But the clichés and the direction the movie takes is so obvious, that some might feel insulted by the movie. Still the acting is decent enough and the story flows in the right direction.

Kids in danger/peril is always something that will get peoples attention, especially under the circumstances it happens here. The decisions people make are not always great, but we have seen characters behave worse in other horror movies. Plus the little girl is really sweet and it will be tough not to like her for people. A thing needed, otherwise the movie wouldn't work at all ...

My review probably isn't going to add a whole lot because quite honestly this is a RARE case where I actually agree with just about EVERYONE else in what they have said in their Summaries about this film...

Basically, I suppose I just wanted to add my general agreement with most people here that the film is not terrible at all. The mood and look of the film is nice, the acting and direction are decent, and there are a FEW scary moments, but ultimately, I just don't think that it has enough depth and substance to make it a very effective Horror film. I guess I AM a bit of a sucker for Haunted Children stories, but there are two other films similar to this one that I personally like a ***LOT*** better and I wanted to come here and mention them because they have a very similar theme, but I feel are far better movies.

'THE ORPHANAGE' (2007) An exquisitely moody Spanish film by one of Guillermo Del Toro's protégés.

'THE AWAKENING' (2011) A very effective British Period Horror film about a Haunted Hospital starring Rebecca Hall. I think that I rated them both 9/10

So, FWIW, I thought that if the premise of this film caught your interest, I really wanted to be sure to tell you about these two other films which I feel are amongst the best of this Genre. I highly recommend them!

About this movie... Basically, the technical aspects are just fine. The acting and direction are good. I feel that the director did moderately well in creating a fairly decent mood. But, I think that maybe the story itself and perhaps the way it was developed could have used a bit more complexity and depth. Otherwise, it is a pretty much just a passably mild, 'Haunted Children' Horror film. And Stephen Rea is all but wasted in his role, really.

I actually gave this a '5' which is a little higher than it's current 4.x, for what it's worth...

P.S: BTW, I haven't seen it yet (although I've bloody HAD the film for like 3 years) but the Spanish made, English speaking movie 'FRAGILE' (2005) starring Calista Flockhart, also about a Haunted children's Hospital, looks pretty damn good...

If you can get past the Americans with a British child.... okay.

If you can make it past the complete lack of chemistry between the co-star couple.... good luck.

If you even make it past the boner of a story..... I'm impressed.

I know I'll never get that time back but it was on Hulu so at least it was free.

Not scary (often boring) ghost movie about an American family in Colombia terrorized by local spooks mad at grandpa. Gramps is a businessman so, like every movie businessman ever, he's got blood on his hands. It's all pretty clichéd stuff and not the least bit unnerving or frightening. The jump scares didn't even make me twitch. My butt was asleep by the end of it. Speaking of the end, there's at least one bit that's unbelievably corny. If you have the guts to sit through this, you'll see what I'm referring to.

Julia Stiles and Scott Speedman have both done better. They have no chemistry and their work here is forgettable. Pixie Davies plays the young daughter in constant danger. While she is certainly a cutie patootie, she's not a very good little actress. She has a heavy British accent while both of her parents are Americans. Even Stephen Rea, playing her grandpa, is using an American accent. I missed it when I watched but apparently there was a throwaway line of dialogue in the beginning that said the family had been living in London. Pretty flimsy but there you go. This was the first English-language film from this production company so perhaps it went unnoticed by everybody that Pixie couldn't change her accent until it was too late to recast. Or maybe they just didn't give a flip. It's not like it would have saved the movie or anything. It's a dud regardless.

Think of what you want most in the world.

The good news is that it's probably going to be replaced by something more realistic when you get to around the 20 minute mark of this film. The bad news is it will feel just as unlikely to happen.

"Out of the Dark" is a mercilessly slow, plodding and derivative drama, not a horror/thriller as advertised. There is little to no action to speak of until the last few minutes and nothing to break up the laborious crawl towards the finale. The half decent twist towards the end will be wasted on the comatose audience.

A pointless regurgitation of scenes and clichés filmed a million times before, in the form of a 20 minute story dragged out for three and a half hours.

2 marks for the film itself plus a bonus mark for the fact that it defied the odds and did actually end.

The premise was good, but poor execution. No subtitles for foreign dialogue, a "British" speaking child to American parents. Overall it was just chaotic.

