Dark Remains (2005)

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

This is one of my favourite horror movies from the west. I love horror movies and I've seen most of them, Dark Remains was the first and only horror movie that I couldn't finish watching alone. Sure it is a B-movie, but it's a good one. I loved the acting and the story. I loved the characters in it and the horror elements. Dark Remains is not a jump-scare movie, it's not very typical western horror. Dark Remains is a psychological horror movie that builds up a suspense. I was surprised to see this type of horror from the west because the western horror films is often "not scary at all" jumpscares, that are way too predictable.

First, nobody can understand why this movie is rated so poorly. Not only is this the first real horrific movie since a very long time for me who am pretty hard-boiled with a decades long experience of horror starting with driving through dark rides (ghost trains) as a child. Second, the main actress Cheri Christian has a face that lets you hope she will be the leading actress in major pictures of the future. Third, this woman is that tremendously beautiful that I suggest the directors retire all those Cameron Diazes, Eva Mendezes, and how ever the names of these ephemeral bulb-lights are. Mrs. Christian is not a light, but a sun.However, "Dark remains" is also of considerable metaphysical importance. They idea that photographs shows creatures of the intermediary reign between reality and "imagination" that are not visible with one' own eyes is not new. But I have never seen in a movie before that those creatures are visible on the photographs only for certain people and only to certain times. This means that the photo is not just an iconic picture of reality (by which reality turns into a sign), but becomes an alternative form of reality which can change as the "real" reality can. Being a sign, the changing of the picture means that it influences the photographed objects, i.e. the sign behaves like an object. Now, in our usual world of perception, it is common that objects change signs. F.ex., if someone grows a bird, his photograph will show him with beard, not without, as it did before. But the opposite, the changing of objects by signs would imply that the photo with beard is first and only then the beard grows on the man. This is, very simply expressed, the case that happen with the photos taken by the main character in the prison, in this movie. This is new, and we must be thankful for everything new in horror movies which usually just repeat and reorder effects and features that are already well-known, mostly since the silent time.

Dark Remains is a home run plain and simple. The film is full of creepy visuals, and scares' that will make the most seasoned horror veteran jump straight out of there seat. The staircase scene in particular, these guys are good. Although they weren't working on a huge budget everything looks good, and the actors come through. Dark Remains does have one of those interpretive endings which may be a negative for some, but I guess it makes you think. Cheri Christian and Greg Thompson are spot on as the grieving couple trying to rebuild there lives', however some side characters like the Sheriff didn't convince me. They aren't all that important anyways. I give Dark Remains a perfect ten rating for being ten times scarier than any recent studio ghost story/ Japanese remake.

"Dark Remains" caught my interest when I'd seen it mentioned in Fangoria magazine, and it seemed like an interesting flick. The story follows Julie and Allen, a young city couple who find their young daughter savagely murdered in her bed one night. To retreat from the stress of the city, the two move to a remote mountain cabin home for awhile. Things seem normal enough, and it is a nice house. As the relationship between the couple deteriorates, Julie spends most of her time taking photographs, and becoming fascinated with an abandoned prison near the house. But after inviting some friends over one weekend, and having a very strange experience, they realize something isn't right in the home, and uncover a series of previous, numerous deaths in the area - and they may be the next victims.I was half surprised and half disappointed with his film, as strange as that may sound. I liked the storyline - it was an attempt at originality and it was nicely written, with a few problems here and there (mainly being with the way it all ended). The atmosphere reminded me a bit of a mixture between "The Shining" and "The Evil Dead" - I don't know if I'm crazy, but for some reason those two films kept popping into my mind as I watched this. It may have had to do with the basic setting (being an isolated cabin with a dark past) and the makeup effects on the ghosts, which was very reminiscent of "The Evil Dead". I did find the film sufficiently scary, and I was creeped out on quite a few occasions. The sets were great, and added to the film's atmosphere as well. But with these positive points, there are quite a few downfalls too.First off, the biggest downfall in this movie was the acting. I've seen worse, but it was pretty mediocre at best, reminding me of something you'd see on a soap opera. Lines were delivered sloppily (although this may have been in part the fault of the script, because some of the written dialog was a little ridiculous), and the chemistry between the two main characters (husband and wife) just wasn't right. They seemed more like father and daughter to me, and that was a little strange. Overall, the acting was pretty flat, which is unfortunate and really hurt the movie. Along with this, there are some problems with the story too. Things don't quite "mesh" I guess you could say, and I was a little bit confused with the entire thing when it ended.Overall, "Dark Remains" is really a mixed bag. It has some good things about it, but also some bad as well. I liked the story and the setting, and there were some really creepy things about it. But on the other hand, the acting was pretty flat and the script wasn't the best. It felt amateurish to me, although it was pretty good for being amateur. I'm not quite sure, I can't really figure out my opinion on this movie. Basically, rent it if you like indie horror films, because there is some stuff worth seeing - but there is also some stuff that you could do without that will be carried along with it. Half and half for me. 5/10.