Dark Remains

(Brian Avenet-Bradley, 2005)

A young couple mourning the recent murder of their child seek solace and relaxation by moving to an isolated woodland cabin. Close to their new home, they discover an old abandoned … ah, let me see, what was it now? … an old abandoned ice cream and cookies factory? … no, wait, that wasn’t it … think, think … what was it? … an old abandoned workshop in which a nice old lady used to handcraft little knitted woollen jackets for puppies to wear in winter? … no, no, that wasn’t it either … fuck me, what was it? … ah, yes! I remember now … an old abandoned prison / mental asylum … of course it was! … how it could it not have been!
From this threadbare set-up, a crude form of plot is gradually hacked out, but the exposition is badly handled, and the need to bring a sizeable cast of secondary characters into play somewhat undermines the original premise (wasn’t this supposed to be an isolated retreat?). So far, so shit. The only positive thing I can say is that it’s nice to see some J- and K-horror influence in a Western horror film (without it being a commercially calculated US remake of an already established East Asian success). Ghosts appear, subtly and for fractions of seconds, in the corners and backgrounds of shots; and when they come straight at their victims, they move at high velocity. So there are, to be fair, a few decent scary / freaky moments. Scariest of all, though, is the casting decision that landed such an uncharismatic pair of planks in the two lead roles.

Dark Remains @ IMDb