As a Horror fan, the ghost-story and haunting sub-genre has always been my favourite. As a general cinema fan, Julia Stiles has been one of my favourite actresses since 10 Things I hate About You. And then we have the privilege of a child actress taking her first steps in what might become a long and successful career! What could possibly go wrong? The answer is everything else.

Yes, the acting is decent, though I would really like to see Stiles starring as a main character in a Horror film. When your favourite actors aren't usually taking part in films from your favourite genre, it's frustrating at times. Yes, little Pixie Davies is everything a passive child victim is cut out to be in such films - innocent, adorable and helpless. Here ends anything really positive I have to say.

While I can't think of an example for this story being used before, it doesn't feel original or innovative, and doesn't really keep you on edge guessing till the end. The ghosts are simply not scary. The "jump scares" are predictable and ineffective, and that's really saying something, since as we all know well thought off and finely designed jump=scares work even when you're expecting them (how could a film mess up the cheapest horror trick of the 21st century?). I actually found myself bored towards the second half of the film. Me? Bored in a horror film? Never happens. Honestly. Never.

I can't stress how much I wanted to be able to give a good review. Getting Julia Stiles in a ghost-story was a dream come true. But the dream turned into a nightmare, and not in a good horror kind of way. I'm painfully disappointed. Then again, my disappointment is probably due to my high expectations. If you watch this with no expectations whatsoever - you will probably enjoy it. It's good for a few scares, especially for people who aren't usual horror viewers. But personally and subjectively - ugh, what a let down...

The story is one that has been seen before in similar films to "Out Of The Dark" with a family moving to a new place but unfortunately pick one cursed by a tragic past, and lingering paranormal influence. Quilez's story is a good one though, framing this construct in a beautiful, subtropical location, disturbing historical area steeped in superstition and legend. Plus he gives us a clear message of cruelties brought about by foreign companies exploitation of almost "third world" regions for profit, all wrapped nicely in a chilling supernatural thriller with some vengeful spirits.

"Out Of The Dark" does have some pretty cool make-up artistry and special effects. It is a mix of semi-gory practical design and expected CGI ghost-y stuff. Although instead of feeling redundant, the CGI in "Out Of The Dark" is creative and at times beautiful in its cinematography. The atmosphere is a blend of warming with the family taking in the beauty of their new home, and the darker, chilling aspects of past tragedy, a cursed people, and a family hunted by angry spirits. The soundtrack is equally intense and eerie. Plus there are moments when the quick shock gimmicks actually scared me a bit.

Overall "Out Of The Dark" is a nicely produced, creative thriller with a lot of suspense and drama. The cast give acceptable performances and the characters are developed nicely, the native Colombians more so than the family. The ghost children are haunting and creepy. On the down side though it becomes too clear too early in the story as to the true nature of "Out Of The Dark" so some of the thrill and suspense does get lost during the final 3rd of the film. The ending feels a bit drawn out and unnecessary at the very end, not in the actually story aspects but more the visual- conceptual stuff used at the end. It could have used less theatrics and been more effective. Anyway "Out Of The Dark" is a cool, entertaining story with a more mature narrative that shows some real heart.

I think that some movie creators really believe that if they put the word "dark" in the title it'll automatically be scary.

This was one very generic ghost story.

Let's look at the typical ghost story formula (the rest MAY be considered a spoiler so avert thy eyes now if you don't want this movie to potentially be ruined).

1.) someone killed in an unjust manner.

2.) unjustly killed has a ghost that terrorizes.

3.) character being terrorized finds out the history/true story behind the unjust death.

4.) ghost is placated or subdued due to the discovery.

The jump scares, spooky music and ominous setting is all there for setting the mood. If this is your first ghost movie go-round then maybe you were impressed; as for me, SMH.

This is a very good Supernatural/Horror movie, and thankfully, it wasn't the typical Slasher type flick that most of the Naysayers posting here were probably expecting. It's truly disappointing that no one else seems to be able to appreciate a Supernatural type movie without all the blood, gore and spilled intestines of other less desirable Supernatural movies.

Definitely worth watching if you enjoy a more realistic storyline without the usual senseless slashing/killing of other Horror movies. The location setting on the Western Caribbean coast of Northern Colombia and the use of the town's indigenous population's past tragedy involving some of their children, is very useful in creating the dark and ghostly atmosphere that surrounds the movie itself.

