Alone in the Dark: A Review
In the 2000s there was a trend of movie studios cashing in on successful horror franchises from the previous decade. Alone in the Dark was Lionsgate’s hat in the ring. This followed Sony Pictures Releasing’s Resident Evil (2002) and Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) movies. We also saw the release of Artisan Entertainment’s House of the Dead (2003). DOOM (2005), Silent Hill (2007) and a third Resident Evil film followed suit after Alone’s release.
The Alone in the Dark franchise was a successful endeavour during the 90s and helped the prominence of the survival horror gaming genre. Would this addition of the film carry on the pristine legacy of the game series? Let’s find out!
Plot
Edward Carnby (Christian Slater), a paranormal detective, investigates a mystery (the recent death of a friend) with clues leading to Shadow Island. He discovers that evil demons worshipped by an ancient culture called the Abskani plan on returning to life in the 21st century to once again take over the world… and only he and a young genius anthropologist (and his ex-girlfriend) can stop them.
Carnby’s path is hampered by the psychological impact of a brief meeting with an evil spirit known as the Queen, as he gradually finds himself overtaken by the powers of darkness, which also threaten his very grip on reality.
The Review
It has been a long, long time since I watched the first Resident Evil movie. From what I remember the emphasis was on fast-paced, effects-heavy action as opposed to horror. I will admit that I have not yet played any games from the Alone in the Dark franchise, so I can’t comment on how loyal the movie was to the game series. If I am right in my recollection, then this film follows the same formula.
I am not alone in this sentiment, watching this film was a tedious and boring affair. Alone is not a horror film. It is an action film rife with tired tropes of the genre, taken to the point of ad absurdum. Now if they added in some humour or some self-awareness, I could have forgiven the makers of this movie. The fact is, they didn’t, and it was absolutely dreadful as a result. It is unsurprising that the film was a commercial flop.
Stephen Dorff as Commander Burke ominously quoted that “this is only the beginning” about halfway in. It was at this point I caught myself saying “For f*ck’s sake” in frustration. You will not be fooled by the endless fast-paced action and combat scenes. They are only there to make you believe you’re having a good time.
The dialogue feels forced and you will lose track of what is actually going on. “The lengthy opening text crawl was added after numerous test audience members said they were confused by the plot” (IMDb), which says it all really… Then there is that ridiculous scene fight scene between the soldiers and the demons in what I think is a warehouse. That scene felt like a cringy music video, backed by djent metal that would have suited a DOOM game more than this flaming skip of rubbish. Omitting this would have saved me from second-hand embarrassment.
On the topic of cringy music choices, Nightwish’s Wish I Had an Angel for the credit role. Briefly, after facepalming, I realised the film had finished. Guess there was a silver lining to all this. This film is deserving of its low ratings, having a 1% TOMATOMETER rating, and a IMDb rating of 2.4 / 10. I wouldn’t waste my time with this. Although I am yet to watch the other films that followed the game-movie trend, I am still at this point tempted to conclude this is the worst of the bunch!
