Category Archives: Dark

2013, Acceptable Science, Addiction, AIDS, Based on true facts, Crude Talk, Dark, DO NOT MISS, Drugs, Dysfunctional Lives, Explicit sex, Gambling, Gay theme, Grim, Homophobia, Human spirit, Nudity, Sex Scenes, Transvestite theme, Unusual, Violent

Dallas Buyers Club (2013)

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From Netflix:

Loosely based on true events, this drama follows Ron Woodroof, who refuses to accept he’ll die in 30 days when he’s diagnosed with AIDS in 1986. He extends his life and eventually helps many other AIDS patients by smuggling medications from abroad.

Repulsive! At least that was my first impression of Ron Woodroof who throughout the film is always “in your face”. His unbridled lifestyle of drugs, alcohol, and prostitutes leads to full-blown AIDS. He then spent the rest of his life (which was much longer than the doctors foresaw) smuggling medications from wherever he could. Along the way he eventually accepts as a friend a cross-dressing male prostitute despite the fact that Woodroof is portrayed as virulently homophobic. Also he eventually finds a helper and friend in a woman doctor from the local Dallas hospital.

My criterion for a good actor is one that is a true cameleon, that is to say, can adapt to many different parts. In my opinion, Matthew McConaughey has achieved cameleon-hood. Let’s hope he did not injure his health losing so much weight in order to look like a scrawny AIDS patient.

Be sure to consult the Wikipedia article which at the end contrasts the film plot with the true story.

If you don’t mind a view of America’s low life culture, in view of McConaughey’s performance, I call this a DO NOT MISS!

2013, Abduction, Dark, Detective, Drama, FBI, Flirting, Gay theme, Grim, Lawyers, Love Story, Made For TV, Mental Illness, Occasional gore, Psychological Thriller, Revenge, Sadism, Serial Killer, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Torture, Violent, Wonderful acting

The Following (2013)

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From NetFlix:

When escaped serial killer Joe Carroll goes on a new killing spree, reclusive former FBI agent Ryan Hardy is called in, having captured Carroll nine years ago. Hardy soon discovers that Carroll has a loyal following of killers ready to terrorize.

Fifteen TV episodes of psychosis, ugly violence, and really good acting offer you a guilty pleasure. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Kevin Bacon always delivers a great performance, including this gory series. James Purefoy makes a great psychotic and insidiously clever villain. Take note, in addition, of the trio of very young adults (Valorie Curry, Nico Tortorella, and Adan Canto) who provide a sadistic bisexual mini-drama on their own. Nothing is nice in this series except possibly Kyle Catlett who plays the little boy Joey.

Stream along with NetFlix and expect to be absorbed.

2010, Based on a Book, Basically Sad, Dark, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Drama, German, Murder Investigation, Nudity, Psychological Drama, Rape, Sensitive treatement of emotions, Suicide, Suspense, Wonderful acting, Wonderful photography

The Silence (2010)

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From Netflix:

When 13-year-old Sinikka goes missing from the same spot where another girl was murdered 23 years earlier, a retired investigator teams up with a younger colleague to unravel the parallel mysteries.

According to Wikipedia, this film is based on the German crime fiction novel The Silence (German: Das Schweigen) by Jan Costin Wagner. In fact the film is in German with subtitles.

Everything about this film is incredibly well done. Not only the story, but the photography, the pace, and above all else the acting.

Lifelong sadness over the loss of a loved-one is the pervasive theme of the film. From the very beginning we witness the initial rape and murder. (Later on we witness the second murder.) Rather than being a mystery story, the film centers on how the crimes effect each of the many characters: a retired detective whose marriage failed under the stress of his desperate efforts to solve the initial crime; a young brilliant detective trying to get over the recent death of his wife; the mother of the first victim; the parents of the second victim; the smug, officious, inept present-day chief detective; and each of the two guilty parties.

Only a bit of a mystery exists: can you recognize how one of the original killers has morphed into a present-day respectable citizen?

WARNING: be prepared for sadness and irony. However, DO NOT MISS THIS SUPERB FILM!

2013, Clever Plot, Creepy, Dark, Drama, Dysfunctional Lives, Erotic Thriller, Flirting, Mental Illness, Mystery Film, Plot Twist, Psychological Thriller, Rape, Suspense, Unusual, Violent

Stoker (2013)

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From Netflix:

An impressionable teenager grieving for her late father lives with her unstable mother and is bewitched by her enigmatic uncle, who has mysterious motives for his sudden appearance in her life.

