4/5 Atmospheric, stylish horror/noir flick.
  by DanD
Two newlyweds from Vegas are making a night drive through the desert. They come across a bloody, disfigured man who's been in a car wreck. And everything goes downhill from there...

They don't make them like this anymore. DARK COUNTRY is low-budget noir/horror at its finest, a crass, violent, remorseless film whose script (kudus to Tab Murphy) owes quite a bit to Mickey Spillane's hard-hitting noir novels and Richard Matheson's tripping "Twilight Zone" episodes. It is dark and twisted, somewhat of a character study revolving around a couple (Thomas Jane and Lauren German, who manage to carry damn near the whole movie) who don't really know each other, and begin to find out things they aren't comfortable with. Jane's directing is solid; he knows what he wants--a low budget movie that LOOKS low budget--and manages to pull it off with only a few minor hitches (it slows down a bit near the end, becomes a bit too convoluted to follow closely). However, it looks cool and feels trippy. Throw in a few possible supernatural twists, an appearance by Ron Perlman (whose character isn't necessary at all, but it's still nice to see his ugly mug), and an ending Rod Serling would be proud of, and you have one hell of a film.

4/5 TWILIGHT...AS IN ZONE
  by Mark Turner
Some movies smack you square in the face, presenting everything up front and knocking the wind out of you with the scares they have to offer. Others offer a slow boil, brewing away, giving you information one piece at a time. The clues are there but for some reason they never seem to show themselves clearly until the end. DARK COUNTRY is one such film.

Thomas Jane (who also directed) is Richard, a man we know little about other than that he just met the love of his life in Vegas named Gina (Lauren German) and the pair have united in holy matrimony. Waking the next morning, they prepare to move on down the road by driving at night to avoid the heat of the desert.
In true film noir fashion, Richard narrates the film and gives his perspective now and then as to what is going on. The night time drive is one filled with discovery as the pair find out more about each other, something most people do prior to rather than after the wedding. During their discussion, the heat rises not only from the desert but from a tease Gina offers Richard that results in some erotic yet not non-nude goings on.

As they drive, Richard comments about the sky being so clear in the desert you can drive without your lights on. But when they click them back on the first thing they see is a man stumbling across the road in front of them. They swerve, barely avoiding him but enough to end up off the road. Going back to see if he is okay, they find him alive but banged up beyond recognition.

Further up the road they see his car overturned and realize he's been injured severely, most of his face a bloody pulp. They gather him up, place him in the back seat and head out to find help.

But as with all good episodes of the classic TV series TWILIGHT ZONE, everything is not what it seems. The victim wakes, at first screaming, then laughing and finally talking to his rescuers. His appearance makes Gina uncomfortable, understandably so. And as the trip progresses, he turns from thankful victim to attacker, resulting in a fight with Richard and his apparent death.

Deciding the best way to handle the situation is to simply bury him in the desert to avoid the police, the pair does so. It's not until later down the road that Richard realizes he buried his watch along with him. Returning to the burial site, they find the grave open and the victim gone.

It is here things turn even more strange with a roadside rest area, a major argument between the two leads and the culmination of posters seeking missing people that all come together. Add to the mix a state trooper played by Ron Perlman and the strangeness gets twisted and turned enough to hold your interest until the last reel unfolds.

The film plays to many of the classic film noir modes, offering the narration I mentioned earlier as well as looking at a seedier side of life that can not result in Disney type glory. These are battered people whose past lives make no difference but who breathe that lifestyle in all they say and do.

The film was shot in a special 3-D system (that doesn't transfer on DVD) that gives it a sort of SIN CITY look that bodes well for the tone of the film. The desert here feels hot, emitting an onscreen heat that you can feel while watching. The night feels strange as shot here. Both become not just scenes but characters in this story.

Jane and German do a great job in their roles. Jane as the love struck sap willing to do anything for the woman he thinks he loves. German as the seductive woman who sees the chance at a new life with a man who loves here. As I said before, these are not character traits that are explained but ones that develop from the characters we watch on screen.

The ending is something most viewers won't see coming. It caught me off guard, not startlingly so but in the surprise of it. Jane as director does a good job of letting this story come at you not in a rush but as a slow burn.

Not directly a title for Halloween, but perhaps one that would be good leading up to that mysterious holiday. DARK COUNTRY, while not a perfect film, offers what few movies these days will do. It's a slowly unfolding tale that directs the viewer down the paths it chooses as opposed to what they want. And that disturbing journey is one worth taking for a night's rental.



4/5 Pretty Good
  by Brian M. Marousek (Maryland)
A direct to DVD release that is better than some movies I have seen with a $50 million dollar budget.

The other review hit it dead on. If you like the Twilight Zone, then you'll love this.

Don't expect a fancy product - what you get is just good story telling with plenty of tension.

1/5 Pretty Bad
  by bookgirl (AR)
This is one of the worst movies I have ever watched. I was a Thomas Jane fan, but now I find him horribly obnoxious and completely clueless when it comes to directing films. I can't begin to describe how annoying his commentary is when discussing the film. I also found it very sexist when the producer of the film approached the lead female actor and told her the sex scene she was about to film was "her moment". Spare me please. Not only is it sexist to say a sex scene is an actress' big moment, but the scene wasn't even original, nor did it help propel the story. Ron Perlman's talent is wasted in this film. His character comes in to the movie for the last fifteen minutes and seems to serve no real purpose. I did find solace in the fact that Mr. Perlman did the movie as a favor to Jane. He must have owed him big! If you're one of those people who enjoy getting together and watching horrible movies for a laugh, then by all means rent this movie. However, if you were like me and hoped to see a well made horror movie skip this!

4/5 Outstanding, Old School Thriller
  by Martin E. Hartzold (New Orleans, LA)
A great, thoroughly entertaining movie with a compact, riveting story and fierce scenescapes. Too bad we couldn't see it in the theaters. I heard it was shot in 3-D and intended to be shown as such, but went straight to DVD instead. Hopefully home theater catches up, and we can see this as it was intended to be shown, sooner than later.