Out of Darkness

Due to the efforts of a number of craftsmen, Out of Darkness is an exceptionally smooth low-budget production. Building upon studies conducted by expert consultants like the Paleolithic Archaeologist Dr. Rob Dinnis, Cumming’s crew has created a convincing milieu of a small Stone Age community. Early responses to the film have included dismissive pokes at the characters’ “urban hipster” style, with short (mussed) haircuts, intricately carved jewelry, and fur cloaks, but research appears to back their fashion (and mixed races) as historically legit. It’s an exciting sight to take in—while employing some suspension of disbelief—providing a new approach to a classic genre. The choice for the characters to speak in a faux language, with subtitles for translation, is another bold move rendered successful by the actors’ ability to make the words sound convincing.

Above all else, Out of Darkness is an effective horror movie that benefits greatly from a few scenes of bloody violence. The audience’s attention might lull without them, given the inherent limitations of a minimal plot. Oakley-Green holds her own as Beyah, and her character’s evolution from a meek teen to a toughened huntress is compelling (if not run-of-the-mill), but the crux of the film is in the chase. The eye-opening denouement, which takes place in a labyrinthine cave system, is appropriately brisk, with selective flashes of lightning and a grim final face-off. Unfortunately, it’s also here where the plot’s twist starts to unravel the film with some hefty moralizing and over-explanation.

As it turns out, Out of Darkness falters a bit in its ethical questions, which are all too familiar and heavy-handed. Beyah’s eventual realization that the aggressors may be “just like us” is a rather hackneyed generalization, as well as a broad attempt to place this prehistoric story within a contemporary lens. But twist included, the film is a promising, agile debut, and proof that Cumming has what it takes to spin a taut horror yarn.