DARK PLACES (2015) Review
“The truly frightening flaw in humanity is our capacity for cruelty – we all have it.”
With Gillian Flynn and her ‘Gone Girl’ attached in all of its promotions, one would think Dark Places will have the same mysteries and edge-of-your-seat surprises. But the mysteries and surprises here felt out of tune. Charlize Theron drives the film with her tomboy-ish looks and moves as Libby Day, 25 years after the massacre of her family, allegedly in the hands of her own sister.
Director Gilles Paquet-Brenner slowly puts details in its narrative, it’s effective at times but some had gone tiresome. You might find its first half tedious with building its mystery and trying to pick the pieces of its story through flashbacks. The suspense is quite building well on the second half of the film. Until its final twist came and everything went confusing and felt off.
Dark Places is still a decent mystery thriller film. With good performances from Theron, Hoult and Moretz, the film was easier to watch and to absorb. The surprises might come a bit off, but still it works in its story, in an uncomfortable and puzzling way though.
Our rating: 2.5 out of 5 Stars
Dark Places is now showing in cinemas nationwide from Captive Cinema. Rated R-16 by the MTRCB.