In trying to succeed as something both metaphorical and very literal-minded, the movie ends up being neither one nor the other — not psychologically deep enough to succeed as pure drama, and too earnest to offer the usual rewards of a genre film.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
Film Threat by Nick Rocco Scalia
When a movie does so much right – it’s unique and visually arresting and, at times, legitimately moving and surprisingly scary – it’s hard not to wish for something more complete, something that fully and entirely connects.
Los Angeles Times by Noel Murray
The Dark clicks (which is often), it’s a moving and poetic tale about how neglect and abuse can turn people into freaky beasts, and how love can bring them back.
The New York Times by Teo Bugbee
Mina and Alex seem less like teenagers and more like case studies with traumas rather than personalities. The horror genre can be a pipeline into the dark corners of the psyche, but the impact of The Dark is more clinical than cathartic.