Psychological 'thriller' that makes an earnest effort at portraying an unending sense of gloom, but despite believable characters and visually evocative cinematography, 'Dark August' doesn't quite convey the living nightmare its characters endure after a child is killed in a road accident.
Kim Hunter's quirky appearance as an expert in the occult late in the film is a coup for a low-budget 'thriller', and the acting all round is consistent and generally very good. Real-life married couple and co-authors the Barry's create down to earth, sympathetic characters and their anguish is heartfelt, but the apparent hex placed on the husband is too loose and indirect to sustain tension.
Consequently there's a lot of threatening behaviour but comparatively little actual harm inflicted. Mysterious (and blurry) robed figures, haunting flashbacks and random hyperventilating signify a latent danger which promises shocks, but disappointingly rarely materialises.
Whilst it's technically attractive, intelligently scripted and basically well-constructed on a low budget, less talk and more action was desperately needed to awaken the sleeping thriller in this otherwise soporific soap-opera.
Kim Hunter's quirky appearance as an expert in the occult late in the film is a coup for a low-budget 'thriller', and the acting all round is consistent and generally very good. Real-life married couple and co-authors the Barry's create down to earth, sympathetic characters and their anguish is heartfelt, but the apparent hex placed on the husband is too loose and indirect to sustain tension.
Consequently there's a lot of threatening behaviour but comparatively little actual harm inflicted. Mysterious (and blurry) robed figures, haunting flashbacks and random hyperventilating signify a latent danger which promises shocks, but disappointingly rarely materialises.
Whilst it's technically attractive, intelligently scripted and basically well-constructed on a low budget, less talk and more action was desperately needed to awaken the sleeping thriller in this otherwise soporific soap-opera.