David Spaltro proves less is more when it is measured in the dark.

I love me my devil movies, I go on and on about the subtlety of satanic suspense.

The devil is also a very convenient scapegoat for the all-too-real horrors that impose themselves into daily life.

It soon becomes apparent that its not the house thats haunted, its Bethany.

Of all the subgenres of satanic horror, my least favorite is the most filmed, exorcism.

Even the witches ofSalemon WGN and the monster squad on ShowtimesPenny Dreadfulcast out some demons.

Director David Spaltro swaps cliches with theories and special effects calisthenics with possibilities.

…In the Darkis a character driven movie.

The horror is introduced early and then put on the side to ease back into the picture.

The characters here are trying to understand the hauntings from a psychological perspective before they jump to parapsychological conclusions.

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What is possession and what is mental illness?

To the skeptical psychiatrist, there is more to reality than science has uncovered.

But she only applies these because she really needs to find one more case.

She is haunted and addicted.

She needs confirmation at the same time she wants to deny every case that could muddy the findings.

One of the things that make Veronica Carpenter (Lynn Justinger) so real is her voice.

Its terrible, its cloying and nasal and youd be ordering the check during appetizers on a blind date.

But its that annoying note that gives it resonance.

That is one of the first things screen actors stamp down, any timbre that might leave an aftertaste.

There are too many shared experiences caught in the seminal film that its tough to avoid.

There are no major effects like spinning heads or ceiling crawling.

Artists often go into altered states while they are so involved in what theyre doing.

A demon can be invoked by using a sigil, a symbolic representation of the dark desire.

Spaltro leaves enough room to fill in the blanks.

Part of the fun of demonic thrillers is trying to figure out what comes next.

I was sure that Bethany subconsciously recreated a sigil while painting until the explanation came through.

The movies over and Im still not sure Im wrong.

In The Darkis a very good indie horror entry that benefits from its leisurely pace.

Rating:

3.5 out of 5