Darkness Falls

Directed by Jonathan Liebesman, Darkness Falls follows Chaney Kley’s Kyle as he attempts to protect an old friend (Emma Caulfield’s Caitlin) and her son (Lee Cormie’s Michael) from a malevolent demon bent on death and destruction. Filmmaker Liebesman, working from a script by John Fasano, James Vanderbilt, and Joe Harris, delivers a derivative yet fairly watchable endeavor that benefits from an attention-grabbing prologue and opening stretch, although it’s equally clear that the picture does, beyond that point, suffer from a palpably bland atmosphere that’s perpetuated by Kley’s charisma-free turn as the rather one-dimensional protagonist. (And it doesn’t help, either, that Liebesman has infused the proceedings with a jittery, sporadically incoherent visual sensibility that dulls the impact of a few action-oriented interludes.) It’s clear, then, that Darkness Falls benefits from a second half that boasts a handful of unexpectedly compelling set-pieces, including an exciting sequence wherein the aforementioned demon goes on a murderous rampage within a police station, with the picture eventually building towards a special-effects-heavy climax that isn’t nearly as interminable or unwatchable as one might’ve feared – with the end result a decent-enough piece of work that doesn’t, thanks to a 75 minute (without credits) running time, really outstay its welcome. (There’s little doubt, as well, that the decision to eschew the hero’s tedious investigation into the apparition’s tragic past goes a long way towards perpetuating the better-than-anticipated vibe.)

**1/2 out of ****