“Creepy” is the first adjective that comes to mind. “Stoker” is not a horror film. Rather it is a psychological, suspense-filled, well-written story with unexpected plot and character twists. In addition it is somewhat of a mystery story that asks “Just who is this suddenly appearing uncle?” At each step you think you know what will happen, but you are probably wrong.

Does Nicole Kidman get more beautiful each day? Matthew Goode, the British actor who played Charles Ryder in the 2008 production of “Brideshead Revisited”, is the perfectly cunning psychopath. Mia Wasikowska, the Australian actress who played Jane Eyre in the 2011 production of “Jane Eyre”, steals the show as an enigmatic and unpredictably strange teenager.

You will stay glued to your seat during this frighteningly possible sequence of events.

2013, Abduction, Bullying, Cancer theme, Child Molestation, Clever Plot, Crime, Crude Talk, Dark, DNA, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Drugs, Dysfunctional Lives, Explicit sex, FilmReview, Gritty, Love Story, Made For TV, Murder Investigation, Nudity, Rape, Revenge, Sad small town, Suspense, Trailer Life, TV Series, Violent, Vulgar, Wonderful acting

Top of the Lake (2013)

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From Netflix:

When pregnant, 12-year-old Tui tries to kill herself in a freezing New Zealand lake, Detective Robin Griffin has plenty of questions for the girl. But when Tui suddenly disappears, Griffin finds herself knee-deep in small-town secrets.

Just about everything happens in this gritty, tough TV series taking place in a remote location in New Zealand. To name just of the few features:

  • An amoral, cruel hillbilly family that kills, rapes, manufactures illegal drugs, etc.
  • A cult-like compound for women who have had bad experiences and are sometimes completely naked.
  • Child molestation
  • Gang rape
  • A mother dying of cancer
  • Self-flagellation
  • Dishonest police officers
  • A very capable woman detective (played by Elizabeth Moss) trying to get on with her life while dealing with her troubled past
  • Quite a few nude sex scenes
  • A not quite civilized society
  • Several murders

Yes, this is one crazy TV series. Elizabeth Moss, who played Peggy in “Mad Men”, does a terrific job. But all the actors do wonderful jobs.

You might not want to eat a full meal before watching. Nonetheless, for me at least, in the category of gritty this series is a DO NOT MISS!

1997, British Mystery Series, Child abuse, Crime, Dark, Detective, Dysfunctional Lives, Gritty, Kidnapping, Murder Investigation, Not Feel Good, Violent

Trial & Retribution (1997)

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From NetFlix:

Crime story and police procedural folded in one, this series tracks murder cases as they wend from inquiry to trial, with detectives Michael Walker and Pat North leading the chase and split-screen shots vivifying the complex pursuit of justice.

Available from NetFlix either as DVDs. Only Set 1 can be streamed.

  • Set 1: 1997 4 discs
  • Set 2: 2001 4 discs
  • Set 3: 2005 3 discs
  • Set 4: 2007 3 discs
  • Set 5: 2008 2 discs
  • Set 6: 2008 2 discs

To see a list of the entire series as well as small plot summaries go to Wikipedia.

For Set 1 NetFlix offered this additional description:

David Hayman and Kate Buffery star as police detectives in the first season of this critically acclaimed British crime drama, in which each episode centers on a single case, from the investigation all the way through to the courtroom verdict. This program comprises the first four feature-length episodes of this suspenseful, emotionally charged series, which takes an unflinching look at the flawed processes behind society’s pursuit of justice.

Here the operative word is FLAWED! Even as a full story ends, you might not be so sure that the convicted person really was guilty. From my point of view that is irrelevant (and maddening) because it is the excellent and taut drama that entertains.

WARNING: Some of the crimes scenes are especially ugly. For example, the second full story features a sadistical cult leader who forces women to mutiliate themselves. That alone might prevent you from watching what is a well-written and very suspenseful story. In this second full story the ending is pitch perfect.

If you like British detective TV series, you will enjoy “Trial & Retribution”

Animated, Comedy, Dark, DO NOT MISS, Dysfunctional Lives, FilmReview, Nudity, Short Films, Violent

The 2005 Academy Award Short Films Collection (2005)

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From NetFlix:

This compilation of Oscar nominees delivers the best animated and live-action short films of 2005 in one collection. Selections include the winning films: “The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation” (animated) and “Six Shooter” (live action). In the former, a son explores his turbulent relationship with his late father, and in the latter, an old man’s grief is interrupted by a young stranger.

