Of Darkness (2006)--***1/2
Quick Review

I don’t give much credit to the horror genre anymore. I haven’t been a fan of the Japanese remakes nor have I enjoyed the high-gore, ultra violent horror films like Saw or The Hills Have Eyes. That may be why I was so blindsided by Of Darkness.

I skipped the short film when it screened at the Eerie Horror Film Festival. It was only at the prompting of one of the filmmakers that I finally watched the film. Of Darkness, as it turns out, is 20-minutes of pure suspense driven horror that would have had me on the edge of my seat were I not retreating to the corner my couch.

Of Darkness follows a grandson whose grandfather recently passed away. While he and his older brother are moving a trunk with their grandfather’s belongings, the kid finds some bizarre items including a “book of the dead”-looking manuscript. He doesn't touch the book until the teenager’s friends join him for an evening at home alone. In an effort to scare the youngest kid in the group, the teenagers open the manuscript with horrifying results.

That last line may be a little too clichéd if you consider the ensuing chaos. Of Darkness takes cues from The Evil Dead and continues the way the Raimi film would have had it taken itself seriously enough to be truly frightening. In fact, Of Darkness achieves the haunting suspense more recent films like The Ring and The Grudge failed to accomplish with bigger budgets and more special effects.

There’s little gore to speak of in Of Darkness. The film relies heavily on lighting and editing in creating the genuine tension of its startling events. The lack of gore also gives this horror movie credibility as a film. I don't say this often anymore with horror films or filmmakers, but I can’t wait to see what the guys behind Of Darkness have up their sleeve next.