Darkest Day – Movie Review

by | Mar 15, 2017 | Movie Reviews, Reviews | 0 comments

Darkest Day
Directed and Written by Dan Rickard
Produced by Simon Drake
May 8, 2015
Reviewed by A. Renee Hunt

Whenever I review indie movies, I have to remember many are coming from an extremely low budget – this one was £1,000. My mantra is: Focus on the story – Focus on the FX – Focus on the acting, etc. With Darkest Day, I got to focus on what I believe was the location of Brighton, as well as the story and so forth. This is a British horror B-movie, but does it measure up to my expectations of horror?

The story is about Dan, who’s lost his memory. After literally running into some survivors of what is now an abandoned city, he discovers a viral outbreak occurred, and people have become feral with infection. While he finds himself a place within the bunch, the military is hunting him, and like the bloodthirsty creatures hidden within the city, they won’t stop.

Darkest Day, working on a premise similar to 28 Days Later, is about the world losing out to a virus that morphs a person into a raging creature. Though most of the creatures just beat the living crap out of you, one does eat a victim, so possibly zombie-ish as well. But the storyline’s similarities end there. Dan has an unknown secret, which worked for the movie, but it wasn’t enough, due to the amateur acting and lackluster cinematography.

The acting was weak, and due to poor character development, they weren’t very likable or attachable. The cinematography needed stabilization, though the shakiness did work for the violent scenes, to not gross out the viewers. Even focus and sound were issues, which should have been cleared up, since it took seven years to make.

All in all, Darkest Day was mildly entertaining, but without a strong, original storyline, I’m not sure it will hit big in the industry.

Darkest Day released in May 2015.

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