DARK NATURE *** Canada 2022 Dir: Berkley Brady. 85 mins
A small group of women head out on an isolated retreat to face their demons. Little do they know they will literally face one. This is another Grimmfest feature that taps into Native American legends.
This dark parable of trauma recovery is filled with horror cliches, so of course I loved it. Brady uses the characters’ fears to make them appear weak and vulnerable, ideal victims for the mysterious entity.
The sound effects combined with the score really draw the audience into the ladies’ fears. This is helped by their isolated location, where nobody can hear them scream.
Each character is acted well, although the Doctor was clearly overacted for the most part. It was a shame as it took away from the realism.
The lighting was one thing that worked really well and didn’t fall foul of the typical overly dark horror style.
Certainly worth a watch if you enjoy the paranormal or monster horror as it is a superb mash-up of subgenres due to the mysterious being.
Review by Poppy Blundell