‘Sometimes strangers can seem familiar’
The Dark Stranger is a 2015 Canadian horror film written and directed by Chris Trebilcock, making his feature debut.
The film is available on: Xbox Live, Amazon Instant Video, Google Play, VUDU, Sony PlayStation, YouTube, Vimeo On Demand and iTunes.
Main cast:
Katie Findlay (How To Get Away With Murder), Stephen McHattie (Pontypool), Enrico Colantoni, Mark O’Brien, Jennifer Dale, Alex Ozerov, Emma Campbell.
Plot:
Leah, a young artist, is recovering from a recent traumatic event and is afraid to leave her own home. After her father is visited by a suspicious art curator looking into her family’s past, she begins drawing a graphic novel in which there is an ominous Dark Stranger.
As work on the novel progresses, Leah begins to see The Dark Stranger in real life. She isn’t sure if she is completely losing her mind, or if the Dark Stranger is a supernatural force trying to destroy her…
Reviews:
“The examination of the link between depression and creativity is wonderful fodder for a horror film and there are elements of the film that work very well, particularly the performances and the direction. However, when the demon that is depression threatens to become too literal in the final act, the film starts to lose the sober gravitas that it so expertly built up during the first hour. Nonetheless, a solid effort from Trebilcock…” Really Awful Movies
“Director Chris Treblecock (who als o wrote the script) does a great job creating a wonderful atmosphere that allows the actors the freedom to really get into their roles. The movie is paced well and the movie moves from scene to scene very well. The only real problem I had with the film is the ‘evil’ that really doesn’t come out to play till that latter half of the movie.” Jeff Fountain, Geek Chic Elite
“The film’s tone doesn’t convince the audience of the stakes or impart a feeling of danger; one never doubts that Leah will eventually overcome and defeat the Stranger and, by extension, her fears and anxieties. This leaves most of the suspense to ride on the identity and nature of the Stranger, who turns out to possess a perfunctory origin story. This leads to the film’s anticlimactic resolution of the conflict, made all the more disappointing by Trebilcock’s good intensions. What The Dark Stranger does have in its favor is a strong cast with good chemistry…” Daniel Lackey, Cinema Axis