Quite a variety exists in this wonderful collection of film shorts from different countries (always with subtitles):

  • “Our Time is Up” (American) Comedy involving a psychiatrist who experiences a change of life.
  • “The Runaway” (German) Drama in which an architect connects with a young school boy.
  • “The Last Farm” (Scandinavian) An old farmer deals with the end of his life.
  • “Cashback” (British) Comic adventures of a college student working in a grocery store. Includes many naked women.
  • “Six Shooter” (Irish) Grieving widower (Brendan Gleeson) rides a train seated with a talkative (unbalanced ?) young man.
  • “Badgered” is an animated short about, well, a badger.
  • “The Moon and the Son” Cartoonist son talks to his hospitalized father and presents a cartoon version of their sad family life. (John Tarturro and Elie Wallach are the voices.)
  • “The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello” is a marvelous surreal animated (think “Triplets of Belleville”). If nothing else, the visual aspect is stunningly imaginative.

If you watch nothing else, the last animated is worth the price of admission. If you like shorts, DO NOT MISS!

1980, Based on a Book, Based on true facts, Crude Talk, Dark, Detective, Gay theme, Grim, Mostly About Sex, Murder Investigation, Nudity, Plot Twist, Psychological Drama, Serial Killer, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Transvestite theme, Violent, Vulgar

Cruising (1980)

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From NetFlix:

After a serial killer brutally murders several gay men in New York’s S&M and leather districts, cop Steve Burns (Al Pacino) goes undercover on the streets, where he must learn the complex rules of the underground gay subculture if he’s to catch the psycho. Karen Allen co-stars as Burns’s girlfriend in this gritty 1980 thriller, which sparked protests from gay rights groups at the time of its release but has since developed a minor cult status.

“Lurid” is the first adjective that comes to mind. The Stonewall riots occurred in 1959. By 1980 the gay movement was strong enough to protest this film which depicts an aberrant side of gay culture. Indeed the strong gay protests are described in the Wikipedia article about the film.

Expect “grungy” scenes in this cult classic with a wonderfully ambiguous ending.

2002, British Mystery Series, Could Be Hard To Watch, Dark, Detective, Disturbing Image, DO NOT MISS, FilmReview, Grim, Gritty, Murder Investigation, Occasional gore, Police Story, Sadism, Serial Killer, Stalker, Suspense, Torture, Transexual Theme, Violent

Wire in the Blood (2002)

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CHANGE OF STREAMING SOURCE:

Now you can stream 6 episodes NOT from Netflix but now from Acorn TV, which makes sense because Acorn TV shows only entertainment from the worldwide British empire.

The review below is still valid and a warning. However in Season 4 and forward, Herminone Norris is no longer in the episodes.

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

From NetFlix:

This tense British crime series follows the work of Dr. Tony Hill (Robson Green), a psychologist with a peculiar talent for understanding how serial killers think and for using that knowledge to help law enforcement apprehend them. Partnered with a detective from the local police department’s Major Incident Team, Hill finds himself on the trail of killers ranging from vigilantes and snipers to rapist-murderers, twisted suicide cults and more.

Through NetFlix streaming or DVDs you can see this British detective TV series.

Some of the episodes are ugly. You might even want to skip the very first episode because it shows sadistic torture. Later episodes refer back only slightly to preceding episodes, but that is not important.

Why watch the series at all? With each British detective series that I watch I find that the stories are tensely engaging, well written, and well acted but also usually very grim and explicit. One exception that comes to mind is Pie in the Sky in which there is never a murder. Also the crimes in Midsomer Murders are never hard to watch.

Two actors carry the series:

  • Robson Green appears exclusively in (zillions of) British TV series. If you are a British TV fan you will recognize him immediately. His character, Dr. Tony Hill, seems a little too smart to be true.
  • Hermione Norris (DCI Carol Jordan) appeared in a great many episodes of MI-5.

You have been warned that certain scenes are brutal. Other than that, this is another great British detective TV series.

2012, B-movie, Dark, Gloomy, Horror, Mediocre, Supernatural, Suspense

The Woman in Black (2012)

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From NetFlix:

Dispatched by his boss to an isolated seaside village to tie up a recently deceased client’s affairs, a young London lawyer finds himself in a community grappling with dark secrets — and a haunting presence with a sinister agenda.

Yet another haunted house arises to waste our time. Despite good, mostly dark, production values, there is nothing special to recommend this mildly horrible horror film.

Ciarán Hinds (Aberforth Dumbledore in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”) was the only actor I recognized. Ciarán has put on a lot of weight.

Expect a slightly surprising ending if you do actually bother to watch this movie.