MisterWhiplash This movie is one of those hazy memories I enjoy having, even as I haven't seen the film since this time. Back in junior high, this movie was on some tape a friend had (also with the bootleg of the Night of the Living Dead dub-spoof with the title that went on for a paragraph). This movie was on there before it, and we once watched it before going into the next film. The story was forgettable, as were the characters... but this filmmaker really went for the splatter, and it's this that made a mark for me. The ending is kind of spectacular: all of the vampires are out in the morning when the sun rises, and they all decompose. And it's not in such a way like in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (into dust) or some old-school Universal horror movie. No, this is bloody and disgusting.How bloody and messy and putrid you'll have to see for yourself. This isn't to say the acting is very memorable (it isn't) or the story compelling (what story). But the effects that they pull off for such a low budget, and how they build up to such a point by the climax and it being there to satisfy purely the gore hounds, is crazy and exciting and disturbing. I'd recommend the film just for the last 10/15 minutes alone... and of course I only hope this IS the film I remember seeing (a lot of movies called Darkness out there, and always seemingly half-remembered).

Dave Williams (ghosthunter-3) I found Darkness to be just too DARK. It had a kind of cool idea and some ambitious ideas, not bad action scenes and a few splashy moments to make you go UGH! BUT, it was underlit to the point of confusion. You don't really know what is always going on in the dark scenes and for a film that is shot on Super 8 Film, you already have all that nasty grain to deal with. As with Nathan Schiff movies, it's just too much. Director Leif Jonker seems to want to make an original film, but he lacks the know-how to do it. The camera is never pointed in the right place, lack of fundamentals such as how to shoot simple dialogue scenes and how to light a movie hurt as well. The actors are all pretty uneven and hammy. But despite these negatives, the music is good, the gore is plenty and ranges from silly putty to really good appliances. Is this a classic like it says? Is it worthy of the two discs worth of praise? NO. But it is a good first try. Now if these guys would stop patting themselves on the back about this movie (from what I understand here the only one they have ever finished) for a while and try again, they may do better.

fulcigore The title of this review sums up my opinion on this gore scale-tipping splatterfest. This is a movie made by gorehounds for gorehounds.The "story" follows a vampire outbreak in what looks like a small town. A few metalheads have to defend themselves against hordes of zompires (I call them this because even though the movie is about vampires, they are basically zombies who can't stand the sun). Gore ensues as some kids die, some carve the zompires up with chainsaws and other weapons, all leading up to the goriest meltdown that is one of the goriest scenes I have ever seen.Like I said, this movie is for gorehounds and basically no one else, but if you seek splatter, look no further than Leif Jonker's Darkness.

anomie666 Don't listen to the other guy. Sure, this movie is a mess as far as technique, lighting, sound, budget, etc. is concerned, but for a low-rent Hi-8 splatterfest this is one of the best I've seen in the independant market for quite some time. Darkness holds many moments of cinematic glory - the chainsaw farmhouse scene, the ending sunrise melting scene, the fact that most the vampires wear Iron Maiden T- shirts... This film is a buried gem and I implore all true fans of independent gore-based cinema to hunt this one down. Leif Jonker, I salute you. -RBT