Greetings from Lithuania.

"Out of the Dark" (2014) is more of a mystery thriller with some horror elements rather then a horror movie. It's not scary, yet it has some jump scare moments, which are kinda generic and predictable. If you will start watching this movie in hope to see a great horror movie, you will end up disappointed.

That said, "Out of the Dark" is more of a mystery movie. Plot is simple, yet not that bad. The best parts of this movie in my opinion was solid cinematography, gorgeous locations (shoot at location in Columbia), nice acting by J.Stiles (unfortunately Scott Speedman was miscast here) and some very nice pacing of this movie. Director did kinda nice job, but script in here should have been improved.

Overall, "Out of the Dark" is not a bad movie, it's just not a horror as it's advertisement says. It's nice to see some scenery change once in a while, and this movie has one. Good pacing, nice acting by lead actress, solid cinematography and some mystery story with horror elements makes this movie a worth seeing once.

The opening of the film sets the pace (or lack of rather) for what's coming! If you find the stair scene somewhat exciting then by all means, keep watching, but be aware - this is as 'spooky' as it gets. It is all dragged out and without suspense, no jump scenes - though they do try their hardest, a bit too hard.. it just falls flat. This movie is completely non-convincing (both acting and script). The twist is OK but they could've done so much more with it. Stiles make a bad movie worse by just walking around yelling in the end, for what feels like forever. When you are forced to turn down the volume on a scary movie then there is something very wrong! Do yourself a favour and watch something else. My (generous) rating: 3/10. This is simply a weekend filler and make sure to save it for days when there is absolutely nothing else, and I mean NOTHING else, left to watch.

Maybe the lamest horror movie I've watched in 10 years. Fell flat on its face. I never include a plot synopsis as you can find that elsewhere, rather I simply rate the movie and talk about it as a good movie or bad; but there isn't much to talk about here. A promising start and decent premise gave way to clichè spooks and the same scare over and over send over and over and...... A face would appear out of nowhere in a flash of light and the same Julia Roberts-type scare scream repeated til you get tired of it. Worth your time? Only for the eternally bored, diehards of the genre, movie critics, or if there's nothing else to watch. If you don't meet those criteria, watch something else.....

Out of the Dark is a painfully uninspired horror film that fails in nearly every aspect. The story is generic, the scares are nonexistent, and the pacing makes it feel like a chore to sit through. What's most frustrating is seeing Julia in such a weak and forgettable project. She is an incredibly talented actress, and this film does absolutely nothing to showcase her abilities.

On top of that, the direction and writing are so poor that even her presence can't save the film. It's a shame to see her talent wasted on a movie that doesn't deserve it. Not to mention, Julia is absolutely stunning, but even her beauty is overshadowed by the film's dull execution.

There is little reason to recommend Out of the Dark-it's a film that lacks originality, tension, or any lasting impact. Julia deserves far better roles than this.

Here's the thing, it has a good cast. It has a somewhat decent story. The problem is that this movie made me hate a kid and that's not good. The little girl was clearly directed to be a dumb little kid, and the lines made it worse. I hate to say that because it sounds so cruel but the little actress ruined it. If she reads this, bc there aren't many reviews, it's not your fault lol, it's the directors.

OUT OF THE DARK is an entirely predictable US-financed ghost story that unfortunately gains little from being shot in Colombia with a Colombian crew and Spanish director. The story feels like the usual 'Americans abroad' type tale and indeed when the ghostly back story kicks in, although it's mildly inventive, it bears too much similarity to previous ghost films like THEY WAIT, a Canadian film in which almost exactly the same stuff happens to a family who move to China with their kid and are haunted by sweat-shop ghosts.

That's not to say that this film is particularly poor, because it's certainly adequate by genre standards and it refreshingly focuses on attempted chills rather than gore effects, but it's still a disappointment. Julia Stiles and Scott Speedman can do little with their predictable characters and the acting of the kid is little to write home about either. Stephen Rea stars in another 'pick up the pay cheque' type supporting role and as a whole the scary moments seem derived from the likes of SILENT HILL rather than being truly original. It's just about passable, but only if you're almost entirely unfamiliar with this entire genre of film.

