Darken (2017)

(On Cable TV, May 2020) The dumbest movie trend of the 2010s, following the runaway success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was this single-minded determination to start massive interconnected projects without having the substance to back it up. But what’s hilarious when big studios do it (as with the multiple reboots of the Universal Monsters franchise) gets downright pathetic when it’s tried by filmmakers who have neither the means nor the skills to do it justice. Darken, a Canadian movie made in Canada with a Canadian cast and crew for Canadian audiences watching Canadian cable channels in their home in Canada (I’m Canadian, I can poke fun at CanCon) is about as low-budget as those attempts can be—a mysterious setup, miserable sets, a complete lack of conclusion and a promise that everything will continue in another follow-up (which, as of three years later, does not exist and most likely won’t ever) It almost gets at something in a plot that is both vague and obvious—obvious in having a hero overthrow a murderous cult, vague in a fantastic setting that is almost interestingly justified, but then dropped in the middle of a trite science-fiction coda that’s not intended to provide a resolution. (Followed by a post-credit sequence that’s more likely to make anyone groan than to intrigue.) Darken may be slightly more ambitious than your usual cheap SF film, but that only ends up creating more frustration when it doesn’t explore its own premise. Of the actors, only Olunike Adeliyi is good enough to keep her dignity. I seldom try to convince readers not to watch a film, but do yourself a favour and skip Darken—it’s bad enough by itself, and becomes pitiable because it thought it was good enough to lead to follow-ups.