Reviews
‘Out of Darkness’ Fantastic Fest Review – An Ambitious High Concept Stone Age Thriller
Andrew Cumming’s feature directorial debut, Out of Darkness (formerly The Origin), executes its high concept with impressive ambition. Not only does it travel back 45,000 years in time to tell the survival thriller, but Cummings and screenwriter Ruth Greenberg developed a fictional language for its characters. Combined with a handsomely shot production, it ensures that Out of Darkness beguiles, though it struggles to mine suspense from its thrills and falters in the destination.
Out of Darkness introduces six early human settlers in the midst of an arduous journey to find new land. They’ve traveled countless miles across desolate tundras, with food scarce and the elements harsh. As they approach a forest, it becomes clear that something is watching, stalking, and preying upon them one by one.
Cummings and Greenberg introduce this unique world and its characters around a campfire, establishing the merciless way of life and how it shapes its Stone Age inhabitants. Adem (Chuku Modu) is the Alpha male, leading his motley tribe through brute force and a steely determination. Adem is most protective of his first-born son, Heron (Luna Mwezi), with another potential son on the way with the very pregnant Ave (Iola Evans). Geirr (Kit Young) is also important to the clan as Adem’s capable but more reserved and less decisive second-in-command. The elder Odal’s (Arno Lüning) superstitions and fear put him almost near the bottom of the pack. Almost. The group picked up stray Beyah (Safia Oakley-Green) along their journeys, making her the most disposable even as she works hard to prove her worth.
Cinematography Ben Fordesman (Saint Maud) makes for Out of Darkness’s strongest asset, along with the lush production value provided by the Scottish Highlands that serve as the harsh Stone Age terrain. Night feels like a thick, pitch-black abyss with only the faint flickers of campfire flames to chase away the encroaching danger. The landscapes are stunning but unforgiving. Even the foggy, foreboding forests lend personality to this world. It’s bolstered by Paul Davies’ sound design, especially regarding the eerie clicks, growls, and screeches echoing across wide spaces, signaling the lurking threat.
Both go a long way in distracting from the lack of tension employed. It’s the human conflicts that take center stage, and the few intense encounters with their unseen foe often don’t wring the chills necessary to escalate the stakes. Cummings wisely keeps this mysterious creature off-screen for as long as possible, stretching intrigue along the path peppered by a few brutal deaths. But when the answers start coming, Out of Darkness slips from a Stone Age thriller into a morose, didactic commentary on humanity, frequently revealed through this clan’s hierarchy.
The handsomely shot and stunning craft on display makes for an impressive debut by Cummings. The high concept ultimately falls apart by the final bow, and some might feel short-changed by the premise. Out of Darkness defies narrative expectations in many ways, and a spirited performance by Oakley-Green maintains rooting interest. While that ultimately may prove divisive, Cummings establishes himself as one to watch straightaway for the bold approach to an intensely ambitious production.
Out of Darkness screened at Fantastic Fest. Release info TBA.
Home Video
‘Killer Klowns from Outer Space’ 4K Review – It’s Time to Upgrade This Movie One More Time
Scream Factory has just released Killer Klowns from Outer Space in 4K to celebrate its 35th Anniversary, and what an exciting time to be a fan of the 1980s movie. With the recent surge of Klownapalooza happening in the past few years, including tons of merch made available by Spirit Halloween and the much-anticipated video game scheduled to be released next month, it seems apropos for the Klowns to finally make their 4K debut.
In 1988, the Chiodo Brothers (consisting of siblings Stephen, Charles and Edward) took their seemingly ridiculous premise of having otherworldly monsters in the form of circus clowns land on Earth to wreak havoc on a quiet little town and produced it into a full-length motion picture. Inspired by creature features and B-movies alike, their unconventional film with a deliberately hokey title would garner an initially significant following that evolved into a major cult classic close to four decades later.
In Killer Klowns, After seeing what they perceive to be a comet crash down in the woods, Mike (Grant Cramer, Hardbodies, New Year’s Evil) and Debbie (Suzanne Snyder, Weird Science, Return of the Living Dead Part 2) investigate, only to find a totally misplaced Big Top circus tent with some high-tech interior décor and loads of cotton candy. It all seems like a fun time for all, until Mike discovers that the cotton candy contains the bloody corpses of local townsfolk.
The couple seek help from the local police, who of course do not believe their whacky tale. It doesn’t help that the officers include the grumpy Curtis Mooney (played by the late John Vernon in a role almost as memorable as the Dean he portrayed in Animal House) and Debbie’s ex, Dave Hanson (John Allen Nelson, former Baywatch hunk). Hanson is more receptive to their accusations, because he still has a huge soft spot for Debbie, but also has some serious ill will towards Mike for being his replacement. This dynamic is understandably super awkward and a nice little subplot to get you to care about those characters, because who doesn’t enjoy a nice little love triangle. On the flip side, Mooney believes it is only a promotional stunt by Mike’s BFFs, the offbeat Terenzi Brothers (Michael S. Siegel and Peter Licassi), who sell ice cream out of their truck adorned with a giant clown head.
Soon the Klowns get down on the town and start their reign of terror. Will they take over the planet and turn it into one giant cotton candy cocoon? Will Dave win Debbie back or just pummel Mike to let his aggression out? Will the Terenzi Brothers score with the ladies without needing to bribe them with unlimited ice cream? Will Mooney ever crack a smile? All these questions and more are answered in the 88-minute running time.
The Chiodo Brothers created a bizarre yet beautiful carnival of creativity with the Killer Klowns universe that is a major part of the film’s appeal and hardcore fanbase. Let’s start with the Klown headliners— Jumbo, Fatso, Shorty (my boo), Rudy, Spikey, Slim, Bibbo, and Chubby. They are all great villains, vastly unique in look, personality, and weaponry. And that weaponry dreamt up by the Chiodo Brothers is as innovative as the Klowns themselves. The Klowns hunt their prey with cotton candy cocoon guns, flesh-eating popcorn, lethal shadow puppetry, super-sized mallets, animated balloon animals, and boxing gloves with some serious extra “pop.” And if you haven’t seen the film and you think those gadgets sound cool, well they are even more awesome to see in action. Even if the special effects are from the ’80s.
All this talk about extraterrestrial clowns and circus weaponry can easily overshadow our human stars. Kramer, Snyder, Nelson, and Mooney are all fantastic as the leads, playing their parts perfectly. And then there are appearances by veteran actor Royal Dano (Ghoulies 2) and Christopher Titus (Titus), well before his popularity hit its stride.
Now I am sure you are wondering how Scream Factory did with the transfer, and you will be pleased to know that they did an awesome job. The picture is absolutely gorgeous and quite a step up from the previous Blu-ray release. Considering that legacy Blu-ray looked pretty good, you can imagine how great the Dolby Vision is for this 4K presentation. Wish the audio was Dolby Atmos instead of DTS, but not a deal breaker by any means because the sound is fine.
The 4K also comes with a Blu-ray that houses the bonus features. There are not a ton of extras, but the ones they have are very interesting, even if previously released: a making-of featurette, an SFX featurette and a featurette dedicated to the film’s score. There are also deleted scenes, bloopers, audio commentary with the Chiodo Brothers, Easter Eggs, and more.
If you are ready to open your wallet and grab a copy, there are a few editions to choose from. You can either grab the standard edition, the deluxe edition that includes an exclusive slipcover, two posters and a Prism sticker, or the limited edition SteelBook—which this review is based on.
You can order one of these versions now at shoutfactory.com.
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