The timing here, coupled with the sound, ensures there are plenty of jump-out-of your-seat scares. Good cameras are used, and even if you are not into horror, the clear image gives wonderful backdrops of a green and colourful Columbia. The story is a clever sleight of hand, which (on the dvd) leads to an interesting, and important, raison d'être right after the closing scene. Very sparse but clever use of special effects, poignant toward the end. Watch for them, they are hard to spot, but they are an important part of the puzzle. The actors are top shelf and fully committed, and the daughter is irresistible cute. One cares what happens to her straight away. There's a sense of professionalism to the technical aspects, particularly the editing and shot framing, and it is spooky. I docked it a couple of points because at a certain point toward the end all plot surprise is lost, and I thought what was needed was something more threatening, or wild, perhaps combined with special effects, some sort of horror frenzy to carry us over the finish line. I thought the 'ghosts' could have had a bit more bight even early on and certainly leading up to the finish, maybe a nasty sudden split-second slash or two. My opinion only. The film wasn't over-long and more could have been done with the cool final location. The success of this movie depended pretty much on the parents. The parents are authentic, sensible, conservative and not over-reactive, and thus there is a sense to Out Of The Dark that it is horror played like a quiet melody on a piano, rather than an overture by an orchestra, and I found that intelligent, refreshing and effective, and thus really enjoyed it.

Unfortunately, there doesn't see to be much space in the market for ghost stories that aren't horror movies. There's a review here called "Generic ghost story" which is accurate for the most part, but I'd like to add to it. The aforementioned review went through the steps of what a cliched ghost story is, but I think those steps describe what a ghost story is _supposed to be. I'm tired of all the horror movies that have no story, no explanation, and/or no resolution.

OTOH, this movie _is cliched. Not because it's a ghost story (that follows the steps of what makes a lot of ghost stories), but because it follows those steps in almost the same way that several other stories have done before.

I'm glad this movie at least made a decent attempt at a ghost story with story and heart and a reason behind it, unlike a lot of others these days. They just need a new story rather than copying one that's been done before.

Out Of The Dark is just an average movie, nothing special about it. It's one of those movies you watch once without much interest and than you completely forget about it. The acting isn't bad though, it's just the story that is not very captivating. They could have done better with that story. And by that I mean it's supposed to be a horror movie but there is just not enough horror for my taste. Sometimes you get a bit of masked children, almost always running away, and that's about it. The filming is okay without being special. There are just not enough special effects to make it interesting. All in all it's a missed opportunity to make a better movie with this story.

Lame. I think that is about the best word to use to describe Out of the Dark, and I think I'm being generous by not calling it anything worse. The reason I've not given it a lower rating than what I have is mainly due to it being decently acted, being quite dark, and it having some nice effects scattered throughout the film. A lot of people will probably think "Why did I bother to continue?" if they reach the end, though.

The film starts out promising enough, giving it some potential for it to be a decent wee film, but it just doesn't really pick up enough for this to happen, and apart from the odd moment here & there it stays pretty flat. It even lacks in the jump/scare department as well, and for a haunted horror film to not have any decent moments of the most common way to scare it's audience, doesn't bode well.

The story's rather predictable with no real twists or surprises, and is actually quite slow going for the most part, which can be OK as long as the story keeps your interest. This struggles to keep your interest, however, and it actually ends up feeling like a bit of a chore to make it through to the end.

As a wee side issue, the fact that this is an R rating is a bit of a joke, and is misleading if you're expecting a scary/violent film, because apart from the odd rare moment, nothing really warrants the R rating. In fact I've seen more violent/creepy PG-13 rated films.

Overall, Out of the Dark is just another below average run-of-the-mill haunted horror films that fails to deliver for about 90% of the time. It's not a horrendous movie, but it's definitely far from being one of the best.

The plot of the movie was interesting, but kinda basic (because, there are too many horror movies similar to this one). The storyline was just okay, nothing innovative. The filming location of the movie was basic (just a big house in the middle of nowhere), but it was nice. The characters were kinda interesting and likeable, but not very well-developed. It wasn't a really scary movie nor creepy and most jumpscares were definitely predictable. Of course, it was an intense movie (especially, the opening scene). The plot twist was kinda unexpected, but the ending scene was predictable. Overall, it was an average horror movie that I don't know if I would ever watch again.