— by JON MARTINCIC —
“Dark Country” is a story about a couple on their way to their honeymoon in Las Vegas when they get horrifically sidetracked. This straight-to-DVD feature involves a surprisingly recognizable cast in Thomas Jane (of “The Punisher”), Lauren German (of “Hostel: Part II”) and Ron Pearlman (of “Hellboy).” Jane is also in the director’s chair for the first time since 2000’s “Johnny Nitro.”
This trailer surely has some noticeable elements, unfortunately they aren’t all positive. The lighting and edges around the characters in the green screen shots are at the forefront of these problems.
Technical mistakes are a quick way to kill a movie, luckily the cinematography does a good job of keeping the most simple shots visually interesting.
The performances seem strong, as applying well to the artistic direction. The story doesn’t seem all too original, which gives me the feeling that there may be a sizable twist in the story.
Jane’s “Dark Country” may have reached a wider audience without the technical issues, but they’re a little too much for me. For those of you that aren’t bothered by them, which may be difficult now that I pointed them out, then this may be worth a try.
There are a good amount of thrillers like this available, so we’ll have to see if this one brings anything new to the table.
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What kills me is how quickly I was taken from the story. I’m a huge Pearlman fan, and I do really enjoy the genre, so I may catch this one down the line. It’s just not on my list for now.
I like Tom Jane, but meh.