3/5 DARK COUNTRY IN TWILIGHT ZONE
  by Michael Butts (Martinsburg, WV USA)
THIS MOVIE IS LIKE A DISTORTED TWILIGHT ZONE. DIRECTED BY STAR THOMAS JANE, IT WAS INTENDED TO BE SHOWN IN 3-D IN THEATERS BUT WENT STRAIGHT TO DVD, WHICH MAY EXPLAIN SOME OF THE ODD LIGHTING AND CAMERA WORK.
THERE IS SOME HOT SEX SCENES TO ACCOMPANY THE SOMEWHAT MUDDLED STORY. THE MOVIE'S TWIST ENDING IS PRETTY OBVIOUS, BUT HOW WE GET THERE DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. IS THERE SOME KIND OF TIME LOOP? IS JANE VICTIM OR VILLAIN. JANE'S GOOD IN HIS ROLE AS IS LAURA GERMANN AS HIS NEW BRIDE BUT RON PERLMAN'S CAMEO IS POINTLESS. I WISH A STRONGER RESOLUTION MAY HAVE BROUGHT CLOSURE INSTEAD OF ENIGMA.

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.



1/5 Yikes!!
  by C Wahlman (Merrillville, IN)
I like the Twilight Zone, and I like low budget horror, but I did not like this movie.

Was this supposed to be like Sin City, the Twilight Zone, or old fashion film noir? It did not look "low budget," it looked computer generated. It was comic book in style and cinematography, but had plot elements of film noir and low class horror movies (complete with soft core porn). And the acting was subpar, even if they were trying to overact in B movie style, it was barely competent. Yet all together I felt the film had an identity crisis (how could that be with so much inspiration!?!!?). This film wanted to be in the vein of Grind House's Death Proof/Planet Terror but ended up being a mess of too many genres fighting for too many directions that ends with a too long car chase scene. This movie was boring at parts and uninteresting/unbelievable at others.

The concept is intriguing, the execution is bad. No wonder it was straight to DVD. Save your money and your time and watch something else.

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.

1/5 Good Job sony!
  by Anthony Gorman (Morrow, Ohio United States)
I'm sorry but this review is not about the movie content at all but sony as a company.

This is not the first time sony has screwed up a movie night. Sony apparently (after a google search) has an encryption on their dvds to stop pirating. Ok, BUT IT WILL NOT PLAY ON MY COMPUTER! Again this is not the first time. I read that some stand alone sony dvd players will not even play their own movies :o

I have hated sony as a company for a long time now but this is it! Sony can suck it!


This is just a warning for anyone bying a sony entertainment dvd.